Victory for history
Tsao puts Taiwan on baseball map
By Jack Etkin, Rocky Mountain News
July 26, 2003
Chin-hui Tsao lived up to all the hype, the sky's-the-limit buildup and
looked right at home when he finally stepped into the major league spotlight
Friday.
He showed remarkable poise for a 22-year-old making the leap from Class AA to
the Colorado Rockies and gave ample evidence he can command four pitches. Tsao
also showed he has no qualms about claiming the inner half of the plate as he
made history by becoming the first Taiwanese pitcher to appear in the majors.
Tsao hit a few early speed bumps in his outing against the Milwaukee
Brewers - he gave up a homer to Eric Young on his second pitch - but wasn't
thrown off course. He pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowed three runs and came away
with a victory in the Rockies' 7-3 win.
"His composure was the thing that really stood out for me," said Larry Walker,
who homered and drove in two runs. "When he walked in the clubhouse (Friday),
he just had that look on him, 'It's about time you (darn) well called me up.
I belong here.' He was full of energy and bouncing around here like a little
kid in a candy store. Took the mound, and he was under control."
Tsao came into the clubhouse at 4:15 p.m., which amazed manager Clint Hurdle.
He said if it had been his major league debut, Hurdle would have arrived about
1 p.m.
Tsao turned a one-run lead over to Javy Lopez, who stranded the tying run. A
three-run seventh gave the Rockies more breathing room as they beat Milwaukee
for the seventh consecutive time at Coors Field.
Tsao's second pitch ended up a souvenir in the left-field stands when Young
homered. And after two innings, Tsao's pitch count was up to 44, he had
yielded five hits and he was trailing 2-0.
But Tsao, who finished with 99 pitches, gave up only three more hits before
being lifted when Young singled with one out in the seventh. Tsao received a
standing ovation - he said he didn't expect it - from the appreciative crowd
of 39,013 and waved his cap to the fans as he neared the Rockies dugout.
"When I gave up the home run, I was very, very nervous," Tsao said through
interpreter Justin Yeh. "That home run was like a reality check for me. I was
pretty much back to myself in the third inning."
Catcher Charles Johnson said Tsao, in addition to commanding his fastball
that was consistently 93 mph and touched 95 mph in the fifth, mixed in some
very good changeups and decent sliders.
"He pitched inside well," Johnson said. "A lot of guys come and have a rough
time throwing inside. He was able to make pitches inside. It makes a big
difference."
Tsao also gave up a solo homer to John Vander Wal leading off the sixth. And
he escaped trouble in the second when the bottom three batters in the Brewers
lineup strung together three consecutive hits to produce a run. But Tsao
escaped further damage and stranded two runners by getting Young to fly out
and striking out Scott Podsednik.
"I feel I got a C," said Tsao, grading his outing, "and hopefully I'll get
better the next time."
That will be Thursday in Cincinnati.
Lopez relieved Tsao and left his pitching line unblemished. After Lopez
committed a balk, the left-hander finished the job he was brought on to do
and retired Podsednik and Geoff Jenkins, both left-handed hitters.
The Rockies gave Tsao the lead in the fourth when they erupted for three runs
after being limited to one hit for three innings by Wes Obermueller, who was
also making his major league debut. Todd Helton led off with a walk, and
Preston Wilson hit his 25th homer. Walker followed with his 10th homer, a
435-foot drive over the center-field wall.
Walker scored from first when center fielder Podsednik didn't cleanly field a
single by Chris Stynes in the second. And Walker drove in the Rockies' final
run with a sacrifice fly, capping the seventh that included run-scoring
doubles from pinch hitter Greg Norton and Helton.
By then, Tsao's first workday in the majors was over, and he was able to start
reflecting on the experience.
"I played baseball since I've been in grade school," Tsao said. "I have never
been so nervous in my whole life."
Tsao's debut was televised in Taiwan and covered by 22 media members from
that country.
"I'm sure he was extremely nervous the first inning," pitcher Jason Jennings
said. "He's obviously pitching for a whole country. I don't know what that
pressure's like. I imagine it's pretty substantial."
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※ 編輯: dachen 來自: 211.21.12.165 (07/29 21:52)