Taipei, Oct. 20 (CNA) Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Kuo Hong-chih, who is coming off the finest season of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, is scheduled to return to Taiwan Thursday, the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association (CTBA) has announced.
Kuo will arrive in Taipei Thursday and attend an international baseball competition Saturday as a VIP, the CTBA said in a press release.
He will throw the first pitch of the opening game between Taiwan and South Korea Saturday in the 2010 Intercontinental Cup baseball tournament, which will be played at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in the central Taiwanese city of Taichung, according to the CTBA.
The lefthander finished the 2010 season with three wins, two losses and 12 saves in 56 appearances and became the first Taiwanese player to earn a spot in the MLB mid-season All-Star Game.
Kuo, who had four surgeries on his elbow, also broke the Dodgers franchise record of the lowest ERA (earned run average), finishing the season with an ERA of 1.20. He struck out 73 in 60 innings.
Kuo will enjoy a competition-free off season in Taiwan after the Dodgers rejected the CPBL's request to include the 29-year-old in the Taiwan national team roster for the upcoming Asian Games, which will be held in Guangzhou, China from Nov. 12-27. (By Chris Wang) enditem/cs