Catch of the Year Contender: Lin Che-Hsuan
THAT BALL IS SMASHED DEEP TO THE CENTRE FIELD. IT’S GOING, GOING, GONE!!! The stadium instantly erupted with cheers as the Uni-Lions pulled themselves ahead with a leadoff solo shot.
As the Uni-Lions’ batter trotting around the bases and ready to receive his hero’s welcome in the dugout, the Guardians’ centre fielder 林哲瑄 (Lin Che-Hsuan) slowly pulled a ball out of his glove and completely changed the mood in the stands.
“OH MY GOD, HE CAUGHT IT, HE CAUGHT THE BALL!!,” yelled the CPBL mandarin broadcaster.
And the best actor award goes to.. 林哲瑄 (Lin Che-Hsuan)!!
The Fubon Guardians' veteran centre fielder made a spectacular home run-robbing catch at the wall and decided to troll everyone at the stadium. ? #CPBL pic.twitter.com/laRW6iq06h
— CPBL STATS (@GOCPBL) October 17, 2020
Yes, the former Boston Red Sox outfielder Lin Che-Hsuan indeed caught the ball. Lin, who is best known for his defensive ability, tracked the deep fly ball to the wall, made a spectacular leaping catch and took away a home run.
But instead of letting everyone know right away, Lin decided to play it cool and proceed to fool everybody at the stadium.
“I knew the ball would go over the wall, but I was able to get into position and bring it back,” Lin Che-Hsuan told Liberty Sports.
“He fooled me too, that was such a great defensive play,” said the Guardians’ manager Hong I-Chung. “I scored this play 120 points!”
As for the unlucky Uni-Lions’ hitter Pan Chieh-Kai? Well, a picture is worth a thousand words. We will finish this with a stunned Pan, staring soullessly at the CPBL centre field god Lin Che-Hsuan.
That’s why you need modern replay. Once upon a time pro players sometimes cheated. If a fielder waited that long to show the ball people would have wondered if he pulled a hidden out of somewhere.
Mike Loree has had a very poor October, and in the middle of a pennant race. If Fubon makes the Taiwan Series, he better have a good start or two, or Fuban will at a minimum ask him to take a pay cut in 2021.
Unless they already signed him to another multi-year deal, Loree is definitely going to get a pay cut next year.
Loree was still at least the CPBL’s 6th best starter in 2020, so he should come back. However, it could depend on whether Manny Banuelos and Yoanis Quaila would be willing to sign for less money than whatever Loree demands.
So, turns out the Guardians already signed Loree to a 2-year deal earlier this year (2020 and 2021), He is definitely coming back in 2021 season.
As for Banuelos and Quaila, I think they will probably bring Banuelos back for 2021. Quaila didn’t really do much this season, pitched a few games and then spent the rest of the season on the injured list. Probably still worth bring him back next year, but it all depends on the Guardians front office.