Argentina is known for Messi, Maradona, Carlos Gardel, Leo Dan, Tango, mate, ..., having a claim to the homerun leader in a baseball league half a world away? Granted, he is half Argentine, half Taiwanese but he still counts. At the time of writing, Lin An Ko is 2nd in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) with 26 dingers and leads the league with 82RBI. He also sports a .309 batting average and is a veritable star for the Uni-Lions Baseball Club in Taiwan.
The 23 year old is the son of a Taiwanese father and an Argentinian mother who met while his father was working in the South American nation. He was born in Taiwan however and has always represented the island nation in international competition. Incidentally, his time with the Chinese Taipei national team has involved facing his mother's homeland. That was in the 2016 U23 World Cup in Mexico. According to an interview conducted by Beisbol Argentino, he visited Argentina as 3 year old and is open to suiting up for the Albiceleste according to an interview he gave to Beisbol Argentino.
He has come into the consciousness of international baseball fans under the most unexpected circumstances. As the coronavirus pandemic raged across the world, the Taiwanese case load has been remarkably low allowing CPBL to become the first major baseball league to resume play and the first to admit fans into the seats. The fact that CPBL games are being broadcast in English to a baseball starved worldwide audience has created much needed international exposure for Taiwanese players. This includes the new wave of Taiwanese stars of which Lin An Ko is perhaps the showpiece. He has a clean, elegant left handed saing which can generate seemingly effortless power to all fields. His first half may well have been one of the all-time best in the history of CPBL in this his first full season. (He was called up by Uni-Lions late in 2019) Even with his recent homer drought he still has the capacity to reach the hallowed 30HR and 100RBI milestones which are rare in the 120 game CPBL season. He is a sure-fire top 10 season MVP candidate and has already had his fair share of MVP of the Game dances to do. His 9SB and solid defense suggest he is a potential five tool threat that be an all-time CPBL great. Oh, and he can pitch! Mind you, Uni-Lions have yet to let him do so this season but he can hit 90+MPH with the heater. The sky is the limit here and who knows, we may see him here in America at some point. His Beisol Argentino interview seems to suggest he's receptive to the idea.
With the second half of the CPBL season hitting the home stretch, Uni-Lions sit atop the second half standings after a tough first half but only by a game in a tightly bunched up league table. They are looking to take the second half title and meet the CTBC Brothers in the Taiwan Series. They will look to their Argentinian star to lead the way forward with his bat. All signs suggest he can do that and then some and if he does, I think there will be a lot of happy people cheering Uni-Lions from far away South America. A sip of mate for that!
Note: Link to the Beisbol Argentino interview I mention below.
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