The Uni-President Lions on Saturday gave star outfielder Liu Fu-hao an exuberant send-off, retiring his No. 56 playing shirt after Liu played his final game for the Lions, a 5-4 victory at home over the Brothers Baseball Club.
Nicknamed “Little Pot” due to his apparent resemblance to a cartoon character, Liu is regarded as one of the most fearsome hitters in Taiwanese baseball.
He played a role in five CPBL titles for the Lions in a glittering career spanning 15 seasons.
Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times
Liu hit his 100th home run against the EDA Rhinos on April 25, 2016, going into the record books as the sixth CPBL player to reach 1,000 hits, 100 home runs and 100 stolen bases.
Liu is also known for his “web gems” as he patrols centerfield. He won the Golden Glove award for outfielders six times in a row from 2006 to 2011.
Although he did not get a hit on Saturday, the 39 year old All Star had 1,084 in 1,231 appearances, accumulating 109 homers, 193 doubles, 25 triples, 560 RBIs, 126 steals and a batting average of 0.276.
In Tainan on Saturday, the home side trailed 2-4 after seven frames in Liu’s last outing, but designated hitter Pan Wu-hsiung came to the rescue, blasting a three-run homer in the bottom of eighth to edge the Brothers.
After the game, Liu donned a vest and tie and, alongside three teammates, sang and drummed in a mini-concert, treating the crowd of more than 7,100 to a taste of his hobby —jazz music — as he bid an emotional farewell.
“I have plenty of good memories playing with this team and the excitement in my heart today was just as stirring as my first at-bat,” Liu said.
“Retiring from baseball leaves me with some regret, because it seems to have come so quickly,” he said.
With his contract ending this year, the Lions placed him with a farm team and Liu said he plans to stay committed to training and playing every day.
“I plan to go abroad to baseball camps and learn coaching, so I will not take a coaching job with the Lions next year, but it could be among my options in the long run,” he said.
Liu’s rookie year was 2004 and made an immediate impact. In his first at-bat, he tagged Chinatrust Whales starting pitcher Dario Veras for a solo home run, the first Taiwanese to hit a homer in his first at-bat in the CPBL, although some overseas players had done so.
Under the guidance of head coach Lu Wen-sheng, Liu formed part of a core line-up of sluggers, establishing a dynasty as they captured three straight trophies in 2007 — when Liu was named the best player of the Taiwan Series — 2008 and 2009.
They won two more titles in the following four years.
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