Mike Loree, the longest-serving foreign pitcher in Taiwan’s CPBL, is to resign next month to return to his family in the US, he said at a news conference yesterday.
The 37-year-old right-hander, who has played professional baseball in Taiwan since 2013, is slated to play his final game for the Fubon Guardians on Sept. 2 at New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang Baseball Stadium.
“I just want to make it very clear that I’m not retiring or I’m not leaving here because I’m unhappy,” Loree said. “I love playing for Fubon, I love playing with my teammates, I love playing in the CPBL and I’ve loved being in Taiwan for the past 10 years.”
Photo: CNA
Throughout his extensive career, his family has always given him the support that he needed, but now it is time to stay with them, Loree said.
“I want to spend more time with my kids. I want to be the father that I know that I can be, in being present at home with my kids,” Loree said. “Going to bed at night with them, waking up in the morning with them. I want to be there for my wife and I want to be a present father at home.”
Loree said that his son is seven years old and just started second grade last week, while his daughter is five and just started kindergarten in Arizona.
“My son loves basketball, so I’m going to be the basketball coach when I get home,” he said. “My daughter loves dance, so I look forward to going along with her to a dance class.”
His children came to Taiwan for two months each summer during his residency, but the COVID-19 pandemic and related border controls shortened their visiting time in the past three years, Loree said.
When asked why he chose to leave next month instead of finishing the current season, Loree said that thoughts preoccupied by family were detracting from his performance.
“That was the right decision to make, to retire, because you have to be here 100 percent and I knew I couldn’t give that anymore,” he said.
Loree, a household name in Taiwanese baseball, is the fourth CPBL player to record 100 career wins, which he achieved on July 23 after pitching six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts against the Wei Chuan Dragons.
He is also likely to become the first foreign player to be given domestic status for nine years playing in the CPBL, meaning he would be considered a local player and would not count against his team’s foreign player quota.
Loree said that he feels honored to earn the status, which is likely to be granted soon. His first game in Taiwan was with the Lamigo Monkeys in Taoyuan in 2013.
“It’s been a lot of hard work and commitment, it’s a nice accomplishment,” he said.
However, Loree suggested that the CPBL should lower the nine-year requirement to five or six years to reward foreign players for their commitment to their organizations and the league.
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