BASEBALL/Former NPB all-star Yang Dai-Kang to retire after 21-year career

Taipei, July 27 (CNA) Veteran Taiwanese baseball player Yang Dai-Kang (陽岱鋼), who built a successful career in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as an All-Star outfielder, announced Monday that he will retire at the end of the 2026 season, bringing his 21-year professional career to an end.

In a statement released by his current club, Japanese minor league team Oisix Niigata Albirex Baseball Club, Yang said he had decided it was time to bid farewell to professional baseball after more than two decades.

"The reason I was able to compete as a professional baseball player for 21 years is because of the support of my fans, veteran players and teammates who fought alongside me, regardless of which team I played for," Yang said in a statement released in Chinese and Japanese.

He also thanked his coach at Fukuoka Daiichi High School in Japan and expressed gratitude to his former NPB teams, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and the Yomiuri Giants, for helping shape his career.

Yang, known in Japan as Yoh Daikan, also thanked his wife, their three children and supporters in his home country of Taiwan.

The 39-year-old outfielder began his professional career after the Fighters selected him in the first round of the 2006 draft. He was a member of the club's 2016 Japan Series championship team.

After 11 seasons with the Fighters, Yang joined the Giants, where he played for five seasons. He later continued his career overseas with the Lake Country DockHounds in the United States, Australia's Brisbane Bandits in 2022 and the High Point Rockers in the United States in 2023.

Over 15 NPB seasons, Yang compiled a .270 batting average, 1,164 hits, and 105 home runs.

He earned four NPB Gold Glove Awards as an outfielder in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016, and was selected to three consecutive NPB All-Star Games from 2012 to 2014.

He signed with Oisix Niigata Albirex in 2024 and has remained with the club since.

Internationally, Yang represented Taiwan in numerous major tournaments, including the 2015 WBSC Premier12 and the 2006 and 2013 World Baseball Classics.

His team said a press event will be held on Aug. 1 to formally announce his retirement.