New York Mets to give away 500 Taiwan baseball jerseys at 2020 Taiwan Day celebration. (MLB photo) New York Mets to give away 500 Taiwan baseball jerseys at 2020 Taiwan Day celebration. (MLB photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As part of the 2020 Taiwan Day celebration, the New York Mets will hand out 500 limited edition "Taiwan No. 1" jerseys to fans at their Aug. 29 game, becoming the first team in Major League Baseball (MLB) history to offer Taiwan-related apparel.

Wang Wei-cheng (王偉成), the director of Asian markets for the Mets organization, said Friday (March 6) that the baseball team is giving away free jerseys as a gesture of appreciation to its Taiwanese fans. He said that this year will mark the 16th anniversary of the Taiwan Day event and that the first 500 individuals who purchase their tickets through the team's official website will receive a special jersey.

Wang stressed that this will be the first Taiwan-themed product in MLB history, with no other team in the league having introduced merchandise to celebrate the island country before. He explained that the limited edition jerseys are identical to the one worn by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in her Taiwan Day promotion video last year.

The jersey will have "Taiwan" and "1" printed on the back and the "Hello Taiwan" slogan embroidered on the right sleeve, Wang said. He expressed hopes that this year's Taiwan Day will see a record-high attendance and urged all Taiwanese to step forward and proudly represent their country, reported CNA.

The New York Mets have the oldest Taiwan Day celebration in the MLB and in the past have invited award-winning film director Ang Lee (李安), Taiwanese golf legend Yani Tseng (曾雅妮), national Tennis champion Lu Yen-hsun (盧彥勳), and popular YouTube personality Tsai Aga (蔡阿嘎) as opening pitchers for the event. This year, the Mets will play the Chicago Cubs, and Taiwanese-American TV show host Janet Hsieh (謝怡芬) has been invited to throw the first pitch, reported ETtoday.



Tsai Aga throws opening pitch at 2019 Mets Taiwan Day. (CNA photo)



Janet Hsieh to serve as opening pitcher for 2020 Taiwan Day celebration. (Janet Hsieh Facebook photo)