Less than a month after the Los Angeles Dodgers made Chen Chin-feng (
Terms were not disclosed but Seattle Pacific Rim scout Jamey Storvick said Wu received a signing bonus, incentives and college scholarship money.
Wu, 18, is the second position player in the past three years to head to the US to play professionally. Taiwan has also exported five pitchers to the US.
PHOTO COURTESY OF PHILIP GLAMANN
Storvick said he thought seeing Chen make the Dodgers roster in September might have convinced Wu he had a realistic shot at making the big leagues in the US.
"The fact that he saw a kid go over there and make it might have done it," Storvick said. "It was something I think maybe he and his parents discussed."
Wu, who graduated from San-Ming High School (三民高中) in Kaohsiung and attends Fu Jen Catholic University (輔仁大學) in Hsinchuang, will head to the Mariners minor league spring training in March near Phoenix, Arizona. Storvick said it was likely Wu would then stay in Arizona and play for a Mariners rookie team.
"Sizewise he compares to the American kids," Storvick said of the 190cm Wu. "He is strong and we think he will just get stronger."
Besides changing cultures, Wu will also be changing positions. A first baseman in high school, the Mariners intend to transform Wu, who bats lefthanded and throws right, into a catcher. Since most catchers bat righthanded, finding one who bats from the other side of the plate could make Wu a valuable commodity for the Mariners.
"We have basically taken him as a catcher," Storvick said. "What he doesn't know about the position we can teach him. It could give him a better shot."
A change in positions didn't seem to bother Wu at the AAA World Junior Baseball Championships held in August in Canada. When the Taiwan team's starting catcher went down with an injury, Wu took over and helped the team to a second-place finish. He hit .419 (13 for 31) and hit four home runs in the tournament, including one in the championship game, which Taiwan lost to Cuba 9-6.
Wu, who speaks little English, will be assisted by a full-time translator from Taiwan, Sam Kao, who spent last season in the US minor leagues with Wang Chao, the first mainland Chinese player to play in the US.
Wu will spend this offseason in Taiwan studying at Fu Ren and working with a catching coach to learn his new position.
"Other guys have had problems with being able to adjust but one thing about Wu is he is pretty intelligent," Storvick said.
BOOT TO FACE: Wilfried Singo said that his actions were not intentional, ‘but I was able to see afterwards that’ the ’keeper had a significant face injury Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday came from behind to extend their unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season with a 4-2 win away against AS Monaco, but lost goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to a gruesome facial injury. The bloodied Italy international was left requiring 10 staples after sustaining lacerations to the right side of his face when he was caught by the studs of Monaco defender Wilfried Singo. “I don’t know if the referee was badly positioned, but VAR [video assistant referee] needed to intervene, you have to protect the players,” PSG captain Marquinhos said. “To not give a red in a situation like
India’s chess star Gukesh Dommaraju returned to a hero’s welcome in his home city yesterday after becoming the youngest world champion aged only 18. Hundreds of fans crowded the arrivals area of Chennai International Airport, cheering alongside banks of television cameras as Gukesh made his way out of the airport after victory in taking the World Chess Championship title. “It means a lot to bring back the trophy to India,” Gukesh told reporters, with garlands of flowers draped around his neck, brandishing the glittering trophy in his hand. “I can see the support and what it means to India, I
Zach LaVine on Thursday scored a season-high 36 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 117-108 upset victory against defending NBA champions the Boston Celtics, while LeBron James once again made history. LaVine went 11-of-19 from the floor and made six three-pointers while adding six rebounds and four assists for the Bulls, who improved to 13-15 for the season. “We’re a good team,” LaVine said. “We’re competitive and we’re a resilient group.” Ayo Dosunmu contributed 17 points for the Bulls, while Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Chicago. The Bulls outscored Boston 35-22 in the fourth quarter to rally past
Brimin Kipkorir of Kenya and Amid Fozya Jemal of Ethiopia won the men’s and the women’s categories, respectively, in the annual Taipei Marathon yesterday, which drew about 28,000 participants. Kipkorir finished the 42.2km run in 2 hours, 11 minutes and 41 seconds, which was about 2.5 minutes off the event’s record of 2:09:18 set by his countryman Paul Lonyongata in 2020. Meanwhile, Jemal — who also won the New Taipei Wan Jin Shi Marathon in March — finished with a first-place time of 2:32:47, about seven minutes behind the race’s women’s record of 2:25:55. For winning the race, Kipkorir and
RSS