WBC / Taiwanese-American Fairchild joins Taiwan at Taipei Dome ahead of WBC

Taipei, Feb. 27 (CNA) Outfielder Stuart Fairchild joined Taiwan's national baseball team at the Taipei Dome on Friday to begin preparing for the World Baseball Classic (WBC), and delivered some hard-hit balls in batting practice despite potential jet lag.

Fairchild, whose mother is Taiwanese, is on Taiwan's 30-man roster for the WBC, scheduled for March 5-17.

He arrived in Taiwan on Thursday and will leave with the rest of the team on Saturday for Japan, where the first round of the tournament will be played.

Despite a 15-hour flight the day before, he told reporters before practice Friday that he felt "pretty good" and hit several hard fly balls to the outfield during batting practice on pitches thrown by retired Taiwanese MLB pitcher Chen Wei-yin (陳偉殷).

Chen praised Fairchild's swing speed, angle control, and power despite his modest frame, and said he looked forward to his contribution to Taiwan's team in this year's tournament.

Fairchild, who has been part of several Major League Baseball teams and is currently in the Cleveland Guardians' organization, has a .223 batting average and 18 home runs and 68 RBIs in 591 at-bats in his five-year MLB career.

During the media event, Fairchild said Taiwanese catcher Lyle Lin (林家正), whom he played with for the Diamondbacks in 2021, was one of the reasons he decided to play for Taiwan.

"He definitely played a role in encouraging me to play, and he had nothing but good things to say about the team, how passionate the fans are, and how fun baseball is here. So it was a big motivator," Fairchild said.

The 29-year-old outfielder said he was "super excited" and "honored" to represent Taiwan in the upcoming WBC this year.

Asked about how he felt regarding Jonathon Long, an infielder in the Chicago Cubs organization, missing out on this year's WBC, Fairchild said he saw the video of him getting hurt and was saddened by the incident.

"It was unfortunate timing, and you know, I haven't met Jonathan, but he seems like a great guy, and I was really looking forward to playing with him in the WBC," he said.

According to the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), which is coordinating the national team, it was notified by the Cubs franchise that Long is still hampered by a strained left elbow, which forced the 24-year-old to withdraw from the roster.