Yi-Feng Kuo
From BR Bullpen
Yi-Feng Kuo (郭一峰)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 11", Weight 205 lb.
- Born March 24, 1976 in Taitung County Taiwan
[edit] Biographical Information
Yi-Feng Kuo was under the Mendoza line in 8 of his first 9 seasons in Taiwan before a productive 2008.
Kuo debuted in 1999 with the Wei Chuan Dragons, going 2 for 23. In 2000, he hit .148/.227/.227 for the Brother Elephants. During 2001, Kuo batted .211/.298/.289 in 75 games for the most productive offensive season of his 20s. In '02, he hit .198/.271/.229. The next year, his batting line was .175/.236/.229 in 50 contests.
At age 28, Kuo hit .143/.224/.182 in 39 games. In 2005, he batted .154/.242/.216 in 68 games. Playing 32 games in 2006, he hit .179/.192/.229. In 2007, Yi-Feng batted .179/.225/.226 in 40 games.
Kuo improved significantly in 2008, hitting .274/.359/.386 and throwing out 21 of 41 attempted base-stealers, clearly reaching career bests in fielding and hitting. He won a Gold Glove and made the Best Ten as the CPBL's best catcher, both firsts.
Despite his fine 2008, Kuo's career batting line after 10 seasons was .192/.268/.267.
In the 2009 World Baseball Classic, Kuo backed up Chih-Kang Kao at catcher but did not get into a game. His last season was 2009, when he hit .234/.324/.309 to finish at .202/.277/.273 in 570 career games. In early 2010, he was banned for life (along with numerous teammates) for his involvement in a game-throwing scandal.
