
Ngayaw Ake’ of Wei Chuan Dragons bids grand farewell
Ngayaw Ake’ of Wei Chuan Dragons played his farewell games against the TSG Hawks over the weekend, after announcing his retirement earlier, on March 31. On Sunday, during his final game, he made a record-breaking 305th home run in his career, and won 11-0 against the TSG Hawks. Despite the grand exit, his time in baseball is far from over. He’ll stay on the Wei Chuan Dragons as a coach and nurture the next generation of baseball stars.
It’s a full house with up to 40,000 baseball fans at the last of Ngayaw Ake’s farewell games. On this day, he hit his 305th home run, making a grand exit after an illustrious career.
The farewell ceremony had pop star Richie Jen sing his 2001 hit song, which later became one of Taiwan’s unofficial baseball anthems. For 22 years, Ngayaw Ake’ has put on many stunning performances to spectators.
He’s also greeted by his La New Bears co-headliner Shih Chih-wei. He almost chokes on tears of joy while giving his farewell speech.
Ngayaw Ake’
Wei Chuan Dragons
I’ve been playing in the CPBL for 22 years. I have a happy life. I’ve actually always been so fortunate. There’s always someone looking out for me along the way, there’s always someone willing to give me opportunities, and there’s also all of you standing by me through the years. Thank you. I’ve had a great run.
Another former teammate Lin Hung-yu in his Lamigo Monkeys days also rushed to attend the ceremony, after the game between the Rakuten Monkeys and the Fubon Guardians were postponed due to heavy rain.
Ngayaw Ake’
Wei Chuan Dragons
I was startled to see Hung-yu here, because we’ve had a video call over the last day or two. He had excused himself, saying that he wouldn’t be able to attend, because they were having a match at five. But their game was postponed because of the rain. I believe the universe arranged for this. When I saw Hung-yu, I almost cried too.
Even the president, a self-proclaimed baseball fan, made a social media post to congratulate Ngayaw Ake’. He’s also noted for being the first-ever CPBL player to achieve 1,000 runs batted in, 1,000 scores and 300 homeruns, as well as for representing the country over the years.
Ngayaw Ake’
Wei Chuan Dragons
We have to wait and see what the head coach will assign me to, whether it’s to stay by the main team or to train newcomers in the farm team.
Ngayaw Ake’ will stay on Wei Chuan Dragons to pass on his experience to the next generation of players. He’s already made history in the CPBL, and will continue to even behind the scenes.
#baseball #taiwan #CPBL #林智勝 #味全龍
For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53
2025-09-08