Fu-Lin Kuo

Fu-Lin Kuo (郭阜林)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 187 lb.

• School National Taiwan University of Sport
• High School Nan-Ying High School

• Born January 7, 1991 in Tainan County Taiwan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Infielder Fu-Lin Kuo played in the minor league and the CPBL.

Kuo played for Taiwan in the 2006 Asian Youth Championship and 2008 World Junior Championship. He was signed by the New York Yankees in late 2009 for approximately $150,000. He was the second Taiwanese player ever signed by the Yankees from the amateur ranks, following Chien-Ming Wang. Kuo made his first pro appearance on June 21 for the GCL Yankees against the GCL Pirates, drawing two walks and striking out twice. He hit .243/.329/.360 there, and recorded a .250/.362/.407 batting line in 2011. The Yankees A- Staten Island Yankees, and he hit .250/.333/.324 there. However, Kuo struggled in 2013, hitting .209/.284/.264 with the A Charleston RiverDogs and .181/.262/.236 with the A+ Tampa Yankees. The Yankees released him after this season. He then went back to his hometown Taiwan.

The Uni-President Lions selected him in the 7th round of the 2015 CPBL Draft, and he hit .248/.306/.487 in 2015. He only played 33 games with a .217/.267/.377 in 2016, then he broke out in 2017. His batting line was .296/.352/.536 with 11 homers in 60 games in that season, and his performance earned him the starting third baseman spot in 2018.

On October 7, 2018, he hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 9th against the Chinatrust Brothers. What was memorable about the blast was that it secured a 1-0 win and the first perfect game in CPBL history for teammate Ryan Verdugo. He ended up hitting .284/.349/.496 with 19 homers, ranking 7th in RBI (13 behind Po-Jung Wang) and 2nd in homers (3 behind Chih-Hao Chang). He was also selected into the 2018 CPBL All-Star Game, and he was 2-for-2 with a double and 2 RBI. In the 2018 Taiwan Series, Kuo hit .263/.286/.526, with a homer against Zeke Spruill in Game 3, but the Lions still lost to the Lamigo Monkeys in 6 games. He won his first CPBL Gold Glove as a third baseman.

Kuo struggled in 2019 as his batting line was .184/.252/.332, and he bounced back soon in 2020. He was caught drunk driving on June 14, and he got a 2-game suspension by the league. He also broke the CPBL record as he was plunked 3 times on September 5. Kuo's batting line was .292/.359/.565 in this season, and he hit .111/.308/.444, with a Game 4 homer against Kai-Wen Cheng, in the 2020 Taiwan Series. The Lions beat the CTBC Brothers in 7 games. Kuo slumped to .239/.286/.380 in 2021, and he batted .154/.214/.154 in the 2021 Taiwan Series as the Lions were swept by the Brothers. His batting line was .262/.319/.449 in 2022, and he only played 21 games with a .250/.282/.338 batting line in 2023.

Sources

• CPBL.com Bio
• Chinese Wiki Baseball
• Taiwan Baseball Blog