The Baltimore Lords' veteran left fielder Chia-ch'ing Chou, who the team signed as an international free agent out of Taiwan in late November of 1975, is one of the best pure power hitters in the game when he is healthy. Staying healthy is the problem though.
And yesterday it was announced that the oft-injured 31-year old would miss the entire 1979 season due to a ruptured MCL. It is a tough loss for the Lords who it appears will now turn the position over to 25-year old Eddie Evans, who was the 11th pick overall in the 1971 draft. The Lords got Evans in a trade with Brooklyn at the end of the 1977 season. Evans is a hard worker, has great speed and even better base stealing skills, and is a strong defensive player. The thing that has kept him from reaching his previously expected great potential is an inability to make consistent bat to ball contact. He likely will hit a fair number of home runs if he can just make better contact and he does have a good eye at the plate, so now is his time to show whether he can turn his raw tools into actual big league production.