Yang Dai-Kang (, a.k.a. ; born January 17, 1987,

Taitung City Taitung City () is a county-administered city and the county seat of Taitung County, Taiwan. It lies on the southeast coast of Taiwan facing the Pacific Ocean. Taitung City is the most populous subdivision of Taitung County and it is one of the ...

Taitung County Taitung () is the third largest county in Taiwan, located primarily on the island's southeastern coast and also including Green Island, Orchid Island and Lesser Orchid Island. The seat is located in Taitung City. Name While its name means "East ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

; previously known as ''Yang Chung-shou'' or ''Chung-Shou Yang'' 陽仲壽) is a Taiwanese

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

for the Oisix Niigata Albirex of the Eastern League. He has previously played in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) for the

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido, Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō, in the Sapporo metropolitan area. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the major ...

and

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They h ...

Early life

Yang was born in Taitung City, Taitung County, Taiwan on January 17, 1987. After graduating from 's middle school, he attended

Fukuoka Daiichi High School is a secondary school located in Fukuoka, on the Japanese island of Kyushu. The school's Department for International Education is well known for its Tsuzuki International Scholarship/Exchange Program which allows Japanese and overseas students to ...

in Japan. During his three years in high school, he hit a total of 39 home runs. This, along with his speed (running 50m in 5.9 seconds) and arm strength (capable of throwing up to 110m) earned him the nickname of "High Schools' Number One Shortstop".

Career

Nippon Ham Fighters

The

selected Yang in the first round of the 2006 NPB Draft. Yang was called up to the Fighters from the reserve team on April 19, 2007. Yang is a two-time

Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star Series The Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star Game is an annual baseball series of All-Star Games (in most years, two games are played, but three such games can and have been played as well) between players from the Central League and the Pacific Lea ...

Game

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

, winning the honour in Game 3 of 2012 and Game 2 of 2014. Yang has won the

Gold Glove Award twice in 2012 and 2013. 2013 was the best season of Yang's career, where he batted along with 18

homeruns In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

, 67 RBIs, and a league-leading 47

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out a ...

. At the end of the 2016 season after helping the Fighters to victory in the

Pacific League The , or , or the , due to sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the a ...

and

Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series between the winning cl ...

, Yoh elected for free agency.

Yomiuri Giants

On 14 December 2016 it was announced that Yang would be joining the

Lake Country DockHounds

On February 23, 2022, Yang signed with the

Lake Country DockHounds The Lake Country DockHounds are a professional baseball team that is based in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. The DockHounds currently play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. Lake Co ...

of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor ...

. He played in 79 games for the DockHounds, slashing .260/.357/.432 with 9 home runs, 35 RBI, and 7 stolen bases. On February 14, 2023, Yang was released by Lake Country.

High Point Rockers

On March 6, 2023, Yang signed with the

High Point Rockers The High Point Rockers are an American professional minor-league baseball team based at Truist Point ballpark in High Point, North Carolina, which is part of the Piedmont Triad region. They are members of the South Division of the Atlantic League ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. In 98 games for the Rockers, Yang hit .271/.384/.409 with 10 home runs, 58 RBI, and 6 stolen bases.

Niigata Albirex

On February 3, 2024, Yang signed with the Niigata Albirex of the

Baseball Challenge League The Route Inn BCL, formerly known as the , is an independent minor baseball league in Japan. The league's abbreviated designation is "." League structure The 72-game season runs from April–October, split into two half-terms, with the divisio ...

International career

Yang played for the

Chinese Taipei national baseball team The Chinese Taipei national baseball team ( zh, t=中華臺北棒球代表隊, p=Zhōnghuá Táiběi Bàngqiú Dàibiǎoduì) is the national men's baseball team of Taiwan. It is governed by the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association. The team is r ...

at the

2006 World Baseball Classic The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums in or around Tokyo, Japan, and the American cities o ...

. He went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts as the backup SS to Chin-Lung Hu. In the

2006 Intercontinental Cup The 2006 IBAF Intercontinental Cup was held in Taichung, Taiwan from November 9 through the 19th. Eight countries contested the tournament, which was played at Taichung Baseball Field and the newly built Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium ...

, Yang batted and scored 9 runs, tying Michel Enriquez and

Yulieski Gourriel Yulieski Gourriel Castillo (born June 9, 1984), commonly known as Yuli Gurriel and nicknamed "La Piña", is a Cuban professional baseball first baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houst ...

for the tournament lead. Yang was 1 for 1 for Taiwan in the 2007 Asian Championship, backing up Tai-Shan Chang at third base. Yang batted 4-for-12 with a home run and four RBI in the first round of the

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike the tw ...

. Yang was the Most Valuable Player of

Pool B Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...

. Yang batted 4 for 17 with a home run and three RBI during the

2015 WBSC Premier12 The 2015 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship sponsored by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the inaugural event of the WBSC Premier12. It was held from November 8 to 21 in Taiwan and Japan. The South Korea ...

. During the 2017 Asia Professional Baseball Championship, Yang batted 2 for 7. And also, on November 16, 2018, he was selected for the Yomiuri Giants roster at the

2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series The 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series was the twelfth edition of the MLB Japan All-Star Series, a best-of-six series between an All-Star team from Major League Baseball (MLB) and for the second time in series history, the Japanese national team, Samu ...

exhibition game against MLB All-Stars.

Personal

Yang is the brother of Yao-Hsun Yang, a cousin of

Chih-Yuan Chen Chen Chih-yuan (; born 1975) is a picture book writer and illustrator from Taiwan. Several of his books have been translated into English, including ''Guji Guji'', the story of a 'crocoduck' described in a review by ''The New York Times'' as hav ...

and a nephew of Tai-Shan Chang. He is also related more distantly to Chien-Fu Yang,

Cheng-Wei Chang Chang Cheng-wei (; born 5 August 1986) is a Taiwanese baseball player for the Fubon Guardians of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). Career He made his debut in the Chinese Professional Baseball League at age 23. Chang is the neph ...

and Sen Yang.

References

External links

Dai-Kang Yang at NPB Official Website
*Faceboo
陽岱鋼
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Dai-Kang 1987 births Living people Amis people Asian Games gold medalists for Chinese Taipei Asian Games baseball players for Chinese Taipei Asian Games gold medalists in baseball Baseball players at the 2006 Asian Games Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Place of birth missing (living people) Taiwanese expatriate baseball players in Japan Yomiuri Giants players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players 2015 WBSC Premier12 players Sportspeople from Taitung County Brisbane Bandits players Taiwanese expatriate baseball players in Australia High Point Rockers players Taiwanese indigenous sportspeople