Ryan Carpenter signed with the Rakuten Monkeys of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) on 11 January 2020. The left-handed pitcher was born in California in 1990. He has played professional baseball since 2011 and made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2018 with the Detroit Tigers. After starting nine games for the Tigers in the 2019 season, Carpenter was released in September.
Carpenter has so far helped the Monkeys to an 8-2 record.
Unfortunately, he cannot share his success with his loved ones. The government of Taiwan has implemented strict measures for access to the island from overseas.
Carpenter's fiancé Jami Mugar posted on Facebook: "So proud of my guy for remaining tough 7,000 miles away from home and reminding me that everything will be OK."
With CPBL games being played behind closed doors, the only fans at the stadium are either robots, mannequins or cardboard cut-outs. This led Mugar to make arrangements with the Monkeys to be included in the stands as one of the cut-out fans.
Carpenter did appreciate the surprise.
Feature photo courtesy of @RakutenMonkeys on Twitter.
Related articles:
Robot fans in CPBL stands
CPBL opening day
