Bruce Chen has decided to forgo a chance to pitch with China in the upcoming 2013 World Baseball Classic. Chen pitched for Panama in the first two Classics, but this time around he was seeking to pitch for the country of his grandparents’ birth.
Born in Panama, Chen’s grandparents are from China, so he attempted to gather all documentation that he could find regarding their birth in order to secure a spot on the Chinese team. However, his eligibility was still pending official approval.
Instead of waiting, he decided to simply forgo the chance.
Instead, Chen will focus on pitching for the Kansas City Royals where he will compete for a spot in the starting rotation. The Royals rotation got a face lift in the offseason with the additions of James Shields, Wade Davis, and Ervin Santana. Chen will need to focus on returning to his 2010-11 form where he was one of the top KC starters.
This season he will be competing as the fifth starter with returning Royals pitchers Luke Hochevar and Luis Mendoza.
This post was written by
Eric Bynum is Managing Editor here at Baseball de World and an ESL teacher in South Korea. He has played and/or written about baseball for the past 30 years and is an avid Atlanta Braves fan. Eric also writes for Braves Baseball World and for Call to the Pen.
