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Chiming Chen – Starting Pitcher – Xi’an Attack – 95.6% First Ballot

Chiming Chen was a 6’4’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Yangquan, a city with around 1,300,000 people in the Shanxi Province. Chen had solid control and movement along with above average stuff. His velocity peaked in the 94-96 mph range with his fastball, but he had a great slider, plus a good curveball and changeup. Despite posting a ton of innings in his career, Chen had very few complete games. However, he was considered an ironman who essentially never missed a start. Apart from his rookie year, he tossed 220+ innings every year for two decades.

Chen was picked in the second round of the 1971 CLB Draft, going 32^nd overall to Xi’an. He was split between the rotation and bullpen with iffy results as a rookie. Chen was a full-time starter and legitimate ace from year two onward. Chen won his lone Pitcher of the Year in his sophomore season, leading the Northern League in wins at 23-5 and quality starts with 32. He would have better seasons by WAR with the Attack, but was only once more a POTY finalist with a third place in 1976. Chen did also win a Silver Slugger in 1975 with a .309/.319/.441 slash over 76 plate appearances.

Xi’an emerged as a contender in the mid 1970s with five playoff appearances from 1974-79. The Attack won the China Series in 1974 and 1976 as well. Chen’s playoff stats were actually below average with a 3.24 ERA over 75 innings with 75 strikeouts and an 86 ERA+. However, his steady production was a big reason for their consistent success. The team would opt to retire his #3 uniform at the end of his career. For the run with Xi’an, Chen had a 130-60 record, 2.18 ERA, 1770.1 innings, 1870 strikeouts, 292 walks, a 64 FIP-, and 54.7 WAR.

At age 29, Chen opted for free agency and signed a seven-year, $3,050,000 deal with Hong Kong, who had been the league runner-up in 1978. He had the same steady production with the Champions, taking third in 1982 Pitcher of the Year voting and second in 1984. Chen twice led the Southern League in quality starts, twice in K/BB, and once in wins. HK also had some playoff success, earning berths in 1982, 84, and 85. In 1982, Hong Kong won its first-ever title, giving Chen his first ring. Still, his playoff stats were unremarkable compared to his regular season production, posting a 3.04 ERA and 85 ERA+ over 47.1 innings with 48 strikeouts.

Chen notably became the second CLB pitcher to reach 200 career wins in 1983. In total with Hong Kong, he had a 110-56 record, 1.88 ERA, 1605.2 innings, 1702 strikeouts, 191 walks, 69 FIP-, and 44.4 WAR. In 1986, Chen was in the final year of his contract and the Champions seemed poised for a rebuild. HK opted to trade the 35-year old Chen at the deadline along with $1,570,000 to Tianjin in exchange for four prospects. The Jackrabbits were in a fierce battle with Beijing for Northern League supremacy with the last three CLB rings split between them.

Chen helped Tianjin in that final push, finishing first in the NL at 110-52. They met and defeated Beijing in the China Series, giving Chen his fourth ring. This time, he had a great postseason with a 0.75 ERA over three starts and 24 innings. For his entire career, his playoff ERA was 2.79 with a 10-6 record over 161.1 innings, 159 strikeouts, and 3.3 WAR. Chen was in a very unique position for any world player to have four rings coming from three different teams.

He was a free agent again after finishing 1986 with Tianjin and decided to leave China. Chen made his way to New Zealand and OBA as Christchurch gave him a three-year, $2,360,000 deal. The annual $820,000 salary was a hefty raise from his prior peak of $484,000. The Chinooks were hopeful that Chen’s durability would translate excellently into the four-man rotation environment of OBA.

That gamble paid off, as Chen was second in Pitcher of the Year voting in both 1987 and 1988 for Christchurch. He led the Australasia League in ERA in 1987 and for the run had a 50-30 record, 2.34 ERA, 739.2 innings, 682 strikeouts, and 20.8 WAR. Chen almost got his fifth ring in1988, but the Chinooks were defeated by Honolulu in the Oceania Championship. His contract expired for 1990 and the now 39 year old Chen found another big OBA deal, signing for three years and $3,100,000 with Port Moresby.

Chen had two respectable seasons with the Mud Hens, posting a 32-27 record, 2.74 ERA, 545.1 innings, 474 strikeouts, and 9.1 WAR. He was traded by Port Moresby in the third year of his deal to Brisbane for a prospect. Chen had another solid steady season with the Black Bears. It seemed like he could keep going if he wanted to, but Chen decided to retire following the 1992 campaign at age 41. For his OBA tenure, he had a 96-72 record, 2.54 ERA, 1543 innings, 1368 strikeouts, and 35.2 WAR. Very impressive for six seasons starting at age 36.

For his entire professional career, Chen had a 344-191 record, 2.19 ERA, 4997.2 innings, 5031 strikeouts, 721 walks, 556/700 quality starts, 70 FIP-, and 137.5 WAR. He very quietly had an incredibly impressive and lengthy tenure. For just in CLB, he had a 248-119 record, 2.03 ERA, 3454.2 innings, 3663 strikeouts, 102.3 WAR, 404/470 quality starts, and 66 FIP-. Chen retired CLB’s all-time wins leader and still holds that distinction as of 2037. He’s also second in WAR, fifth in strikeouts, fifth in innings, and first in starts (470).

If Chen had remained in China for his whole run, his longevity may have given him the tip-top spots in a lot of statistics. Still, he often times is overlooked by contemporaries who had more hardware or league-leading seasons. One Pitcher of the Year award and limited black ink is surprising considering his final tallies. Although he might not get talked about as much in the CLB GOAT pitcher debates as he perhaps should, Chen’s HOF resume was unmistakable, taking a first ballot spot at 95.6%.



Nick Wei – Center Field/Pitcher – Hangzhou Hens – 78.8% First Ballot

Nick Wei was a 6’3’, 200 pound left-handed outfielder and pitcher from Xiangtan, a city with around 2,750,000 people in south central China’s Hunan province. He was CLB’s first two-way star player with his biggest accolades as a position player. Wei was a good contact hitter with a solid pop in his bat. His eye and strikeout rates were a bit subpar, but he reliably averaged around 25 doubles and 25 home runs per 162 games. Wei had only okay baserunning abilities, but he showed excellent range in center field. His non-pitching starts were almost exclusively in center and he was a great defender. Wei had three Gold Gloves, one in center and two as a pitcher.

On the mound, Wei relied on good control with respectable stuff and movement. He had an extreme groundball tendency with an arsenal of cutter, slider, and changeup. On top of his unique skillset, Wei was known for being an excellent clubhouse leader and hard worker. This helped make him one of the most endearing faces of Chinese baseball in its early years.

Wei was picked second overall in the 1973 CLB Draft by Hangzhou. It wasn’t immediately clear if the Hens would try to limit him to only one role. In his first two seasons, Hangzhou didn’t use him at all as a pitcher. Wei had an excellent rookie season in center with 7.1 WAR, earning a Gold Glove and the Rookie of the Year. He stayed in center in 1975, taking his first of 11 Silver Sluggers. However, he suffered a torn meniscus in the summer, which put his future status in doubt.

1976 marked his first season as a two-way hitter and one of the best combined seasons anyone has ever had. In 132 games, Wei posted a 9.5 WAR at the plate and led the Northern League in slugging, OPS, and wRC+. He wasn’t incredible on the mound, but he added a solid 4.2 WAR and 234.2 innings with a 2.65 ERA. Wei racked up the hardware, winning his first MVP and also two Silver Sluggers, one as a center fielder and one as a pitcher.

Wei also played for the Chinese national team in seven editions of the World Baseball Championship from 1975-87. He had seven seasons playing the field, posting 82 games, 85 hits, 57 runs, 36 home runs, 63 RBI, a .295/.366/.694 slash, and 4.9 WAR. In four editions, he pitched 29.1 innings with a 2.15 ERA, 34 strikeouts, and 0.7 WAR. Wei was named WBC Tournament MVP in 1978 and took third in MVP voting in 1975. He was also part of the 1979 World Championship team for China.

Wei won MVP four times in Hangzhou (1976, 77, 78, 81). He didn’t lead in stats typically due to a smaller number of games relatively. Wei won Silver Slugger at both P and CF in 1978. His remaining Sluggers came as a pitcher in 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, and 83. Wei was also an MVP finalist with a third place in 1979, second place in 1980, and third in 1983. He also had a third place in 1978 for Pitcher of the Year, although he never won that accolade.

Hangzhou had been a middling team when Wei arrived, but he did help them to some success to end the 1970s. The Hens made playoff appearances in 1978, 79, and 81. They fell in the semifinal in the outer two years, but Hangzhou would win it all in 1979. Wei was the semifinal MVP that year and posted a .290/.347/.478 slash and 0.9 WAR over 20 playoff games at the plate, plus a 1.26 ERA over five starts and 43 playoff innings with 40 strikeouts and 1.1 WAR. In April of 1979, the Hens gave Wei a massive eight-year, $3,696,000 contract extension.

The physical demands of playing both ways started to catch up to Wei as he entered his 30s. Smaller injuries cost him games here and there with his last great full season coming in 1983 with 8.0 WAR at the plate and 5.7 WAR on the mound. He’d never play more than 100 games in a season again after that. Wei suffered a torn labrum in July 1984 that shelved him for eight months. He partially tore the labrum again in both 1985 and 1986.

By this stage without a full strength Wei, Hangzhou had fallen towards the bottom of the standings. Just before the 1987 season, Wei was part of a six-player trade that sent him to Dongguan. He had no hard feelings against the Hens franchise, who would retire his #23 uniform just a few years later. When on the field, Wei still could provide excellent value, especially with his defense. He only made 53 starts in 88 games for the Donkeys, but still posted 5.4 WAR in center. Wei was moved to the bullpen as a pitcher, but still offered 132 innings.

A strained hamstring cost him the final two months of 1987 and Dongguan didn’t re-sign him. A free agent for the first time at age 36, the legend of his past triumphs had reached America. MLB’s Charlotte signed him to a two-year, $3,160,000 deal with the intent of only using Wei as an outfielder. He started half of 1988, but struggled adjusting to MLB’s competition level. In the first week of 1989, Wei suffered a broken bone in his elbow that knocked him out the entire season. He decided to retire with that at age 38.

For his CLB career as a hitter, Wei had 1435 games and 1296 starts, 1452 hits, 639 runs, 239 doubles, 221 home runs, 665 RBI, a .290/.333/.483 slash, 170 wRC+, and 84.1 WAR. As a pitcher, he had a 148-92 record, 2.29 ERA, 2306.1 innings, 2358 strikeouts, 469 walks, 220/290 quality starts, a 79 FIP-, and 51.5 WAR. His combined 135.6 WAR at induction was behind only Junjie Hsiung’s 152.6 and as of 2037, it is still fourth-best among all CLB players.

However, some of the Hall of Fame voters wanted to judge him just as a center fielder or just as a pitcher. His batting WAR was largely helped by great defense and even by the standards of the low-offense CLB, his batting accumulations alone are borderline. The same could be said for his pitching stats. Yet, Wei’s combined stats are undeniable and he was well deserving of the first ballot nod. Many historians scratch their head at Wei only getting 78.8%, but he earned his spot to round out the impressive 1993 CLB class.