Taiwanese Catcher Lyle Lin Joins Japan’s Nippon-Ham Fighters

Hokkaido: Taiwanese catcher Lyle Lin has signed a contract with the Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan's professional baseball league, marking his entry as the third Taiwanese player on the Hokkaido-based team. The 28-year-old Lin was released from the Oakland Athletics' Double-A affiliate last July and had recently signed with a U.S.-based independent baseball league team before representing Taiwan in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). According to Focus Taiwan, the Nippon-Ham Fighters announced they had bought out Lin's contract, and he would join the team wearing No. 38. Kida Masao, the team's acting general manager, nthat the team had been monitoring Lin since his tryouts last fall and finalized their decision to sign him after witnessing his performance in the WBC. Lin took to his Facebook page to confirm his new contract with the Fighters and expressed his gratitude for the opportunities baseball has provided him, taking him from Taiwan to the U.S., Canada, Australia, and now Japan. He emphasized his commitm ent to continue learning and improving in the sport, with hopes of eventually giving back to his home country, Taiwan. By joining the Nippon-Ham Fighters, Lin becomes part of a trio of Taiwanese players, alongside pitchers Gu Lin Ruei-yang and Sun Yi-Lei. Details of Lin's contract have not been disclosed.