Baseball heroes and legends are to be in action at the Taichung Intercontinental Stadium this afternoon, with world home run king Sadaharu Oh leading a star-studded roster for the Taiwan-Japan Baseball Legends game.
Taiwanese pitcher Kuo Yuan-chi, who played for the Chunichi Dragons in Japan, is to start on the mound for the hosts, with Masumi Kuwata, the former pitching great who had a 21-year career with the Yomiuri Giants, starting for Japan.
Oh and his Japanese all-star teammates on Friday arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to a warm welcome from Taiwanese sports officials and fans, many of whom clamored for an opportunity to get an autograph.
Oh said it would be the first time he puts on the Yomiuri Giants uniform in Taiwan since a spring training camp in then-Taichung City in 1968.
Proceeds from the game, sponsored by Hua Nan Bank and co-organized by the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association and Japanese professional league officials, are to go to charity organizations.
It was not easy to get so many legendary Japanese players to come to Taiwan, requiring three years of negotiation and behind-the-scenes preparation to bring the project to fruition, association secretary-general Richard Lin said.
“We are grateful to Japanese officials and the Yomiuri Giants for helping to make this happen,” Lin said.
“The Giants have good ties with Taiwan; their farm teams have conducted training camps and played in competitions here this year, and they plan to return next year,” he added.
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