(According to this site, zai huai is a way to say goodbye in Taiwanese. If that site is incorrect, I apologize. Blame the internets.)
Wei-Yin Chen becomes the first Oriole to depart via free agency (note – Gerardo Parra just became the second), agreeing to a five-year deal with the Miami Marlins. Chen, to most fans, was always the Bird with the longest shot to return to Baltimore. Yes, our O’s could certainly use a solid lefty in the rotation – a role that Chen filled quite capably for three years – but with his solid performance since coming to the bigs, he seemed destined to move on. Now that he’s in the National League, I fully expect Chen to continue to evolve as a pitcher, and the weaker lineups over there should greatly aid him with his one main flaw during his tenure in Baltimore, his inability to consistently get deep into ballgames.
That inability ate at the sensibilities of many in Birdland, who were ready to jettison him a year or two ago, despite the fact that he gave the team a chance to win most every time out. Those complaints aside, I’m afraid that this will be a classic case of not appreciating what we had until it’s gone when it comes to the Taiwanese import.
Wei-Yin Chen was the first player from Taiwan ever signed by the Baltimore Orioles when Dan Duquette inked him back in the winter of 2011. The 26-year-old wasn’t nearly the sensation that some other foreign players were, and most O’s fans had no idea who their new southpaw was, where he came from, or what to expect.
He impressed early on, striking out six New York Yankees while allowing just two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings in his MLB debut on April 10, 2012.
Chen was a stabilizing, if unspectacular, figure in that 2012 Buckle Up Birds rotation, making 32 starts and racking up 192.2 innings pitched (still the most of his career) on his way to a 12-11 record and 4.02 ERA.
On July 3 in Seattle, Chen retired the first 19 batters he faced before losing his perfect game bid on a home run, outdueling King Felix Hernandez in the process.
Chen was the starter and winning pitcher in the first playoff win at Oriole Park at Camden Yards since 1997 when, on October 8, he went 6 1/3, allowing just two runs (one earned) in that memorable 3-2 O’s win. Making it even sweeter, Chen bested longtime O’s nemesis Andy Petitte.
He finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting, behind Mike Trout, Yoenis Cespedes, and Yu Darvish. Not bad company.
In 2013, things started right where they left off for Chen. He earned the number two spot in the rotation coming out of Spring Training, and pitched to a 2.53 ERA through five starts in April. That stretch included this gem on April 26 in Oakland, when he allowed no runs and just two hits over eight frames.
At some point during that season, during one of his many, many postgame interviews, Chris Davis was talking about Chen, and when he says “Wei-Yin” in that Texas drawl, it sounds a hell of a lot like “Wayne.” Thus, I took to calling our Taiwanese lefty Wayne Chen, and no matter what you say, I still get a kick out of that.
Unfortunately, it was the year of the oblique injury in Birdland, and Chen wasn’t immune, going on the DL from May 15 – July 10. Wayne made just 23 starts that season, and fell back to earth much like his teammates around him, ultimately going 7-7 with a 4.07 ERA and pitching 137.0 innings.
Chen’s fortunes again followed those of his team in 2014, which was by several measures, his best in the bigs. Yes, he won a career-high 16 games, but pitching for a team that won 96, that shouldn’t be all that hard to do, right? Also, if I only cite pitcher wins on a baseball blog, I’m likely to be voted off the island, and my memory is telling me that Chen benefited from great run support that year.
So what else? Well, his 3.89 FIP, 1.7 BB/9, and 3.9 K/BB were all career-bests.
On July 24 in Seattle (think he likes pitching there?) Chen went eight shutout innings, allowing just five hits.
In the postseason, Chen was again a part of one of the most memorable games in recent Birds history. Once more, he started game two of the ALDS at home, this time against the Detroit Tigers. O’s fans were nervous with Chen facing the righty-heavy Detroit lineup, and that fear proved to be valid. Wei-Yin went just 3.2 IP, allowing five earned runs on two homers and seven hits.
We’ll of course forgive him though, because if Chen hadn’t allowed those runs, maybe the Delmon Young hit never happens, in which case all of our orange souls would be that much poorer.
In his follow-up in game three of the ALCS in Kansas City, Chen was better, allowing two runs in 5 1/3. Of course, two was all the Royals would need that night. Still, it was a memorable night for Wei-Yin, as he became the first Taiwanese pitcher to ever start an ALCS game.
2015 Chen showed that he was continually evolving and learning to pitch in the big leagues, even after three successful seasons. At age 29 (30 in July), Chen’s two-seam fastball (FT%) usage was the highest of his career, according to FanGraphs:
Though Chen’s win total dropped from a career-high 16 to a career-low 11, the numbers say he was just as good as, if not better than, ever. He posted a career-low 3.34 ERA, career-best 124 ERA+, and his K/9, BB/9 and HR/9 rates were all right around his career average.
June stands out when you look at Chen’s game-by-game stats for this past season. He struck out 28 in 25 innings, including a stretch where he struck out nine batters in two of three starts.
Naysayers will point to his 4.16 FIP as evidence that he’s due for some regression, but again, the bet here is that moving from the AL to the NL will preclude that from happening to any appreciable degree.
Like his O’s teammates, Chen had trouble both keeping the ball in the park – he surrendered 28 dingers to tie his career high (2012) – and going deep into games – he finished the eighth inning just four times. Still, he went at least 6.0 in 21 of his 31 starts, and on a team where guys like Ubaldo Jimenez, Bud Norris, Chris Tillman, Miguel Gonzalez, and even Kevin Gausman were all over the place in terms of consistency, Chen was a rock.
The final start of his Birds tenure was pretty representative Chen. 6 IP, 2 ER, 4 H (of course, a solo homer in there would have helped my point here a bit).
This is my face when O’s fans say the team won’t miss Wei-Yin Chen:
Thanks for everything, Wayne. Enjoy the Sunshine State. Try to talk them out of trading you to the AL East every July.
