BASEBALL/Taiwan's Yang Dai-Kang says physical condition led to retirement

Taipei, Aug. 1 (CNA) Veteran Taiwanese baseball star Yang Dai-Kang (陽岱鋼) said Saturday that concerns about his physical health were the key factor behind his decision to retire.

Speaking at a news conference held in Niigata city by his Japanese minor league club, the Oisix Niigata Albirex Baseball Club, Yang said professional baseball brought daily frustrations and that players needed to first overcome their own issues before being able to compete against others.

The 39-year-old Yang said he had made many adjustments throughout his career, but that physical decline was an unavoidable reality as he grew older.

Although he still felt mentally capable of competing, his body could no longer keep up, which he said was the main reason for his decision to retire.

Yang also expressed his gratitude to the teams he had played for.

After graduating from Fukuoka Daiichi High School in Japan, Yang was selected by the Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in the 2005 high school player draft, beginning his professional baseball career.

He exercised his free-agent rights after the 2016 season and joined the Yomiuri Giants in 2017, playing for the club for five years. He later played in an independent league in the United States in 2022 before returning to Japan in 2024 to join Oisix Niigata Albirex.

Earlier this week, the Taiwanese announced that he would retire after the current season, ending his 21-year professional baseball career.

During his career in Japan's top professional league, Yang played 1,322 games, recording 1,164 hits, including 105 home runs, in 4,307 at-bats. He also stole 141 bases, drove in 482 runs and compiled a career batting average of .270.

Yang led the Pacific League in stolen bases in 2013 and won four NPB Gold Glove Awards as an outfielder.

At the retirement news conference, former Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters teammate Atsunori Inaba, now manager of the club's minor league team, made a surprise appearance, moving Yang to tears.

Inaba recalled the good times and challenges they experienced together, saying their years of friendly competition had become valuable life experiences.

He wished Yang well in retirement, adding that the experience he had accumulated throughout his career could help others.