Wei-Cheng Chen

Wei-Cheng Chen (陳威成)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 185 lb.

• School Fu Jen Catholic University
• High School Hua Hsing High School

• Born May 24, 1966 in Chiayi County Taiwan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Wei-Cheng Chen was an Olympic performer who later became a successful manager.

Chen played for Taiwan when they won Bronze at the 1984 World Junior Championship. He appeared in the 1988 Haarlem Baseball Week and also began his military service that year. He played in the 1989 Asian Championship, 1989 Intercontinental Cup, 1990 Goodwill Games and 1990 Asian Games. In the 1990 Baseball World Cup, he hit .367/.467/.600 with 10 runs in 9 games. The center fielder led the team in runs.

In the 1991 Intercontinental Cup, Chen batted .319/.373/.426 with 12 runs and 12 RBI in 11 games. He stole 4 bases in 5 tries and played error-free defense in center. He tied Jenrry Roa for 4th in the tourney in hits. He tied Prospero Baca and Luis Casanova for 2nd in RBI, 5 behind Carlos Manriquez. He was 6th in steals. He was named the tournament's Outstanding Defensive Player. He was left off the Cup All-Star team. as Manrique, Jose Estrada and Shinichi Sato were the 3 outfielders selected. He went 1 for 6 in the Bronze Medal game; in the 13th inning, he injured his ankle chasing a fly from Jose Padilla which turned into the game-winning homer. Chen would spend half a year in a wheelchair and with crutches until he was able to walk unassisted.

Chen hit .316/.381/.421 in the 1992 Olympics while being limited to designated hitter duties. He played in the Chinese Professional Baseball League for the Jungo Bears and Sinon Bulls from 1993-1997, hitting over .270 all but his final year. He hit .284/.321/.341 in 1993, .277/.301/.372 in 1994 and .271/.316/.330 in 1995 for Jungo. For Sinon, he batted .289/.340/.358 in 1996 and .209/.276/.285 in 1997.

After retiring as a player, Chen coached for and then managed Sinon. He led them to the Taiwan Series in 2003, but they fell to the Brother Elephants in six games. In game five, he punched one of the umpires over a call, earning him a $3,000 fine and a suspension for the last game.

Chen then returned to amateur baseball as a high school coach. After a stint as a TV baseball commentator, he became head coach at National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology. He was be the baserunning and defense coach for Taiwan in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. His son Kuan-Wei Chen followed him into the CPBL.

Sources

• Wiki Baseball (Chinese)
• Defunct IBAF site
• KT Choi's Taiwan baseball database
• 2004 Baseball Almanac