Chih-Kang Kao

From BR Bullpen

Chih-Kang Kao (高志綱)

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 5' 10", Weight 165 lb.

BR Register Page

Biographical Information[edit]

Chih-Kang Kao is a catcher who has played for Taiwan's national team in three different decades.

Kao appeared with Taiwan in the 1999 Intercontinental Cup when he was 18 years old. He hit .238/.277/.286 as the starting catcher and threw out 5 of 12 would-be base-stealers while making no errors. He helped Taiwan win Gold in the 2001 Asian Championship. In the 2001 Baseball World Cup, he was 0 for 2 with two walks as the backup to I-Chung Hong. He hit .200/.250/.300 as the starting backstop in the 2002 Intercontinental Cup and struck out in 10 of 30 at-bats. In the 2002 Haarlem Baseball Week, he was 6 for 16 with four walks and a double. He was 6th in the competition in average and tied Eric Patterson for third in OBP. He tied for 4th with 4 runs and tied for second with four walks, trailing only Hensley Meulens. In the 2002 World University Championship, Chih-Kang hit only .130/.200/.217 and threw out three of six attempted base-stealers.

In the 2003 Asian Championship, Kao split catching duties with Chun-Chang Yeh as Taiwan earned a spot in the 2004 Olympics. He hit a clutch walk-off single against Woong-Cheon Cho of South Korea in the 10th inning. At age 23, Kao was 3 for 18 with a walk in the 2004 Haarlem Baseball Week. He remained with Taiwan for the 2004 Olympics and backed up Chun-Chang Yeh. Kao had a single in his only at-bat in those Summer Games and played 4 2/3 innings behind the plate.

Kao turned pro in 2005 after he was drafted by the Uni-President Lions in the first round of the 2004 CPBL Draft. He batted just .228/.308/.299 that season but threw out almost 40% of attempted base-stealers. Kao was the third-string catcher for Taiwan in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and did not play in the tournament. In the 2006 CPBL season, the Lions backstop hit .316/.377/.402, showing major strides in his second campaign but the Best Ten went to Hsin-Min Wang. He was selected into the 2006 CPBL All-Star Game, and he was 1-for-1 with a RBI double. Kao hit .313/.333/.375 in the 2006 Taiwan Series, but the Lions were swept by the La New Bears. He concluded a busy year with an appearance in the 2006 Intercontinental Cup, he hit .267/.313/.267 with no runs produced in eight games, splitting catching duties with Yeh. Kao threw out both players trying to steal against him.

The Taichung native hit .294/.356/.396 for Uni-President in 2007, and he had 49 runs and 47 RBI in 303 AB. He won his first Best Ten as the league's top catcher. Kao hit .286/.394/.357 in the 2007 Taiwan Series to help the Lions beat the Bears in 7 games. He was 0 for 8 as the starting Taiwanese catcher in the 2007 Asian Championship. He played for Taiwan in the 2008 Final Olympic Qualification Tournament, hitting .182/.357/.273 and throwing out 3 of 5 base-runners, seeing a bit more playing time than Yeh. He drove in one of their two runs in a 2-0 win over the German national team, blooping a single off of André Hughes to score Kuo-Hui Lo. Kao was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts in the 2008 Olympics as Taiwan's third-stringer behind Yeh and Feng-Min Chen.

Kao hit .241/.300/.295 in the 2008 CPBL in an off-year. He only hit .167/.192/.250 in the 2008 Taiwan Series, and the Lions beat the Brother Elephants in 7 games. Kao was 1 for 6 as Taiwan's catcher in the 2009 World Baseball Classic; his lone hit was off of Jung Bong. Kao hit 12 doubles in May 2009 to set a new CPBL record for the month (the old mark had been 10). He also broke Tilson Brito's team record by scoring a run in 13 consecutive games, and that is still the longest streak for a catcher in CPBL history as of 2023. Kao also became the first local player to collect 5 hits in a game twice in a season, doing it on September 24 against the Elephants. His batting line was .337/.400/.510 in 2009, and he ranked 4th in doubles 30, (7 behind Wilton Veras). In the 2009 Taiwan Series, Kao hit .154/.393/.192 and helped the Lions beat the Elephants in 7 games. He caught 73 innings combined in the whole series, and that is still the CPBL record. He won his first CPBL Gold Glove as he threw out 21 runners in 54 tries, and he won the Best Ten again.

In the 2010 season, Kao slumped to .230/.298/.293 with 14 doubles. He improved his defense skill as his CS% reached 51, and he won his second Gold Glove. He then represented Taiwan in the 2010 Intercontinental Cup, but he was 2-for-13. Kao also played for Taiwan in the 2010 Asian Games. He hit .259/.332/.365 in 2011, and he was 3-for-15 in the 2011 Taiwan Series. The Lions beat the Lamigo Monkeys in 5 games. Kao bounced back in 2012, hitting .322/.372/.401 with 15 doubles, and he ranked 7th in batting (.066 behind Wu-Hsiung Pan). He was selected into the 2012 CPBL All-Star Game, and he was 1-for-2 with a double. In the 2012 Taiwan Series, Kao hit .263/.300/.316 but the Lions lost to the Monkeys in 5 games.

Kao then represented Taiwan in the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers. He hit .500/.600/.750 to help Taiwan advance, and he had a .364/.417/.364 batting line in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Kao extended his solid batting, recording a .310/.366/.373 batting line in the 2013 CPBL and won his fourth and the last Best Ten award. In the 2013 Taiwan Series, he batted .417/.462/.500 and helped the Lions sweep the EDA Rhinos. Kao slumped to .262/.333/.323 in 2014, and he hit .258/.314/.323 in 2015.

In his last international event - the 2015 Premier 12, Kao was 1-fo-2 as a backup behind Jin-De Jhang and Hung-Yu Lin. He had a .264/.336/.301 batting line in 2016, and his batting line was .240/.301/.276 in 2017. Kao only played 56 games with a .291/.353/.330 batting line in 2018, then he announced his retirement. He then managed the minor league team of the Lions in 2019, and became their bench coach in 2020. When Yueh-Ping Lin left the team due to Covid-19 in 2022. Kao managed the team for him for 6 games.

Overall, Kao hit .278/.341/.354 with 893 hits, 152 doubles and 21 homers in 14 seasons in the CPBL.

Sources[edit]

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