Guardians Sign Former MLB Infielder Yu Chang
On July 11, the Fubon Guardians announced the signing of their 2024 first-round pick 張育成 (Yu Chang / Chang Yu-Cheng) to a 3.5-year deal worth 3.08 Million USD, setting the record for the largest contract in CPBL history.
“I want to thank the CPBL and the Fubon Guardians for giving me this opportunity. I will continue showing my best on the field and won’t disappoint the fans. Lastly, to my new Guardians family, I’m ready. See you tomorrow at Xinzhuang stadium!” said the former MLB infielder Chang Yu-Cheng.
Note: The total amount is 92,500,000 NTD, but since the exchange rates often fluctuate, for the sake of consistency, I prefer to use 30 NTD to 1 USD as the exchange rate on this blog.
Felt Lonely Overseas, Happy to be Home
“I thought about it for a year and a half,” Chang Yu-Cheng said when discussing his decision to return to Taiwan. “This year, I wanted to see if I could make it to the major leagues, but I encountered many setbacks, so I decided to come home.”
Chang Yu-Cheng also admitted that playing overseas often felt very lonely, and he wanted to return to Taiwan and be happy playing baseball again.
Chang selected 99 as his number within the Guardians organisation. When asked by the media why he chose that number, Chang replied that he really admired New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge’s personality and his attitude on and off the field.
Highest Annual Salary in CPBL History
During the press conference, Joyce Chen, the president of the Fubon Guardians, chose not to reveal Chang’s annual salary and the amount of the performance-based incentive, but she said Chang Yu-Cheg’s annual salary is the highest in CPBL history.
The previous CPBL annual salary record was 480,000 USD held by 林智勝 (Lin Chih-Sheng) in 2017 and 2018. The previous overall package record was 4.5 years at 2.04 million USD by 江少慶 (Chiang Shao-Ching) in 2021.
Note: Here are the figures I mentioned above using the New Taiwanese Dollars (NTD). Lin Chih-Sheng: 14,400,000 NTD. Chiang Shao-Ching: 61,200,000 NTD.
“As the commissioner, I am very happy to see Chang Yu-Cheng coming back to play in Taiwan. With Fubon giving him the record-breaking contract, this will further strengthen the league and is a very positive development to the professional baseball industry,” said Tsai Chi-Chang, the CPBL commissioner.
Chang Yu-Cheng, the former MLB infielder, is set to make his CPBL debut on July 12 against the Uni-Lions.
