Taipei 101 is to hold a special exhibition featuring "the most valuable baseball of all-time," hit by Los Angeles Dodgers' Japanese slugger Shohei Ohtani in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the US, the landmark building's operator said yesterday.
The ball Ohtani hit to achieve his 50th home run this season in September is to be displayed at the Taipei 101 Observatory when a special exhibition to promote baseball culture in Taiwan opens tomorrow, Taipei 101 Ltd said.
Photo from the Goldin Auctions Facebook page
The special exhibition is also being held to support development of the sport in rural areas of Taiwan, with related events planned including dialogue with Taiwanese baseball players, the company said.
The Japanese baseball player made history with his 50th home run during a 20-4 Dodgers victory over the Miami Marlins at Miami's LoanDepot Park on Sept. 19, becoming the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season.
Taiwanese private investment firm UC Capital announced late last month that it won the auction for the Ohtani 50/50 ball held by Goldin Auctions by paying US$4.392 million, which the auction firm said is "the highest sale price for any ball of any sport."
The special exhibition opens on the day Taiwan and Japan join Mexico to host the Premier12 2024 baseball tournament of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) from Nov. 9 to 24.
Mexico is hosting the opening round games in Group A until Thursday, while Taiwan hosts the opening round in Group B until Monday next week, other than the game between Japan and Australia tomorrow, which takes place in Nagoya.
The top two teams in both groups is to play in the super round at the Tokyo Dome from Thursday next week to 24, according to the WBSC Web site.
The exhibition is open to anyone who buys a ticket to the Taipei 101 Observatory on the 89th floor of the skyscraper, although the company did not say when it would conclude.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
‘LIKE-MINDED PARTNER’: Tako van Popta said it would be inappropriate to delay signing the deal with Taiwan because of China, adding he would promote the issue Canadian senators have stressed Taiwan’s importance for international trade and expressed enthusiasm for ensuring the Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation framework agreement is implemented this year. Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) said he was increasingly uneasy about Ottawa’s delays in signing the agreement, especially as Ottawa has warmed toward Beijing. There are “no negotiations left. Not only [is it] initialed, we have three versions of the text ready: English, French and Mandarin,” Tseng said. “That tells you how close we are to the final signature.” Tseng said that he hoped Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT: Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the meeting next month, Japanese sources said The holding of a Japan-US leaders’ meeting ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China is positive news for Taiwan, former Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association representative Hiroyasu Izumi said yesterday. After the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in Japan’s House of Representatives election, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to visit the US next month, where she is to meet with Trump ahead of the US president’s planned visit to China from March 31 to April 2 for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the
RSS