Announcing that he is back and ready to challenge the top hitters, former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Kuo Hong-chih (郭泓志) is an “NT$40 million dollar man” after becoming the highest paid baseball player in Taiwan’s history.
Kuo, 32, donned the orange-colored home uniform of the Uni-President Lions team, with the number “00” number on its back, as details of his record-breaking contract were announced at a press conference in Taipei yesterday.
The three-year contract with the Tainan-based Lions is worth a total of NT$ 40.8 million (US$ 1.4 million), with NT$ 11 million for the first year, NT$ 11.6 million for the second and NT$ 12.2 million for the third, plus NT$ 2 million of incentive bonuses each year.
Photo: CNA
“It is an honor to wear the uniform of the Lions team, because Tainan City is my hometown. I grew up and learned to play baseball there,” Kuo said, “In fact, I know the Tainan ballpark quite well, because it was near my home in the old days. In junior high school I was a ball boy for the Lions team, watching the players train and picking up batting practice balls for them, so it is a special feeling to come back and play in a familiar environment, while contributing to Taiwan’s baseball development.”
The lefty fireballer told his new team that he is ready to take the mound either as a starter, or as a reliever in late-inning situations. Kuo joked that he can also slot into the designated hitter position because he had hit a home run for the Dodgers, the first ever homer by a Taiwanese player in the MLB.
“This is a whole new challenge for me, to pitch against the best hitters in Taiwan, but I’m really looking forward to facing these guys next season” Kuo said as he listed his main pitching rivals: Lin Yi-chuan (林益全) of the EDA Rhinos, Chen Chin-feng (陳金鋒) of the Lamigo Monkeys and Peng Cheng-min (彭政閔) of the Brother Elephants.
On choosing “00” for his shirt number, Kuo said: “It means starting anew from zero again, that I’m back to make a new beginning.”
The 32-year-old was with the Los Angeles Dodgers team on the major league roster for most of the seven seasons from 2005 to 2011. He wrapped up his MLB career with 218 game appearances, for a 13-17 record with 3.73 ERA, 13 saves, and 345 strikeouts.
Kuo’s time at the Dodgers was avidly followed by Taiwanese fans and his return home is predicted to swell ballpark attendances.
Barcelona star Lamine Yamal would be motivated by criticism ahead of the Clasico, Barcelona assistant coach Marcus Sorg said yesterday. Teenage winger Yamal has been in the spotlight in the Spanish capital after joking that Real Madrid “steal” and “complain” during an appearance on a social media stream. Champions Barca face Real Madrid today in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu, looking for a fifth consecutive win over their rivals. “Lamine is a top player and I think [the criticism] will be motivating for him,” Sorg told a news conference. “I hope we all see him tomorrow [give] the best performance.” The 18-year-old Spain
‘A HISTORIC moment’: ‘I think we all need to take a step back and appreciate Leo Messi is playing in Major League Soccer,’ league commissioner Don Garber said Lionel Messi raised the Golden Boot. He then got Inter Miami started with his head. The Argentine opened the scoring with a diving header in the first half, then capped the scoring in the 96th minute as Inter Miami opened the MLS playoffs with a 3-1 win over Nashville SC in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference best-of-three first-round series on Friday night. Messi and Ian Fray had the assists on Tadeo Allende’s second-half tally for Inter Miami, who now get two chances to advance out of the first round for the first time in Messi’s two-and-a-half-year tenure with the team. Game
‘COMPLETE GAME’: ‘To be honest, I’m not sure about the history, but I’m very happy about what I did today,’ Yamamoto said through a translator after the game Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched a World Series game from another era. Sandy Koufax had October outings like this, and so did Orel Hershiser, but those types of performances have vanished in modern baseball. Until this 178cm starter from Japan delivered like the aces of old. Yamamoto threw a four-hitter for his second consecutive complete game, the first in the World Series since 2015, and the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 on Saturday night to tie their best-of-seven matchup at one game apiece. “It’s kind of the throwback,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “When he starts a game, he
Sean Dyche on Thursday achieved in his first game with Nottingham Forest what predecessor Ange Postecoglou could not in eight matches in charge: Win. Under its new coach, Nottingham Forest presented a concentrated display resulting in a 2-0 victory over Porto in the UEFA Europa League. It was the first victory for Nottingham in the competition and only the second overall this season, while Porto were defeated for the first time this season. Morgan Gibbs-White converted from the penalty spot in the 19th minute at the City Ground in West Bridgford, England. Igor Jesus doubled the advantage from another penalty in the 77th
RSS