TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Twenty-one-year-old Lin Chen-wei (林振瑋), a right-handed pitcher from Tainan, became the first Taiwanese player to sign a professional contract with the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Lin drew international attention in May when he was invited to participate in MLB’s Draft League. A commanding physical presence, Lin is 203-cm tall (6-foot-7 inches) and has an overpowering fastball that clocks in at 156 kmh.
A strong outing, which included four starts and a 3.24 ERA over 16 innings for the Frederick Keys in the MLB Draft League, led to interest from MLB teams as well as professional teams in Japan, per UDN.
Today, the #STLCards signed amateur RHP Chen-Wei Lin, the first player ever signed out of Taiwan in the history of our franchise. pic.twitter.com/ctBNeiYReC
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) July 3, 2023
Lin represented Taiwan in international competitions such as the U23 World Cup and practiced with the country’s World Baseball Classic team at the start of this year.
After entertaining multiple contract offers, Lin decided to join the St. Louis Cardinals at a signing ceremony in the U.S. on Tuesday (July 4). Lin said it was a lifelong dream to play in the MLB.
"I am very grateful to my family for their encouragement. They are my strongest supporters. I also want to thank those who have helped me along the way," said Lin at the signing ceremony, per UDN.
Lin has MLB pedigree in his family, being the nephew of Kuo Hong-chih (郭泓志), a left-handed pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers for seven seasons (2005–2011), who had a 3.73 ERA over 218 career appearances. "The person I want to thank the most is my uncle. If it weren't for him, there would be no opportunity for me to compete in the United States," said Lin.
Lin also completed a team physical examination in St. Louis on Monday (July 3). He will briefly return to Taiwan this week to deal with personal affairs, and then return to the U.S. to take part in the Cardinals minor league system beginning in mid-July.
