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.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to