| Kuo Tai-yuan | |
|---|---|
 Kuo as coach for theChinese Taipei national team in2010 World University Baseball Championship | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1962-03-20)March 20, 1962 (age 63) Tainan City,Taiwan | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| NPB debut | |
| 8 April, 1985, for the Seibu Lions | |
| Last NPB appearance | |
| 5 October, 1997, for the Seibu Lions | |
| NPB statistics | |
| Games pitched | 272 |
| Win–loss record | 117–68 |
| Saves | 18 |
| Earned run average | 3.16 |
| Strikeouts | 1,069 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Kuo Tai-yuan (Chinese:郭泰源;pinyin:Guō Tàiyuán;Wade–Giles:Kuo1 Tai4 Yüan2;Japanese:かく たいげん (Kaku Taigen); born 20 March 1962) is a Taiwanese retiredNPB baseballpitcher, and currently a baseballcoach.
With 117 wins accumulated during his 13 seasons pitching for theSeibu Lions, Kuo set the record of being the international player who achieved the most wins in NPB history, and is widely regarded as the greatest Taiwanese pitcher beforeChien-Ming Wang (Kuo,Hong-Chih Kuo andChin-Lung Hu are Tainan City natives).
Kuo was born inTainan City,Taiwan. Originally ashortstop, he started to pitch in high school and immediately became well known for his high quality fastball andslider. In the 1983Chinese Taipei versusSouth Korea match inAsian Baseball Championship, Kuo did not allow a run to score during 17 consecutive innings, while his fastballs clocked up to 154 km/h (96 mph). He finally won the game and helped Chinese Taipei qualify for the1984 Summer Olympics.
In the 1984 Olympics preliminary round against the United States, Kuo pitched up to 158 km/h[1] (98 mph) and allowed only 2 runs (oneearned run) during his complete game effort, earning the nickname "The Oriental Express". However, Chinese Taipei eventually lost to Team USA, which was studded withWill Clark,Mark McGwire, and the like. Kuo later pitched in the semifinal round againstJapan, allowing one run in 4.2 innings. Kuo's excellent performance drew special attention from theSeibu Lions, and he signed with the club after the 1984 Summer Olympics.
As a rookie, Kuo immediately gained a position in Seibu Lion's starting rotation andno-hit theNippon Ham Fighters on June 4, 1985, less than 2 months after his debut, and is the first international player to achieve so in thePacific League history. Kuo's other notable achievements during his NPB career included:
Career Statistics:
| Year | Club | Games | IP | W | L | Saves | Complete Games | Shutouts | Walk | K | Earned Run | ERA |
| 1985 | Seibu Lions | 15 | 117.2 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 52 | 75 | 33 | 2.52 |
| 1986 | Seibu Lions | 39 | 108.1 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 38 | 105 | 35 | 2.91 |
| 1987 | Seibu Lions | 22 | 158 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 40 | 81 | 53 | 3.02 |
| 1988 | Seibu Lions | 19 | 149.1 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 23 | 76 | 40 | 2.41 |
| 1989 | Seibu Lions | 26 | 198.1 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 4 | 49 | 117 | 72 | 3.27 |
| 1990 | Seibu Lions | 18 | 119.1 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 44 | 84 | 47 | 3.54 |
| 1991 | Seibu Lions | 24 | 184.1 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 30 | 108 | 53 | 2.59 |
| 1992 | Seibu Lions | 23 | 168 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 44 | 108 | 45 | 2.41 |
| 1993 | Seibu Lions | 22 | 133.1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 26 | 88 | 52 | 3.51 |
| 1994 | Seibu Lions | 27 | 130 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 55 | 86 | 72 | 4.98 |
| 1995 | Seibu Lions | 22 | 163 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 40 | 115 | 46 | 2.54 |
| 1996 | Seibu Lions | 14 | 52.1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 26 | 43 | 7.39 |
| 1997 | Seibu Lions | 1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Total | 272 | 1682.1 | 117 | 68 | 18 | 92 | 24 | 464 | 1069 | 591 | 3.16 |
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Kuo retired at the end of 1997 season after he suffered long time wound which cost him a vacant season. Shortly after Kuo's retirement a poll in the Seibu Lions' official website unanimously voted Kuo as the most popular international player in the Seibu Lions history.
After retiring from Seibu Lions, theTaiwan Major League (TML) hired Kuo as "senior technical consultant" until the league's collapse in early 2003. Meantime he introduced his former Seibu teammatesTakehiro Ishii andHisanobu Watanabe to join TML, originally as players and later as coaches. He also acted as go-between to help then youngHsu Ming-Chieh andChang Chih-chia join Seibu Lions, following his steps.
After a disappointing 2003 in which he was temporarily jobless and suffered marital crisis (as revealed in the "Personal Life" section later), in 2004 he started to head coach theMacoto Cobras until the end of 2005 season. During his 2 seasons with the Cobras Kuo accumulated a 93 wins, 97 losses, and 17 ties performance. In the 2005Taiwan Series the Cobras were swept by theSinon Bulls 0-4 and Kuo resigned right after the fiasco, addressing that "I would like to spend more time with my family". He later introduced Macoto Cobras playersLin En-yu andLin Ying-Chieh to joinTohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.
On February 15, 2007, Kuo was appointed as the head coach of theChinese Taipei national baseball team by theChinese Taipei Baseball Association. His tasks included the2007 Baseball World Cup and2007 Asian Baseball Championships. However the Chinese Taipei national baseball team performed poorly in both tournaments and he was relieved from the post on December 15, 2007.
Kuo married Taiwanese model and actress Chang Chiung-tzu (張瓊姿, also credited as Zhang Qiuzi by Chinese media) in December 1993. After their marriage, Chang temporarily gave up her acting career in Taiwan to live with Kuo in Japan until his retirement late in 1997. Together, they had 2 daughters, born in 1997 and 1999.