Professional baseball player Mario Encarnacion of the Dominican Republic was found dead yesterday morning in his dormitory. The cause of death is not yet known pending an autopsy, but investigators said his room had not been broken into and that a post-mortem examination found no signs of external injury.
Encarnacion played with the Chinese Professional Baseball League's (CPBL) Macoto Cobras.
At a press conference held yesterday afternoon, CPBL secretary-general Lee Wen-ping (
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
Lee said Encarnacion explained to the league that he had taken weight-loss medicine which may have contained steroids. Encarnacion was worried that his weight was affecting his performance.
But Lee warned the media not to jump to conclusions.
"Before prosecutors finish an investigation, please do not suspect that his death was related to him taking medicines prohibited by the league," Lee said.
Investigators said an autopsy would be conducted in a few days to determine the cause of death.
A Cobras coach, Lu Ming-shih (
"Encarnacion had asked not to attend the team's routine training over the weekend because of his serious gastroenteritis," Lu said.
Lu said that Encarnacion did not appear yesterday morning when the team gathered in front of the dormitory in Tamsui (
Encarnacion lived a simple life in Taiwan, according to Lu, and was not believed to have any drug or alcohol addiction.
"The team has lost a great player," Lu said.
Encarnacion, a 30-year-old right-handed central fielder from the Dominican Republic, had played for the Cobras since April. This season he hit 17 home runs, ranking number two in the league.
Encarnacion played for the US professional baseball team the Colorado Rockies in 2001, and for the Chicago Cubs in 2002.
He came to Taiwan earlier this year.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
RSS