the baseball hero

My visit to Taipei would not have been complete without a trip to Hot Dog Toyz, probably the best bearbrick source in the whole of Taiwan. I dropped by on January 1 – what a exciting way to start the year! As I leaned close to the display shelf, I immediately spotted this bearbrick in baseball uniform (see above).

The saleslady (who remembered me from last year's visit) told me excitedly, "That's supposed to be Chien-Ming Wang. He's a Taiwanese who pitched for the New York Yankees. It comes with a nicely-bound book that contains all his baseball records."

She rummaged through piles of unopened boxes and lifted two boxed sets. "There's two versions – two bearbricks, two different uniforms, see? But both record books are the same."

"So he's a baseball star, huh?" I smiled.

She frowned a bit. "Yes, but since 2008, he's had a series of injuries – now, he's out of the team."

I reached out for the boxes and examined them.

"Those have been marked down," she continued, "Less NT$400!" (That's US$12.50)

Half of me was happy about the discount, although the other half felt sorry for Chien-Ming Wang. Imagine, mementos and memories of his glory days as ace pitcher for the Yankees had just depreciated! :-/

While trying to shrug off my mixed feelings, I placed my Visa card on the counter and said, "I'll take them."

Wang currently lives in Fort Lee, New Jersey with his wife, Chia-Ling Wu, and their 7-month old son named Justin Jesse.

Pics by yours truly. Copyright January 2010. Info from wikipedia / www.nj.com