Hong-Chih Kuo and Chin-lung Hu will lead clinic at their high school ballpark in Tainan
The Los Angeles Dodgers will host a baseball clinic for little leaguers in Tainan, Taiwan on Sunday, November 22. Dodger left-handed pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo and infielder Chin-Lung Hu will lead the clinic, which will be held on the baseball field at Nan Ying Senior Vocational High School, where they both played high school baseball.
“This clinic is just a small gesture of our continued effort to foster our friendship with Taiwan,” said Dodger General Manager Ned Colletti. “The Dodgers have a very special relationship with Taiwanese baseball and we expect to be involved in the development of baseball in Taiwan for years to come.”
Clinic participants will learn the fundamentals of pitching, hitting, fielding, and base running from Kuo and Hu and will also interact with the players during a question and answer session where they will talk about how they realized their dreams of playing baseball in the Major Leagues.
“I love working with kids and sharing my experiences with them,” said Kuo. “I used to be one of them and I know how much I looked for guidance and encouragement from the players I admired. This is my opportunity to give back to my hometown.”
Tainan is a hotbed for youth baseball and has produced such Taiwanese Major Leaguers as former Dodger outfielder Chin-Feng Chen, the first Taiwanese player in the Major Leagues, Yankee pitcher Chien-Ming Wang, and Kuo and Hu.
“I grew up playing baseball in Tainan just like these kids,” said Hu. “I want to do everything I can to help them get better, learn to play baseball the right way, and have fun at the same time.”
The Dodgers have been instrumental in the development of baseball in Taiwan. They worked closely with the Chinese Taipei National Team program, which won a bronze medal in the 1984 Olympics and a silver medal in the 1992 Olympics, and were the first Major League team to play in Taiwan when they played in a three-game “Friendship Series” against All-Star teams from the Chinese Professional Baseball League in 1993. In 1996, the Dodgers established a working agreement with the Sinon Bulls of the Chinese Professional Baseball League and the Bulls became the first team from Taiwan to train in Latin America when they visited Campo Las Palmas, the Dodgers’ Dominican baseball academy, in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2003. Besides Chin-Feng Chen, Hong-Chi Kuo, and Chin-lung Hu, the Dodgers have also had pitcher Chin-hui Tsao on their roster, making them the Major League team with the most Taiwanese players to appear on its roster.
In addition, with the support of Kuo, the Dodgers announced a partnership with the Taiwan Tourism Bureau this season. The partnership included a “My Town, Taiwan” themed section at Dodger Stadium on September 6, which included a specialized all-inclusive menu of Taiwanese food and a free “Dodgertown, Taiwan” t-shirt for fans.
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