Fu-Te Ni (born 14 November 1982), nicknamed "

Tudigong Tudigong ( "Lord of the Soil and the Ground") or Tudishen ( "God of the Soil and the Ground"), also known simply as Tudi ( "Soil-Ground") is a tutelary deity of a locality and the human communities who inhabit it in Chinese folk religion and Tao ...

", is a former Taiwanese professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

CTBC Brothers The CTBC Brothers () or simply Brothers are a professional baseball team in Taiwan. The team was originally established as an amateur team in 1984 by the Brother Hotel located in Taipei City, and later joined the Chinese Professional Baseball Leagu ...

of the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

. Ni was a professional baseball player from Taiwan's

(CPBL). After his franchise, the

Chinatrust Whales The Chinatrust Whales (中信鯨), formerly Koos Group Whales (和信鯨), were a Taiwanese professional baseball team. Founded as an amateur team in 1991, this club became professional and joined the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in ...

, disbanded on November 11, 2008, he signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers in 2009. He has also previously played for the Fubon Guardians of the

(CPBL). He is currently the pitching coach for ANYO Fresh, an amateur team in Taiwan. 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 The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 2 ...

team

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 An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

in inning pitched. Ni won the CPBL strikeout Champion Award in 2008 season with 132 strikeouts.

Detroit Tigers

Ni signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers on January 13, 2009. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

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 Nathan Daniel Robertson, (born September 3, 1977) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies. Career Florida Marlins Robertson attended Wichi ...

. Ni is the sixth Taiwanese player to enter Major League Baseball, and the fourth pitcher. 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 Jason Gilbert Giambi (; born January 8, 1971) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter. In his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, which began in 1995, Giambi played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yank ...

, 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. After accumulating a 6.65 ERA in 2010, Ni was optioned to the back to the Mud Hens on June 30, 2010. In February 2011 the Tigers listed him as a non-roster invitee to spring training camp. On March 22, he was assigned to the Mud Hens. 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 The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

to a minor league contract on December 13, 2013. However, he was released on March 31, 2014.

Lancaster Barnstomers/Camden Riversharks

Ni spent the 2014 season playing in the Atlantic League for two different teams. He began the year with the

Lancaster Barnstormers The Lancaster Barnstormers (colloquially known as the Stormers) are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a ...

before getting traded to the Camden Riversharks for future considerations.

Fubon Guardians

Ni signed with the Fubon Guardians of the

for the 2015 season. After the 2020 season he elected free agency.

CTBC Brothers

Ni signed a one month contract with the

of the

for the 2021 season. After failing to secure a contract extension, he left the team on May 24, 2021.

International career

Ni selected

Chinese Taipei national baseball team The Chinese Taipei baseball team () is the national men's baseball team of the Republic of China (Taiwan). It is governed by the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association. The team is ranked second in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confeder ...

at the 2008 Olympics,

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26. Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference tie ...

, 2013 exhibition games against Japan,

2015 WBSC Premier12 The 2015 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship sponsored by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the inaugural event of the WBSC Premier12. It was held from November 8 to 21 in Taiwan and Japan. The South Korean ...

, 2016 exhibition game against Japan and 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Coaching career

Ni became the pitching coach for the amateur Popcorn League team ANYO Fresh on November 11, 2021.

References

External links

, or Fu-Te Ni's onlin
Album
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ni, Fu-Te 1982 births Living people Adelaide Bite players Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Camden Riversharks players Chinatrust Whales players Detroit Tigers players EDA Rhinos players Fubon Guardians players Lancaster Barnstormers players Leones del Caracas players Expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Taiwan Olympic baseball players for Taiwan People from Pingtung County Taiwanese expatriate baseball players in the United States Toledo Mud Hens players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2015 WBSC Premier12 players 2017 World Baseball Classic players Taiwanese expatriate baseball players in Australia