Nien-Ting Wu

From BR Bullpen

NienTingWu.jpg

Nien-Ting Wu (吳念庭)

  • Bats Left, Throws Right
  • Height 5' 10", Weight 165 lb.

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Nien-Ting Wu has played in Nippon Pro Baseball and for the Chinese Taipei national team. He is son of Fu-Lien Wu, and cousin of Pin-Chieh Chen

Wu went to high school in Japan and was selected by Seibu Lions in the 7th round of the 2015 NPB draft. He spent most of his first year in the NPB Farm Leagues, playing 76 games mostly at shortstop in 2016. He made it to the big club in July, and played 43 games with a .192/.284/.234 batting line.[1] However, with young star Sosuke Genda getting the starting shortstop spot, Wu was assigned back to the minors in 2017. He hit .263/.354/.351 that year, but only played 15 PL games. Wu hit well in the minors at .273/.381/.342 the next year, and only get 10 hits in the PL. He also represented Taiwan in the 2017 Asia Professional Baseball Championship

The Taiwanese spent the entire year in the minors in 2019, batting .254/.350/.330 with 2 dingers. Wu played more games in 2020, getting 10 hits in the PL with a .227/.320/.295 line. Although he didn’t get many chances in the PL, Wu improved his defensive skills and became a utility man who was available for all four infield spot in those years.[2] The Lions lost star infielder Hotaka Yamakawa in 2021, and Wu jumped at this opportunity. With his defensive flexibility, Wu became the main utility man for the Lions. He hit 10 home runs and .248/.310/.348. He was selected into the 2021 NPB All-Star Games. He was 0-for-2 in Game 1, then pinch-hit for Yamakawa in Game 2 but Ryoji Kuribayashi retired him. He hit .227/.322/.327 with 5 dingers in 2022.

The Taipei native made Taiwan's roster for the 2023 World Baseball Classic. [3]Wu blasted the first homer in the event off Wilfredo Pereira of Panama, and had a 3-for-4 performance with 2 RBI in that game. His other two hits were a single against Randall Delgado in the 4th inning and another single against Severino González in the 5th inning. He then drew a walk in the first inning from Ryan Castellani of Italy, then recorded a single against Joe Biagini. Wu hit another single against Joey Marciano in the 8th inning, and helped Taiwan win over Italy. He was 0-for-7 in the rest of the event, and Taiwan was eliminated. Only Yu Chang and Li Lin had more hits for Taiwan in that WBC while he led the team with three walks. [4] Wu struggled in 2023, only hitting .205/.319/.295 in 41 games.

Wu then represented Taiwan in the 2022 Asian Games (held in 2023 after COVID-19-realted delays). Wu debuted against Thailand and hit a single against Suppakorn Lin in the 3rd inning while adding a RBI double off Lin in the 4th inning. He then went 1-for-2 with a double against Woo-suk Go in the 7th inning and two walks against South Korea. Wu was 1-for-2 with 2 runs scored against Hong Kong, then went 0-for-2 with a RBI sacrifice fly against Jian Yi of China. He was 0-for-2 versus Japan, and Taiwan still advanced to the Gold Medal Game despite losing this game. In the Gold Medal Game, he was 0-for-4 and South Korea beat them and won the Gold. He handled 42 chances error-free at first. [5]

After the disappointing 2023 season, Wu requested the Lions release him, and he announced that he would return to his hometown Taiwan. The TSG Hawks selected him with the second overall pick of the 2024 CPBL Draft. Wu made his CPBL debut on July 1, 2024, and he got his first CPBL hit against Wei-Yung Wang.

Sources[edit]