Lee Chen-ch'ang (; born 21 October 1986) is a Taiwanese

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

for the

CTBC Brothers The CTBC Brothers () or simply Brothers are a professional baseball team in Taiwan. The team was originally established as an amateur team in 1984 by the Brother Hotel located in Taipei City, and later joined the Chinese Professional Baseball Leagu ...

of the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL). He previously played for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. He has also played for the

Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, wh ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

. Lee throws from a sidearm slot, and his fastball sits at 92–94 MPH and max out at 97 MPH.

Career

Cleveland Indians

Lee began playing baseball while a student at

National Pingtung Senior High School National Pingtung Senior High School () is a senior high school in Pingtung City, Pingtung County, Taiwan. Notable alumni * Steve Chang, Co-founder and former CEO of Trend Micro * CC Lee, Cleveland Indians pitcher * Chen Yun-wen, baseball p ...

. He competed for the

Chinese Taipei national baseball team The Chinese Taipei baseball team () is the national men's baseball team of the Republic of China (Taiwan). It is governed by the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association. The team is ranked second in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederat ...

in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, and had a 2.00

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) and 11

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s in two appearances. After appearing in the Olympics, the Cleveland Indians signed him as a free agent. After joining the Indians organization, Lee competed in the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26. Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference ti ...

. He began his stateside professional career with the

Kinston Indians The Kinston Indians were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League (CL) located in Kinston, North Carolina, from 1978 to 2011. They played their home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949. The team began play in 1978 as the Ki ...

in 2009, finishing the year with a 4–6 win–loss record and a 3.35 ERA in 45 appearances. He spent 2010 with the Akron Aeros, and had a 4–5 record and a 3.22 ERA in 44 games. The following year, Lee split the season between the Aeros and

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

. With the Clippers, he had a 4–0 record and a 2.21 ERA in 25 appearances. After five games with the Clippers in 2012 and 19 in 2013, Lee was called up by the

from their Triple-A affiliate

on July 12, 2013, and became the tenth Taiwanese player to play in the MLB. In his debut on July 14, Lee pitched 1.1 innings in relief of

Ubaldo Jiménez Ubaldo Jiménez García (born January 22, 1984) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles. Jiménez was an MLB All-Sta ...

, allowing no hits and 1 walk. He was optioned back to Columbus on July 23 and finished the season there, ending it with a 2.37 ERA. Lee started the 2014 season in Columbus, but was brought up to the majors and had several stints with the Indians during the 2014 season.

Saitama Seibu Lions

On November 20, 2015, the Indians sold Lee's contract to the

. On November 8, 2016, he became a free agent.

Colorado Rockies

On December 23, 2016, Lee signed a minor league contract with the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

, that included an invitation to 2017

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. In 27 appearances for the Triple–A

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an el ...

, Lee registered a 5.54 ERA with 53 strikeouts in innings pitched. He elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2017.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On January 1, 2018, Lee signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

organization. In 22 appearances for the Triple-A

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Bal ...

, Lee pitched for a 3.91 ERA with 41 strikeouts in innings pitched. On June 1, Lee exercised an opt-out clause in his contract in order to return to his home country of Taiwan and declare himself eligible for the 2018

(CPBL) draft.

Chinatrust / CTBC Brothers

Lee was selected first overall in the 2018 CPBL draft by the

, and on July 10, 2018, signed to a 3.5 year deal with an annual salary of $248,000 USD plus $34,000 USD per season in incentives. On May 3, 2023, Lee suffered a broken

collarbone The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the right ...

after being involved in a traffic collision, and later underwent successful surgery.https://twitter.com/gocpbl/status/1654046139593945088?s=46&t=UN5XGiNzRq3-vt33N7zCTw

International career

He was selected for

at the

2006 Intercontinental Cup The 2006 IBAF Intercontinental Cup was held in Taichung, Taiwan from November 9 through the 19th. Eight countries contested the tournament, which was played at Taichung Baseball Field and the newly built Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium ...

2006 Asian Games 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

and

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, C. C. 1986 births Living people Akron Aeros players Albuquerque Isotopes players Asian Games gold medalists for Chinese Taipei Asian Games medalists in baseball Baseball players at the 2006 Asian Games Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics CTBC Brothers players Cleveland Indians players Columbus Clippers players Kinston Indians players Lake County Captains players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Taiwan Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Oklahoma City Dodgers players Olympic baseball players for Taiwan People from Penghu County Peoria Javelinas players Saitama Seibu Lions players Taiwanese expatriate baseball players in Japan Taiwanese expatriate baseball players in the United States 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2023 World Baseball Classic players Anchorage Bucs players