Taipei, Dec. 18 (CNA) Taiwanese baseball pitcher Kuo Hong-chih of the Los Angeles Dodgers failed to win the 2010 Setup man of the Year Saturday in the annual Major League Baseball (MLB) This Year in Baseball (TYIB) awards.
The 29-year-old, who won the award in 2008, ranked third with 20 percent ballots casted behind Joaquin Benoit of Tampa Bay Rays, who is now with the Detroit Tigers, and Mike Adams of the San Diego Padres, who finished with 21 percent.
Benoit, who had a 1.34 ERA (earned run average) , garnered 49 percent of the ballots to win the award, which recognizes the best setup pitcher -- a relief pitcher who usually pitches in the seventh and eighth inning before the closer, while Adams finished second with 21 percent.
The award is one of 19 categories in the annual TYIB awards, which were calculated based equally on votes by fans at MLB.com, media, front-office personnel and retired players.
Kuo finished the 2010 season with three wins, two losses and 12 saves in 56 appearances, his best performance since making his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 2005, and became the first Taiwanese player to earn a spot in the MLB mid-season All-Star Game.
The left-hander, who had four surgeries on his elbow, also broke the Dodgers franchise record of the lowest ERA, finishing the season with an ERA of 1.20. He struck out 73 while yielding only 29 hits and 18 walks in 60 innings.
Aside from his record-setting ERA, he also limited opposing hitters to a .139 batting average during the season. Meanwhile, his WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) was an astounding 0.78. Anything below 1 is considered outstanding.
The TYIB Awards, which are also known as the GIBBY (The Greatness in Baseball Yearly) awards honor the 2010 season's top Player, Starter, Rookie, Closer, Setup Man, Defensive Player, Manager, Executive, Breakout Player, X-Factor, Dependable Player and Postseason MVP as well as the year's top Play, Moment, Performance, Oddity, Game, Fan Moment and Postseason Moment. (By Chris Wang) enditem