Yufeng Zhang

Yufeng Zhang (張玉峰)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 158 lb.

• Born February 9, 1977 in Shanghai China

Biographical Information

Yufeng Zhang has been a member of the Chinese national team for about a decade.

Zhang debuted with the Chinese national team in the 1997 Asian Championship then played in the 1998 Asian Games, when he was 21 years old. In the 1998 Baseball World Cup, he hit .190/.261/.190 and fielded .875 at shortstop. He played in the 2003 Asian Championship and 2005 Konami Cup. He won Bronze in the 2005 Asian Championship, China's first medal in an Asian Championship. Yufeng was the top hitter for China in the 2005 Baseball World Cup, batting .273/.314/.636 with 7 runs and 6 RBI in 7 games; he homered twice in a win over Sweden. He was MVP of the 2005 China Baseball League, leading in almost every offensive category. He batted .397 with 3 home runs, 36 runs, 31 RBI and 15 steals in the Shanghai Eagles' 29 games.

He was China's cleanup hitter in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and looked badly overmatched, striking out in 8 of 10 at-bats. He had no hits, one walk, one run and one error as China's shortstop. In one of the two at-bats in which he did not whiff, he ground into a double play. He tied Ariel Pestano for second in the event in strikeouts, trailing only Hitoshi Tamura.

Zhang hit .200/.273/.200 in the 2006 Haarlem Baseball Week. He played in the 2006 Konami Cup and 2006 Asian Games. He hit .250/.357/.417 in the 2007 Arizona Fall League but had four errors in five games.

In 2008, Zhang became head coach of the Shanghai Eagles. He batted .130/.200/.130 with 8 strikeouts in 23 AB in the 2008 Olympics as China's main shortstop. He scored two runs and drove in one in China's upset of Taiwan, its lone win in the Beijing Games.

Zhang was on China's roster for the 2009 World Baseball Classic but did not appear in a game during the Classic. He was also one of the team's coaches in the event.

Sources

• Wiki Baseball (in Chinese)
• World Baseball Classic site
• Defunct IBAF site
• Team China in the 2007 AFL
• 2008 Olympics