Fu-Te Ni

Fu-Te Ni (born 14 November 1982)[1] is a Taiwanese professional baseball pitcher for the Fubon Guardians of the Chinese Professional Baseball League. Ni was a professional baseball player from Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). After his franchise, the Chinatrust Whales, disbanded on November 11, 2008, he signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers in 2009.

Fu-Te Ni
Ni with the Detroit Tigers in 2010
Fubon Guardians – No. 36
Relief Pitcher
Born: 14 November 1982 Pingtung County, Taiwan
Bats: Left Throws: Left
Professional debut
CPBL: March 18, 2007, for the Chinatrust Whales
MLB: June 29, 2009, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics (through 2010 season)
Win–loss record	0–1
Earned run average	4.33
Strikeouts	43
Teams
Chinatrust Whales (2007–2008) Detroit Tigers (2009–2010) EDA Rhinos/Fubon Guardians (2015–present)

Fu-Te Ni
Ni pitching for the Chinese Taipei national team in 2015 WBSC Premier12 warm-up game
Chinese	倪福德
Hanyu Pinyin	Ní Fúdé
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Ní Fúdé Wade–Giles Ni Fu-Te IPA [nǐ fǔtɤ̌] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Gê Hok-tek

Ni was called up to the Major Leagues in June 2009, becoming the sixth Taiwanese player to enter Major League Baseball. He is also the first player to transition from the CPBL to MLB. Ni made his major league debut on June 29, 2009, against the Oakland Athletics.

Career

Chinatrust Whales

Ni was drafted by the CPBL team Chinatrust Whales in 2005. He signed with the team in early 2007 and played for the entire CPBL 2007 and 2008 seasons. In the two years Ni had a 12–24 record with seven holds, four saves and a 3.43 ERA in ​267 ²⁄₃ inning pitched. Ni won the CPBL strikeout Champion Award in 2008 season with 132 strikeouts.

Detroit Tigers

Ni with the Detroit Tigers in 2009

Ni signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers on January 13, 2009. He was assigned to the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens of the International League. In 24 games with the Mud Hens, Ni went 3–0 with a 2.60 ERA, and 32 strikeouts. Ni was called up on June 28, 2009, to replace the injured Nate Robertson.[2][3] Ni is the sixth Taiwanese player to enter Major League Baseball, and the fourth pitcher.[4] He made his debut on June 29, 2009, against the Oakland Athletics, allowing one run in 1.2 innings with 3 strikeouts. The first major league batter he faced was slugger Jason Giambi, and Ni struck him out. Ni pitched 36 games with the Tigers in 2009 and compiled no wins or losses with a 2.61 ERA and 21 strikeouts.

Ni with the Detroit Tigers in 2010

After accumulating a 6.65 ERA in 2010, Ni was optioned to the back to the Mud Hens on June 30, 2010.[5]

In February 2011 the Tigers listed him as a non-roster invitee to spring training camp.[6] On March 22, he was assigned to the Mud Hens.[7] He was 6–3 with a 3.24 ERA in 34 games (including 12 starts). Ni was released by the Tigers on August 7, 2012, after he was 2–2 with a 4.56 ERA in 7 games (5 starts) during the 2012 season.

Los Angeles Dodgers

After not playing during the 2013 season, Ni was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers to a minor league contract on December 13, 2013. However, he was released on March 31, 2014.

Independent baseball

Ni spent the 2014 season playing in the Atlantic League for two different teams. He began the year with the Lancaster Barnstormers before getting traded to the Camden Riversharks for future considerations.

International career

Ni in 2015

Ni selected Chinese Taipei national baseball team at the 2008 Olympics, 2009 World Baseball Classic, 2013 exhibition games against Japan, 2015 WBSC Premier12, 2016 exhibition game against Japan and 2017 World Baseball Classic.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball players from Taiwan

References

1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Fu-Te Ni". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 14 December 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
2. "Tigers place Robertson on 15-day DL". MLB.com. June 28, 2009. Archived from the original on June 30, 2009. Retrieved June 28, 2009.
3. "Tigers put LHP Nate Robertson on disabled list". USA Today. June 28, 2009. Retrieved June 28, 2009.
4. "Local pitcher closes on major-league debut". Government Information Office, Republic of China (Taiwan). June 29, 2009. Retrieved July 5, 2009.
5. Tigers option reliever Ni to Triple-A MLB.com June 30, 2010
6. 2011 Tigers spring training roster
7. "Tigers add six to roster, outright Ni to Triple-A". Tigers add six to roster, outright Ni to Triple-A. MLB.com. Retrieved 23 April 2011.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference (Minors), or Fu-Te Ni's online Album.