After announcing the regular season Gold Glove and Best Ten award winners back on October 25, the CPBL held its annual Awards Ceremony last night when Most Valuable Player (MVP), Most Improved Player (MIP), and Rookie of the Year (ROY) recipients were revealed.
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| Source: sports.ltn.com.tw |
Fubon Guardians relief pitcher Chang Keng-Hao beat out fellow pitchers Wang Yueh-Lin (Monkeys) and Lin Hua-Ching (Monkeys) to take home the MIP Award. After being sidelined with an injury for most of 2015, Chang worked his way back in 2016 and received a final stamp of approval this year with the award. Chang led the league in appearances this year (66 games) and saw his ERA drop by almost four points from 6.64 in 2016 to this year’s 2.80.
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| Source: sports.ltn.com.tw |
The ROY Award went to Chinatrust Brothers outfielder Chan Tzu-Hsien, who beat out Guardians third basemen Lee Tsung-Hsien and starting pitcher Lin Cheng-Hsien. In his first full season, Chan hit .350, clobbering 17 homers and driving in 60 in only 83 games. The future is bright for the young outfielder.
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| Source: sports.ltn.com.tw |
But the night belonged to MVP winner Wang Po-Jung of the Lamigo Monkeys. Pitchers Mike Loree (Guardians) and Chen Yu-Hsun (Monkeys) were the other two finalists but the result was a foregone conclusion. Wang dominated the league to the tune of a .407 average, 31 home runs, 101 runs driven in, a .491 on-base percentage, a .700 slugging percentage, 16 stolen bases, and 65 walks (15 intentional). The honor is Wang’s second in a row and as unbelievable as it is, Wang outdid himself this year by taking home a CPBL record seven awards (he received only six last year). In addition to the MVP award, Wang will add most hits, highest average, most home runs, most RBI, Best 10, and a Gold Glove trophy to his collection. He is the first Taiwanese player to win the quadruple crown (Sinon Bulls Jay Kirkpatrick accomplished the feat in 1998) and will go home with his wallet overflowing (NTD 530,000 in prize money).
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| Source: sports.ltn.com.tw |
The Gold Glove and Best Ten Awards were also given out during the ceremony along with the 2017 CPBL Champions Award to the Lamigo Monkeys (most of the team showed up, including Segovia and his family, Spruill, and Downs with his family). Guardians SP Mike Loree took home the triple crown in pitching (most wins, most strikeouts, lowest ERA) in addition to his Best Ten award. Loree left early to catch a flight home (very admirable he flew in for the ceremony by the way) but dropped some major hints about his future when he told the media he would come back to collect his trophies next year. Loree also received a very cool jacket from his team, commemorating his accomplishment.
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| Source: sports.ltn.com.tw |
The other noteworthy story of the evening was the appearance of Brothers outfielder Chang Cheng-Wei (Best Ten) and shortstop Wang Sheng-Wei (Gold Glove and most stolen bases) who were both unable to contain their emotions during their acceptance speeches. Mired in controversy over the last month because of being locked out of the Brothers post-season roster, both players showed how much they have been affected for the first time publicly. It was an emotional (and awkward) moment for both as their future in baseball remains unclear.
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| Source: sports.ltn.com.tw |
2017 CPBL Award Winners
Award
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Winner
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Prize Money (NTD)
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Champion
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Lamigo Monkeys
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500,000
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Best Manager
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Hung I-Chung (Monkeys)
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100,000
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MVP
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Wang Po-Jung (Monkeys)
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100,000
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ROY
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Chan Tzu-Hsien (Brothers)
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80,000
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MIP
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Chang Keng-Hao (Guardians)
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50,000
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Lowest ERA
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Mike Loree (Guardians)
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100,000
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Most Wins
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Mike Loree (Guardians)
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100,000
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Most Strikeouts
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Mike Loree (Guardians)
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80,000
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Best Closer
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Chen Yu-Hsun (Monkeys)
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100,000
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Best Relief Pitcher
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Wang Yao-Lin (Monkeys)
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50,000
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Most Home Runs
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Wang Po-Jung (Monkeys)
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100,000
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Most Hits
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Wang Po-Jung (Monkeys)
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80,000
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Most RBI
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Wang Po-Jung (Monkeys)
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100,000
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Highest Average
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Wang Po-Jung (Monkeys)
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100,000
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Most Stolen Bases
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Wang Sheng-Wei (Brothers)
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80,000
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2017 CPBL Best Ten (NTD 30,000 Prize Money)
Position
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Winner
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Pitcher
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Mike Loree (Guardians)
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Catcher
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Fang Ke-Wei (Guardians)
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First Base
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Lin Yi-Chuan (Guardians)
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Second Base
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Kuo Yen-Wen (Monkeys)
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Third Base
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Chen Yung-Chi (Lions)
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Shortstop
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Chen Chieh-Hsien (Lions)
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Outfield
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Wang Po-Jung (Monkeys)
Chang Chih-Hao (Brothers)
Chang Cheng-Wei (Brothers)
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Designated Hitter
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Lin Hung-Yu (Monkeys)
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2017 CPBL Gold Glove (NTD 20,000 Prize Money)
Position
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Winner
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Pitcher
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Orlando Roman (Brothers)
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Catcher
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Fang Ke-Wei (Guardians)
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First Base
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Kao Kuo-Ching (Lions)
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Second Base
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Kuo Yen-Wen (Monkeys)
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Third Base
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Lee Tsung-Hsien (Guardians)
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Shortstop
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Wang Sheng-Wei (Brothers)
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Outfield
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Wang Po-Jung (Monkeys)
Lin Che-Hsuan (Guardians)
Chang Chih-Hao (Brothers)
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With Mike Loree suggesting he will return to the CPBL in 2018, the question is whether Zeke Spruill and Wang Po-Jung will do the same or move on the KBO or NPB.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Spruill will go back to the KBO and if he were to go to the NPB, it would've happened back in July or August. I think Spruill will be back next year. As for Wang, I think the NPB is more realistic. If he does well in the upcoming Asia Series that will really boost his stock. The only roadblock will be the third year of professional experience.
DeleteIt will be great for the CPBL if Spruill returns in 2018. He was a true ace this year and could be better next year with a year of CPBL experience under his belt.
ReplyDeleteAny idea what the Lamigo Monkeys would ask an NPB team for Wang's rights? $500,000 or more?
Spruill has signed with the Texas Rangers (minor league deal) so the Monkeys will be looking to fill a huge void.
DeleteThey usually have all their guys lined up at this time so news should be filtering out in the next month or so.
Any rumors about which CPBL teams will be looking for new foreign pitchers to start the 2018 season? Any rumors about whom teams might be interested in?
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of anything yet but I will let you know if I do!
DeleteCPBL teams may well be waiting for the Winter League seasons to play out before they attempt to recruit any new pitchers for 2018. I note that there are a number of pitchers who pitched in the Independent-A leagues in 2017, and are thus in the CPBL's preferred price range, who are pitching well in the Caribbean Winter Leagues this year. The level of play in the Caribbean Winter Leagues is very similar to that in the CPBL, and CPBL teams have signed players out of the Winter Leagues in the past.
Delete