The New York Mets are to again present their fans with limited-edition Taiwan-themed replica jerseys during the baseball franchise’s 17th annual Taiwan Heritage Day this summer.
The Mets on Friday released a photograph of the mostly blue jersey, featuring the name “Taiwan” and the number “1” printed in orange on the back.
The jersey is not for sale, but would be given to people who buy tickets for the Aug. 28 game against the Colorado Rockies, which are to go on sale in the middle of next month.
Photo courtesy of the New York Mets
It would be the second year in a row that the Queens-based team is giving away the Taiwan-themed jersey to fans on Taiwan Heritage Day, which has been held since 2005 with the support of Taiwan’s representative office in New York to promote Taiwanese culture.
Last year, the team gave similar “Taiwan No. 1” jerseys to fans who bought tickets on the Mets’ official Web site for a game at Citi Field on Aug. 29.
The team originally planned to give jerseys to the first 500 people who purchased tickets to the game on Taiwan Day last year, but due to high demand for the collectible, the team distributed 2,350 of them, Mets Asian Development and Services account executive Wayne Wang (王偉成) said.
This year’s jersey is a replica of the one worn by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on the franchise’s Taiwan Day in 2019, when she was featured in a promotional video played on the centerfield screen.
At last year’s event, Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) threw the ceremonial first pitch.
Other famous Taiwanese to throw the first ball at the annual celebration include Academy Award-winning film director Ang Lee (李安); golfer Yani Tseng (曾雅妮); Taiwan’s only Nobel laureate, Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲); and YouTuber Tsai Aga (蔡阿嘎).
The Mets did not announce who would throw the first ball this year or how many replica jerseys would be distributed.
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