This is a list of players from Taiwan in Major League Baseball . There have been 17 players total from Taiwan. Those players, especially star pitcher Chien-Ming Wang , became household names of Taiwanese people and induced huge followings for their games during MLB seasons. In November 2011, the inaugural MLB Taiwan All-Star Series was played in five games at three ballparks across Taiwan during the postseason. Wang and Fu-Te Ni were called up by the Chinese Taipei national baseball team against the MLB All-Star team.[ 1] All Taiwanese players who have appeared in Major League Baseball began their professional baseball careers in the United States by signing with teams as an international free agent. The first Taiwanese baseball player to be selected and signed via the Major League Baseball draft process was Lyle Lin, who was drafted in the fourteenth round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft , and signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks .[ 2] [ 3]
Included in this table are players who are on, or have been on, an active MLB roster during the current MLB season (or, during the offseason, players who were on an active MLB roster during the most recently completed MLB season). Players are ordered by the date of MLB debut.
* Games played through the 2023 regular season.
Listed below are previous players in MLB, ordered by the date of their final MLB appearance.
Name
MLB debut
MLB final game
Games
Position
MLB team(s)
Current league/status
Team
Ref.
Chin-Feng Chen
September 14, 2002
July 23, 2005
19
Outfielder
Los Angeles Dodgers (2002–2005)
Retired (Manager )
Fubon Guardians
[ 5]
Fu-Te Ni
June 28, 2009
June 29, 2010
58
Pitcher
Detroit Tigers (2009–2010)
Retired
—
[ 6]
Chin-Lung Hu
September 1, 2007
May 16, 2011
118
Infielder
Los Angeles Dodgers (2007–2010)New York Mets (2011)
CPBL
Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions
[ 7]
Hong-Chih Kuo
September 2, 2005
September 24, 2011
218
Pitcher
Los Angeles Dodgers (2005–2011)
Retired
—
[ 8]
Che-Hsuan Lin
April 14, 2012
October 1, 2012
9
Outfielder
Boston Red Sox (2012)
CPBL
Fubon Guardians
[ 9]
Chia-Jen Lo
July 31, 2013
September 28, 2013
19
Pitcher
Houston Astros (2013)
CPBL
Wei Chuan Dragons
[ 10]
C. C. Lee
July 14, 2013
September 30, 2015
47
Pitcher
Cleveland Indians (2013–2015)
CPBL
CTBC Brothers
[ 11]
Chin-Hui Tsao
July 25, 2003
May 21, 2016
57
Pitcher
Colorado Rockies (2003–2005)Los Angeles Dodgers (2007, 2015–2016)
Retired
—
[ 12]
Chien-Ming Wang
April 30, 2005
August 30, 2016
174
Pitcher
New York Yankees (2005–2009)Washington Nationals (2011–2012)Toronto Blue Jays (2013)Kansas City Royals (2016)
Retired (Pitching Coach )
CTBC Brothers
[ 13]
Jen-Ho Tseng
September 14, 2017
May 8, 2018
3
Pitcher
Chicago Cubs (2017–2018)
CPBL
Rakuten Monkeys
[ 14]
Chih-Wei Hu
April 24, 2017
September 27, 2018
11
Pitcher
Tampa Bay Rays (2017–2018)
CPBL
Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions
[ 15]
Wei-Chieh Huang
April 23, 2019
May 14, 2019
4
Pitcher
Texas Rangers (2019)
MiLB /IL
Indianapolis Indians
[ 16]
Wei-Chung Wang
April 14, 2014
September 17, 2019
47
Pitcher
Milwaukee Brewers (2014, 2017)Oakland Athletics (2019)Pittsburgh Pirates (2019)
CPBL
Wei Chuan Dragons
[ 17]
Wei-Yin Chen
April 10, 2012
September 28, 2019
219
Pitcher
Baltimore Orioles (2012–2015)Miami Marlins (2016–2019)
ALPB
Long Island Ducks
[ 18]
Tzu-Wei Lin
June 24, 2017
April 26, 2021
102
Infielder
Boston Red Sox (2017–2020)Minnesota Twins (2021)
CPBL
Rakuten Monkeys
[ 19]
Yu Chang
June 28, 2019
August 6, 2023
235
Infielder
Cleveland Guardians (2019–2022)Pittsburgh Pirates (2022)Tampa Bay Rays (2022)Boston Red Sox (2022–2023)
CPBL
Fubon Guardians
[ 20]
All-Star Game selections [ edit ]
Bold indicates the player was selected to the starting roster
^ "MLB Network to show Taiwan series" . Nats Insider. 2011-10-26. Retrieved 2019-02-13 .
^ Yeh, Joseph (23 June 2019). "Lin joins D-Backs, becomes 1st Taiwanese to sign via MLB draft" . Central News Agency. Retrieved 23 June 2019 .
^ Metcalfe, Jeff (June 5, 2019). "ASU baseball finishes with five drafted players, same as 2018" . Arizona Republic . Retrieved June 24, 2019 . Republished as: "ASU baseball's Lyle Lin, Carter Aldrete selected in 2019 MLB draft" . MSN. June 5, 2019. Retrieved June 24, 2019 .
^ "Kai-Wei Teng Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2024-04-01 .
^ "Chin-Feng Chen" . baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-08-02 .
^ "Fu-Te Ni" . baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-08-02 .
^ "Chin-Lung Hu" . baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-08-02 .
^ "Hong-Chih Kuo" . baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-08-02 .
^ "Che-Hsuan Lin" . baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2012-04-15 .
^ "Chia-Jen Lo" . baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2013-08-01 .
^ "C.C. Lee" . baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2013-07-16 .
^ "Chin-hui Tsao" . baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-08-02 .
^ "Chien-Ming Wang" . baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-08-02 .
^ "Jen-Ho Tseng" . baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 18, 2019 .
^ "Chih-Wei Hu" . baseball-reference.com. Retrieved June 18, 2019 .
^ "Wei-Chieh Huang" . baseball-reference.com. Retrieved April 13, 2021 .
^ "Wei-Chung Wang" . baseball-reference.com. Retrieved April 13, 2021 .
^ "Wei-Yin Chen" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved April 13, 2021 .
^ "Tzu-Wei Lin" . baseball-reference.com. Retrieved November 18, 2022 .
^ "Yu Chang" . baseball-reference.com. Retrieved September 15, 2023 .
^ Bernacchio, Adam (July 13, 2010). "Dodgers' Hong-Chih Kuo in All-Star Game; Injured Jason Heyward Out" . Bleacher Report . Retrieved May 7, 2022 .
^ "2012 AL Division Series 1" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2022-05-08 .
^ "2014 AL Division Series 2" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2022-05-08 .
^ "2014 AL Championship Series" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2022-05-08 .
^ "2006 NL Division Series 1" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2022-05-08 .
^ "2008 NL Championship Series" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2022-05-08 .
^ "2009 NL Division Series 1" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2022-05-08 .
^ "2009 NL Championship Series" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2022-05-08 .
^ "2005 AL Division Series 2" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2022-05-08 .
^ "2006 AL Division Series 1" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2022-05-08 .
^ "2007 AL Division Series 2" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2022-05-08 .