The regular season earlier this week came to a crashing end, with the EDA Rhinos downing the Uni-President Lions 5-2 at the Cheng Ching Lake Baseball Stadium in Kaohsiung.
Nearly 3,000 fans packed the stadium in hope of witnessing history, as the Rhinos’ Kao Kuo-hui looked to conquer the 40-homer plateau on the final day of the regular season after having gone homerless for two straight games.
Even though the slugger out of the former Taipei College of Physical Education did not get the home run that many were hoping to see, going one-for-four from his designated hitter’s role on a night that was filled with anticipation, his 39-homer season is still considered to be one of the greatest-ever in league history.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
“It has been a great run for me to be able to enjoy myself out on the field. It would have been even better if [the 40th homer] had happened, but I am not going to let that bother me,” Kao said after the game.
Kao’s 39 homers surpassed a previous record of 33 that was set in 2007 by then-Uni-President Lions player Tilson Brito, an accomplishment that is likely to go untouched for a long time.
While Kao grabbed most of the media attention, the Lamigo Monkeys also got their share of late-season thrills, with Lin Chih-sheng on Sunday collecting his 30th stolen base on the final game of the regular season to become the first double-30 man — 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases — in league history.
Enjoying one of the finest seasons by a hitter with a .380 batting average, 31 homers and 124 RBIs, the Lamigo slugger has also set a new standard for being the most complete offensive threat in the game by showing off his speed around the base paths.
“It is a distinction that I am very proud of, given the number of excellent players in the league,” Lin said after getting his 30th stolen base.
His double-30 mark is also likely to go unchallenged for some time, as the top hitters have shone away from blazing around the base paths in an effort to reduce the chance of injury.
By virtue of their accomplishments, Kao and Lin have essentially rewritten the standards for a hitter in the game.
With both players in their prime, there is no limit to what they can achieve over the coming two or three seasons.
Their achievements have also made this season one of the most memorable in recent years.
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
Former Formosa Dreamers player Ilkan Karaman was killed in a traffic accident in Datca, Turkey, Turkish media reported yesterday. He was 34. The former Turkish national team player was reportedly hit by a car, the driver of which was allegedly drunk, while he was standing on a sidewalk, Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported. Karaman and his friends were on their way to the beach town of Dalaman to go scuba diving when they stopped at a gas station to buy gasoline, it reported. Karaman was hit by the car while waiting on a sidewalk as his friends were buying gasoline, it
ANKLE PROBLEM: Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin had a disappointing end to their tournament after an injury forced them out of their mixed doubles semi-final Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying on Friday was knocked out in the women’s singles quarter-finals at her last Taipei Open. The world No. 3 lost 21-18, 16-21, 22-24 to Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in a match that stretched 68 minutes at the Taipei Arena. Despite her higher ranking, Tai said she was not too sad about the loss, given her struggle with a lingering knee injury. “Wins and losses are just part of the game. Actually, I think I’m going to lose every single match considering my condition now,” said the five-time champion of the Super 300 event, who has announced plans
RSS