Hu Chin-Lung

Chin-Lung Hu is only the fifth baseball player from Taiwan to play in the Major League. The shortstop is also known for having the shortest surname in the history of the MLB as well as being the first MLB infielder from Taiwan.

Hu was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2003, as an undrafted free agent. He was placed in the Rookie League with the Ogden Raptors. He spent a complete season at the Raptors and had a .305 batting average in 220 at-bats. He moved up to the Columbus Catfish in 2004 before moving up to the Vero Beach Dodgers for the last 20 games of their season. His .307 batting average ensured that he was back with the Vero Beach Dodgers in the beginning of the 2005 season.

In 2006, Hu was brought up to the Jacksonville Suns where he played out the season with a .256 batting average. Hu was named to the Chinese Taipei lineup for the 2006 World Baseball Classic and was also named to the All-Star Futures Game in 2006, as well as in 2007. The following season, he did a much better job with the Suns, batting at .329 to get a AAA-League opportunity with the Las Vegas 51s.

His .318 batting average ensured that he got into the MLB roster with the Dodgers where he played at a .241 batting average over 12 games. In 2008, he moved back to the 51s where he began the season, getting another MLB call-up after 41 games at the AAA-League.

Hu had a poor season with the Dodgers and was part of 65 games primarily for his fielding rather than batting. In 2009, he was sent back to the AAA-League, batting at .294 before moving up to the Dodgers again. This time ‘round, he played just 5 games at a batting average of .400.

In 2010, Hu has been named as a part of the MLB roster invitees in the Spring Training list and is likely to be named as a part of the roster at the beginning of the season.