Randy Kapano

Randolph Corey Kapano

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 200 lb.
• High School Azusa High School

• Born May 28, 1970 in Diamond Bar, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

With the Angels organization

The son of Randy Kapano Sr., Corey Kapano (also known as Randy Kapano later in his career) was drafted out of high school by the California Angels in the 40th round of the 1988 amateur draft. He began his career with the Bend Bucks the next year, batting .251/~.382/.374 as the third baseman. Promoted to the Quad City Angels in 1990, Kapano hit .244/~.335/.378. Continuing to move up the Angels chain, Corey posted a .286/~.391/.413 season for the 1991 Palm Springs Angels. He led the team with 72 walks and 23 doubles. After starting 1992 with a .182/~.321/.273 performance in 13 games for the Midland Angels, he was released.

The high point of his Organized Baseball career

Kapano signed with the Chicago Cubs as a free agent shortly thereafter and hit .318/.425/.557 for the Winston-Salem Spirits at age 22, leading the Carolina League in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. He failed to make the league's All-Star team somehow. In a brief glance at AAA, Kapano hit .313/~.421/.313 in five games for the Iowa Cubs.

The end of the affiliated minors

Corey had somewhat of a let-down in 1993. He hit .200/~.200/.240 in seven games for the Daytona Cubs and .255/~.312/.400 with 17 steals for the Orlando Cubs. Somehow returning to the Angels organization the next year, he played with the Lake Elsinore Storm and had a .291/.359/.465 batting line.

Prairie League superstar

At age 24, Kapano was not a significant prospect, having only been given a marginal glance at AAA and not doing an outstanding job at AA with Orlando. Thankfully, a perfect avenue was opening up for such players with the development of the independent leagues - Kapano took advantage of the opportunity.

In 1995, the Prairie League was formed and Kapano signed with the Moose Jaw Diamond Dogs. He hit .390 and slugged .765, driving in 57 runs in 136 AB. Randy batted .310 for Moose Jaw in 1996, slugged .582 and drove home 72 runners in 268 AB. He made the Prairie League's All-Star team at third base. In the league's final season, he was named the MVP and was again an All-Star at third. Now with the Regina Cyclones, Randy batted .383 (one point behind leader Dan Kopriva), scored 68 runs (the most), hit 23 homers (the most), drove in 72 runs (second-place, four behind the leader) and slugged .796. When the league folded after three years, Kapano had a solid argument that he was one of the greatest performers it had seen.

Finishing things up

Returning to Bend nine years after he began his career there, Kapano played for the 1998 Bend Bandits. As a corner infielder, he batted .339 (10th in the Western League), hit 25 homers (leading the league), slugged .635 (third-best) and stole 18 bases.

Kapano slid downhill after that, hitting .242 and slugging .404 for the Tri-City Posse in 1999. He moved to the Monterrey Sultans and briefly bounced back, hitting .337/~.416/.481 in 24 games. In his second year in the Mexican League, he slipped to .205/~.398/.372 in another 24 games, hitting .275/~.407/.419 overall in LMB. He finished his career with the 2000 Bridgeport Bluefish, hitting only .215, though he slugged .442 for the Atlantic League team. He also played for the President Lions in Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League that year, hitting .311 and slugging .516.

Sources: 1989-2001 Baseball Almanacs, 1995 Baseball Guide, The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros, The Western League by W.C. Madden and Patrick Stewart

Related Sites

• CPBL Foreign Players at Japanese Baseball.com