Giljegiljaw Kungkuan
{{Short description|Taiwanese baseball player (born 1994)}}
{{hatnote|In this Paiwan name, the person is referred to by his given name, Giljegiljaw, and not by his house name, Kungkuan.}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
| name = Giljegiljaw Kungkuan
| image = Li Jen Chu Columbus 1.jpg
| caption = Kungkuan with the Columbus Clippers in 2018
| team = Wei Chuan Dragons
| number = 4
| position = Catcher
| bats = Right
| throws = Right
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1994|3|13}}
| birth_place = Taichung, Taiwan
| debutleague = CPBL
| debutdate = August 25
| debutyear = 2021
| debutteam = Wei Chuan Dragons
| statleague = CPBL
| statyear = April 27, 2025
| stat1label = Batting average
| stat1value = .278
| stat2label = Home runs
| stat2value = 72
| stat3label = Runs batted in
| stat3value = 242
| teams =
- Wei Chuan Dragons ({{by|2021}}–present)
| awards =
- Taiwan Series champion ({{by|2023}})
- CPBL Home Run champion ({{by|2022}})
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalSport | Men's baseball}}
{{Medal|Country|{{bb|TPE}}}}
{{MedalCompetition | WBSC Premier12}}
{{MedalGold| 2024 | Team }}
}}
Giljegiljaw Kungkuan ({{Lang-zh|c=吉力吉撈·鞏冠|p=Jílìjílāo Gǒngguān}}{{needs IPA|Paiwan|lang=pwn|date=December 2024}}; born March 13, 1994 in Taichung, Taiwan), also known as Giljaw or Giyaw, previously known as Chu Li-Jen ({{lang-zh|t=朱立人}}), is a Taiwanese professional baseball catcher for the Wei Chuan Dragons of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). Giljegiljaw signed with the Cleveland Guardians as a free agent in 2012, and stayed with the organization until 2020 when he left to play for the Dragons.
Professional career
=Cleveland Indians=
Giljegiljaw began his professional career with the Cleveland Indians as a non-signed free agent, being signed on November 29, 2012 by Jason Lynn and Allen Lin.{{Cite book |title=2019 Cleveland Indians Press Guide |year=2019 |pages=94 |language=en}} He was signed for $40,000 as one of several players from Taiwan the team was signing at the time.{{Cite web |date=2013-06-23 |title=Indians Sign Yu-Cheng Chang From Taiwan For $500,000 - BaseballAmerica.com |url=http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/indians-sign-yu-cheng-chang-from-taiwan-for-500000/ |access-date=2023-04-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623011400/http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/indians-sign-yu-cheng-chang-from-taiwan-for-500000/ |archive-date=2013-06-23 }} From 2014 to 2016, Giljegiljaw spent time with the rookie-level Arizona League Indians, Low-A Mahoning Valley Scrappers, and Single-A Lake County Captains, failing to get more than 150 plate appearances in a season.
The 2017 season with the Single-A Lake County saw Giljegiljaw break this streak by getting 518 plate appearances and getting selected as a Midwest League Postseason All-Star. In 125 appearances for the team, he batted .269/.339/.426 with 17 home runs and 67 RBI.{{Cite web |title=Tapia, Chu named MWL Post Season All-Stars |url=https://www.milb.com/news/tapia-chu-named-mwl-post-season-all-stars-249222224 |access-date=2023-04-12 |website=MiLB.com |language=en}} Giljegiljaw spent time with the High-A Lynchburg Hillcats, Double-A Akron RubberDucks, and Triple-A Columbus Clippers in 2018, slashing .272/.340/.425 with 10 home runs and 51 RBI.{{Cite web|title=Kungkuan Giljegiljaw Stats & Scouting Report|url=https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/10116-kungkuan-giljegiljaw/stats/|access-date=January 31, 2025|website=baseballamerica.com|language=en}}
Giljegiljaw spent the 2019 season with Akron, playing in 60 games and hitting .229/.290/.357 with five home runs and 25 RBI.{{Cite web|title=Kungkuan Giljegiljaw - Stats - Batting|url=https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/10116-kungkuan-giljegiljaw/stats/|access-date=January 31, 2025|website=baseballamerica.com|language=en}} He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web|title=2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/2020-minor-league-baseball-season-canceled|access-date=January 31, 2025|website=mlb.com|language=en}} Giljegiljaw became a free agent on November 2, 2020.{{cite news|last=Hilburn-Trenkle|first=Chris|title=Full List of 2020-2021 MiLB Free Agents|url=https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/full-list-of-2020-2021-milb-free-agents/|work=Baseball America|access-date=10 December 2023|date=2 November 2020}}
=Wei Chuan Dragons=
In the 2021 CPBL draft, Giljegiljaw was selected second overall by the Wei Chuan Dragons.{{cite news|last=|first=|title=中職選秀》強打捕手降臨！ 味全首輪選進吉力吉撈|url=https://sports.ltn.com.tw/news/breakingnews/3600662|work=Liberty Times|access-date=10 December 2023|date=12 July 2021|language=zh-tw}} On August 20, 2021, the Dragons announced they had agreed to a 2.4-year, NT$12.93 million contract with Giljegiljaw. Along with the monthly salary from the contract, it included a NT$850,000 incentive bonus.{{Cite web |title=鞏冠加盟味全龍 2.4年總和1293萬 |url=https://tw.news.yahoo.com/%E9%9E%8F%E5%86%A0%E5%8A%A0%E7%9B%9F%E5%91%B3%E5%85%A8%E9%BE%8D-2-4%E5%B9%B4%E7%B8%BD%E5%92%8C1293%E8%90%AC-101830235.html |access-date=2023-03-22 |website=Yahoo News |date=20 August 2021 |language=zh-Hant-TW}} He didn't play in a game for the main team until 2021, where he spent some time with the minor league team before joining the major club's roster. That season, he hit .256/.310/.458 with 11 home runs and 32 RBI across 54 games.
In 2022, Giljegiljaw became the CPBL home run champion by hitting 14 home runs, the fewest home runs hit by a home run champion in the league. This lowered number was caused by a change to the balls used by the league, which lowered the ball's coefficient of restitution and raised the seams.{{Cite web |date=2022-10-27 |title=台湾プロ野球で珍事、14発で本塁打王 "飛ばないボール"で打高投低に異変 |url=https://full-count.jp/2022/10/27/post1300107/ |access-date=2023-04-12 |website=Full-Count（フルカウント） ― 野球ニュース・速報・コラム ― |language=ja}} That season, he played in 88 contests and slashed .286/.350/.481 with 56 RBI in addition to his home runs.
International career
Giljegiljaw played in the 2008 PONY World Series and was the home run derby winner.{{cite news|title=Long Beach is Walk-Off Winner!|url=https://www.wjpa.com/PONYWorldSeries/PONYWorldSeries2008.htm|date=16 August 2008|access-date=10 December 2023|work=WJPA}}
Giljegiljaw was selected for the Chinese Taipei national baseball team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. In 12 at bats, he got 4 hits and a home run.{{cite web |date= |title=Chinese Taipei Roster & Staff |url=https://www.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic/roster/chinese-taipei |access-date=2023-02-25 |website=World Baseball Classic |publisher= |quote=}}
Personal life
Giljegiljaw is an Indigenous Taiwanese and belongs to the Paiwan tribe.{{cite news|title=Cleveland Indians: Getting to know Giljegiljaw Kungkuan|url=https://awaybackgone.com/2020/02/24/cleveland-indians-getting-to-know-giljegiljaw-kungkuan/|work=Away Back Gone|last=Hahn|first=Daniel|access-date=9 December 2023|date=24 February 2020}} He was previously known by the Han Chinese name Chu Li-Jen, which his father Kuljelju Kungkuan (Chu Hsin-de) chose in tribute to Sun Li-jen.{{cite news|last=Yang|first=Stephanie|last2=Shen|first2=David|title=Some Indigenous people in Taiwan want to drop their Chinese names: ‘That history has nothing to do with mine’|url=https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-05-02/taiwan-indigenous-chinese-name-change|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=9 December 2023|date=2 May 2023}} He has used his Paiwan name, meaning "brave warrior" and given to him by his grandmother, with his family and adopted it legally in 2019 so that it would be written on his jersey while playing for Cleveland. He is also known by the childhood nickname "Giyaw" and his teammates in Cleveland, finding "Giljegiljaw" difficult to pronounce, called him "Gilly".{{cite news |title=「キチリキキチロウ」→「ギリギラウ」TBSが台湾選手『吉力吉撈鞏冠』の呼び名を改め紹介「ギリギラウは勇敢な戦士という意味」【プレミア12】（中日スポーツ） |url=https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/5cd46e753fb56dc0c69d325036e5d96090c70b1c |work=Yahoo!ニュース |date=23 November 2024 |language=ja}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://en.cpbl.com.tw/team/person?Acnt=0000003625 CPBL]
- {{WikiBaseball|吉力吉撈．鞏冠}}
- {{baseballstats|brm=chu---000---}}
{{Chinese Taipei roster 2023 World Baseball Classic}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giljegiljaw, Kungkuan}}
Category:Columbus Clippers players
Category:Akron RubberDucks players
Category:Lake County Captains players
Category:Arizona League Indians players
Category:Glendale Desert Dogs players
Category:Mahoning Valley Scrappers players
Category:Taiwanese expatriate baseball players in the United States
Category:2023 World Baseball Classic players