Chien-Fu Yang

From BR Bullpen

Chien-Fu Yang (陽建福)

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 5' 10", Weight 172 lb.

Biographical Information[edit]

Chien-Fu Yang has pitched for the Sinon Bulls and Chinese Taipei national team. He has been timed at 94 mph, routinely hitting 90 on the radar gun. He is also noted for his slider.

Yang was 0-2 with a 1.46 ERA for Taiwan in the 2000 Haarlem Baseball Week, in his national team debut. He was with Taiwan for the 2001 Asian Championship (when they won Gold) and the 2001 Baseball World Cup (9 shutout innings, 1-0). He was again with the team for the 2003 Asian Championship.

After completing his military service, Yang began his professional career in 2003, going 7-2 with an amazing 1.42 ERA for the Sinon Bulls. In 2004, the right-hander was 15-6 with a 1.77 ERA. He struck out 163 and allowed 118 hits in 172 2/3 innings. He was second in the CPBL in ERA, .04 behind Ying-Chieh Lin. He continued his dominance into the postseason and was named the Taiwan Series MVP. In the 2004 Olympics, he allowed two runs in three innings of relief work. He relieved Chin-Hui Tsao in the 10th inning of a 3-3 game against Japan and immediately allowed a game-losing sacrifice fly to Michihiro Ogasawara to score the inherited runner from third base.

Yang battled injury in 2005 and was 2-1 with a 5.93 ERA in his limited appearances for the Bulls. During the 2006 World Baseball Classic, Yang replaced Hong-Chih Kuo in the 7th inning against Japan. He walked Hitoshi Tamura and two wild pitches brought in inherited runner Nobuhiko Matsunaka. He then struck out both Kazuhiro Wada and Takahiro Arai. Ryoji Aikawa flew out to end the inning as Japan won 14-3 behind the mercy rule.

In the 2006 regular season, Chien-Fu bounced back somewhat, going 13-11 with a 4.06 ERA but clearly was not up to his old form. In the 2006 Intercontinental Cup, Yang was 1-0 with a 1.62 ERA and struck out 17 in 16 2/3 innings, allowing 11 hits. He led the Cup in strikeouts.

Yang was 7-11 with a save and a 3.68 ERA for Sinon in 2007. In the 2007 Baseball World Cup, he was 2-1 with a 1.00 ERA as their second-best hurler, walking only 2 in 18 innings. He allowed one run in six in a win over Japan and shut down Panama before taking a 3-0 loss to South Korea. In the 2007 Asian Championship, Yang allowed four runs in six innings of work in taking the loss against Japan.

Yang was back with Taiwan for the 2008 Final Olympic Qualification Tournament, helping them win a spot in the 2008 Olympics. He was 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA, allowing 9 hits (all singles) and 3 walks in 14 innings. He shut down a Mexican national team with several former major leaguers and then threw a 4-hit shutout against Australia. Only Steve Green had a lower ERA in the tourney. Yang tied Alexandre Periard, Green, Scott Richmond, Min-han Son, Kwang-hyun Kim and teammate Chien-Ming Chiang for the most wins in the competition; unlike Chiang or Periard, he got his wins against serious competitors rather than bottom-dwellers.

Yang started 2008 with a 4-9 record and 4.98 ERA in the CPBL but was a surprise choice for the Taiwan national team for the 2008 Olympics, presumably due to his past international performance. He was horrible in Beijing, costing Taiwan two games and a chance at the medal round. He was 0-1 with a 14.75 ERA, allowing 8 hits, 12 runs (6 earned) and 3 walks in 3 2/3 IP. He failed to protect a 7-3 Taiwan lead against host China in the 12th inning, allowing a RBI single to Chao Wang, a bases-loaded walk to Lingfeng Sun and a 2-run single to Fenglian Hou; on Hou's hit, Chien-Ming Chang made a throwing error to score the 8th and losing run in a huge upset loss for Taiwan. Despite this poor showing, I-Chung Hong turned to Yang against South Korea; he allowed 7 runs in one inning, capped by a 3-run homer by Young-min Ko. He avoided taking the loss when Taiwan rallied to tie it before dropping the game. Returning to the CPBL, he lost his last five decisions to wrap up the year 4-14 with a 5.32 ERA. He wound up leading the 2008 CPBL in losses.

Yang's woes continued in 2009 with a 3-10, 5.76 campaign. He rebounded and then some in 2010, starting 11-4 with a 2.28 ERA and making Taiwan's squad for the 2010 Asian Games, on a roster with few CPBL players and composed mainly of Nippon Pro Baseball and minor league hurlers.

Yang is somehow related to Chung-Shou Yang, Sen Yang, Tai-Shan Chang, Cheng-Wei Chang and Chih-Yuan Chen.

Sources[edit]

Retrieved from "https://www.baseball-reference.com/bpv/index.php?title=Chien-Fu_Yang&oldid=1270548"