While many of Taiwan's best young baseball players are seeking their fortunes in North America, pitcher Chang Chih-chia (
One of Taiwan's most promising pro prospects heads north to Japan on Monday, determined to make a career in the country that traditionally has been home to be home to the best Taiwanese players.
The right-hander signed with the Seibu Lions for an estimated ?120 million (nearly US$1 million) bonus and an annual salary of ?20 million. He joins four other Taiwanese players in Japan.
Chang caught the eyes of Japanese scouts last November at the Baseball World Cup in Taiwan.
Still playing as an amateur, Chang shut out a team of Japanese pros to give Taiwan the bronze medal.
The cocky 22-year-old had relished the chance to show his stuff before scouts from Japan and the Major Leagues. Following the bronze medal win, he made no secret of his desire to play overseas.
"I thought it would be good for me to play in the Baseball World Cup so I could make more of a name for myself," he said.
Following his discharge from the military, Chang made a brief stop with the Taiwan Major League while also taking the time to record an album.
The TML assigned him to the Taipei Gida, where he went 3-2 with a 1.62 ERA this spring.
Chang not only joins fellow Taiwan national team pitcher Hsu Ming-chien (
Hsu pitched first pitched professionally with the TML and then landed with Seibu in a deal arranged by Taiwanese pitching great and TML advisor Kuo Tai-yuan (
Chang will report to Seibu's farm team and is expected to be called up in June.
He is setting his sights against another Seibu teammate."The person that I really want to beat, or exceed, to tell the truth, is Daisuke Matsuzaka. I've pitched against him, and I have a very good idea about his abilities. I take him as my goal. It will be something to push me on," Chang reportedly said.
Matsuzaka, who was Pacific League all-star last year with Seibu, is currently leading the Pacific League with four wins.
But Chang also admitted that he will need some time to adapt to the professional game.
"Right now, my change-up is no problem, and maybe even better than it was during the World Cup," he said. "But my fast ball has dropped off a bit. Maybe it's because I haven't yet adjusted to a pro baseball schedule."
Chang will get a chance to repeat his national team heroics this October. Seibu has agreed that Chang may return to the Taiwan national team for the Asian Games, which is the qualifying tournament for next year's World Cup in Cuba.
His arrival in Japan added some good news to a Taiwan contingent that has not enjoyed a promising start to this years season in Japan.
The only bright spot so far has been Hsu, with his 1-1 (4.24 ERA) record showing glimpses of his stellar 11-6 (3.47) season last year.
Former President Lion star Tsao Chun-yang (曹竣揚) appears unlikely to even make it on the Chunichi Dragon roster this season.
He is stuck on the Dragon farm team with only one inning of work this season, following a 0-2 (4.64) season last year on the farm team.
Likely in his final year in Japan is infielder Chen Ta-feng (
Also known by his Japanese name of Taiho Yasuaki, Chen has yet to get a base hit in six games this season with the Dragons.
Besides Chang, the other Taiwanese rookie this year in Japan is pitcher Yu Wen-ping (
A runner who stopped during a marathon in China to pose doing the splits and another who hoarded energy gels have been banned for two years, the local athletics association said yesterday. The incidents happened during Sunday’s marathon in Sichuan Province’s Chengdu and were widely shared online. Videos showed a female runner stopping suddenly and dropping to the ground in the splits position, holding up her arms in a heart shape as she apparently posed for a photograph. She “committed obstructive fouls during the race, affecting the safe participation of other runners,” the Sichuan Athletics Association said in a statement, which identified
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah on Tuesday said that he would leave the English club at the end of the Premier League season, marking an earlier-than-planned departure for one of the club’s greatest-ever scorers and soccer’s biggest names. The 33-year-old Egypt forward, who has scored 255 goals in 435 appearances for Liverpool, “reached an agreement” to quit the team a year before his contract was due to expire, the Premier League champions said. Salah’s form has dipped in his ninth year at Anfield, to such an extent that he was dropped for a stretch of games late last year — leading to the
There were some big games to be played yesterday in the NBA, with the Atlanta Hawks to play the Detroit Pistons in a matchup pitting a Hawks team who are rolling against a Pistons team trying to lock up the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed. The Oklahoma City Thunder were to play the Boston Celtics, a showdown featuring the two most recent champions, while the Houston Rockets faced the Minnesota Timberwolves, a game that could factor mightily into Western Conference seeding. Elsewhere, the Washington Wizards were to play the Utah Jazz, with the Wizards on a 16-game slide visiting against a team
RSS