Yang Dai-Kang, who left the Giants, has not decided on a new destination… “Too much of a secret plan to continue as a professional”.
After retiring from the Giants, Taiyo Yo (35) has yet to find a new home.
On January 17th, Yang celebrated his 35th birthday and updated his Instagram. The professional baseball season starts in earnest with the opening of camp on February 1, but he has yet to find a new team to join.
He has won the Golden Glove Award four times during his time at Nippon-Ham, and once won the stolen base championship. But since joining the Giants in 2004 as a free agent, he hasn’t had any notable results. The Giants gave him an unbelievable five-year contract worth 1.5 billion yen, but he only appeared in more than 100 games in 19 years.
He played in only 7 games last season, so it is hard to say that he is working for 300 million yen a year. The reason for this is his many injuries. Since joining the Giants, injuries have become a regular occurrence, including a thigh injury. He was proud of his legs when he was with Nippon Ham, but now he is not in a condition to run satisfactorily.
The Giants expressed their intention to sign him for the rest of the season, but Yang refused. The Giants wanted to sign him for the rest of the season, but Yo refused, saying he wanted to take on a new challenge.
The extension of his contract for next season is a sign of the Giants’ respect for Yang. Yang is a Taiwanese superstar who has been playing for the national team in Japan since he was in elementary school. Giants games are also broadcast in Taiwan. Yang, the “hero,” was the driving force behind the Giants’ popularity in Taiwan.
However, it is also true that he was not a force to be reckoned with. The Giants are said to have offered him a significant salary cut of around 30 million yen for next season. This is far more than the 40% reduction limit, and about a tenth of what he was getting this season. I think it’s a fair amount considering his performance, but I think Yang’s pride wouldn’t allow him to do that.
What are the chances of returning to the old home?
Yang wants to continue his career. Is there any team that will try to acquire him?
I don’t think any team will move. Yang is injured and has a lot of pride. He’s a difficult player to handle. His old team, Nippon Ham, has just released proven players such as Taiji Ota and Haruki Nishikawa. I don’t think they are going to try to acquire him because of manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo’s policy of trying to rejuvenate the team.
Yang has been interested in the majors for some time, but even if he could move, it would probably be to a minor league contract. I can’t imagine Yang, who is proud to be a star in Taiwan, working in the minor leagues in a bad environment with young players around 20 years old for a low salary.
What is more likely is that he will join the Taiwanese professional baseball world. The most likely possibility is to join the Taiwanese professional baseball team. If Yang is a “hero” in his home country, some teams will try to acquire him.
But there is another obstacle here. After studying baseball at Fukuoka Daiichi High School, Yang joined Nippon-Ham, but he cannot suddenly play in Taiwan’s professional baseball team. He has to go through the draft to join the team.
In Taiwan, the draft is held in late June or July. In Taiwan, the draft is held in late June or July, so you can expect to experience amateur baseball in Taiwan and wait for the next year’s draft. If they don’t play for a year instead of just a few months before the draft, they will be considered to be sitting on their hands, which is not good for their appearance. A year before returning to the professional ranks is a big time lag for Yang, who is in his late 30s.
However, he has a secret plan.
But he has a secret plan. “By the summer, I’m going to join a professional team as a trainee. If you do that, you will be able to be selected in this year’s draft. If you are invited by a professional team as a trainee, the team will be happy to release you to keep up appearances.
The most likely team to allow you to join as a practice player is the “Rakuten Monkeys” based in the northern city of Taoyuan. Another company used to be the parent company, but it was acquired by Japan’s Rakuten in 2007. If they win Yang, they will have the support of fans in both Japan and Taiwan. The Rakuten Monkeys took former Lotte pitcher Chen Kuan Yew on their practice squad last June. The Rakuten Monkeys have a track record of drafting former Lotte pitcher Chen Kuan Yew as a trainee last June.
Yang is also known as “Taiwan’s Ichiro. Will he be able to make a triumphant return to his home country as a star who played in Japan?
Photo: Kyodo News