Boston Red Sox have a Lin, too — Che-Hsuan Lin

FORT MYERS, Fla. — In the first Spring Training game for the RedSox, Che-Hsuan Lin had 2 hits and a home run in his two at-bats. Lin had 3 RBIs in the day. Darnell McDonald had this advice for Che-Hsuan Lin, the Red Sox rookie outfielder from Taiwan.

“I told him, ‘Tell everybody that Jeremy is part of your family and you’ll be OK,”‘ McDonald said. “I told him I want a ‘Lin’ Sox jersey, and I’m going to tell everybody they’re cousins.”

Jeremy Lin, the basketball guard who spawned Linsanity and is in Boston Sunday with the New York Knicks, and Che-Hsuan Lin, the 23-year-old outfielder who finished last season playing in Triple-A Pawtucket, are not related.

“In Taiwan,”‘ said Mickey Jiang, the member of the Sox minor league staff who cheerfully agreed to translate for Lin, “their last name is as common as Smith here. But Che-Hsuan knew his teammates would have fun with him about it.”

But unlike the basketball player, who slipped under the radar until the Knicks in desperation gave him a chance, the Red Sox have tracked their Lin since he was in high school. (Jeremy was born in the United States, but his parents emigrated from Taiwan to the U.S. in the 1970s.) Che-Hsuan said he was a sophomore when Jon Deeble and Craig Shipley, who together scoured Asia for talent until Shipley abruptly left the club last winter, told them the Sox wanted to sign him when he graduated.

And while his bat has kept him from being at the top of Red Sox prospect lists — SoxProspects.com has him ranked No. 27 in their latest rankings — Lin’s defensive skills have made him one of the most intriguing young players in camp. Especially since there are jobs to be won in the Sox outfield.

via Sox have a Lin, too — give him a chance – Boston Red Sox Blog – ESPN Boston.