Ming-Chin Tsai

Ming-Chin Tsai (蔡明晉)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 150 lb.

• School National Taiwan Institute of Physical Education
• High School Qiang Shu High School

• Born September 28, 1984 in Tainan City Taiwan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Ming-Chin Tsai had pitched in the CPBL for 12 years.

Tsai was a second-round draft choice of the Sinon Bulls in the 2006 CPBL Draft. He was 2-7 with a 3.43 ERA as a rookie for the Bulls in 2008. He tied for 7th in losses and he tied Yi-Cheng Tseng. He had a 3-3, 5.36 record in 2009. In 2010, he was 5-3 with a 2.82 ERA. He was 5-6 with four saves and a 5.52 ERA in 2011, then had Tommy John surgery and missed a year. When he returned, the Bulls had become the EDA Rhinos. He was 5-4 with a save and a 4.02 ERA in 41 games for the Rhinos in 2013. In game 2 of the 2013 Taiwan Series, he threw a game-losing wild pitch in the bottom of the 8th and walked in an insurance run; the Rhinos were swept by the Uni-President Lions.

The Tainan native slumped to a 5.09 ERA in 26 games in 2014, and he recorded a 5.40 ERA and a 5-5 record in 2015. In the 2016 season, Tsai went 5-5 with a 7.30 ERA, and he allowed a run in 3 1/3 innings in the 2016 Taiwan Series. The Rhinos beat the CTBC Brothers in 6 games. He then made it onto Taiwan's roster for the 2017 World Baseball Classic, and he surrendered 2 runs in 3 innings.

Tsai was selected into the 2017 CPBL All-Star Game, and he pitched 1 1/3 shutout innings. He ended up 2-0 with a 5.22 ERA in 36 relief outings in 2017, and he had a 6.92 ERA in 10 games in 2018. Tsai only pitched 11 more games in the next two seasons, and he announced his retirement after the 2020 season. He was the pitching coach of the minor league team of the Fubon Guardians in 2021, and served as bullpen coach for their big club in 2022. The Rakuten Monkeys named Tsai as their minor league pitching coach in 2023.

Tsai's repertoire included a fastball (peak 93.8 mph), curveball and forkball.

Overall, Tsai was 337-36 with a 4.93 ERA, struck out 411 and pitched 603 innings in 12 seasons in the CPBL.

Sources

• Taiwan Baseball Wiki
• CPBL page