Taiwanese baseball player Liu Chih-Jung (劉致榮) has signed a US$750,000 contract with the Boston Red Sox to become the 2nd Taiwanese player on the current Red Sox roster after infielder Lin Tzu-Wei (林子偉).
Liu is a 20-year-old pitcher who studies at Chinese Culture University and has represented Taiwan at international competitions such as the 2019 Asian Baseball Championship in which he earned the title of MVP. Liu helped Taiwan clinch gold by completing 2.1 scoreless innings and striking out the last 5 batters he faced, reported Liberty Times.
Liu earned the nickname the "Taiwanese fireball" when he was clocked throwing 158 kph with his fast ball during a university tournament in September. He will represent Taiwan in next month's WBSC Premier12, where he aims to earn the team a ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
When asked about joining the Red Sox, Liu told reporters that his main focus right now is team Taiwan but that he is excited to play baseball abroad. Liu added that it will not be a difficult transition since his fellow Taiwanese, veteran player Lin, can look out for him.
Source：Taiwan News
