TTT Interview: Guardians Pitcher Henry Sosa.

Henry Sosa is a starting pitcher with the Fubon Guardians, one of Taiwan’s pro-baseball teams.

He first played in Taiwan in the 2019 season – the 30th in the league’s history. That year he started 12 games and won 8.

Along the way he notched up some impressive figures with 86.2 innings pitched, a WHIP of 0.81, and an ERA of 1.56.

Henry left for Korea in June, 2019, but is now back with the Guardians for 2020.

Earlier today, ahead of a visit by the Rakuten Monkeys, Henry agreed to a Q & A session with The Taiwan Times.

TT – The Taiwan Times / HS – Henry Sosa

TT: Who is Henry Sosa?

HS: I’m a baseball player, a pitcher, from the Dominican Republic, and I have been in Asia for nine years.

TT: What is your first memory of baseball as a kid?

HS: My first memory was when Sammy Sosa was so big, Pedro Martinez too. That’s when I started liking baseball.

TT: Is that when you wanted to be a pitcher? Did you ever think about batting?

HS: I wanted to try both but my mom didn’t want me to. So I had to choose between being a baseball player, or going to the army. So I chose baseball.

TT: Is joining the army compulsory back home?

HS: You don’t have to go but if your parents want you to go, somebody listens.

TT: You came here last year to the Fubon Guardians. Why did you make that decision?

HS: I had a couple of offers from other teams, in America. But I had been in Asia for a long time, and I wanted to be back here (after the previous close season).

TT: You were here, and it seemed that you left so soon?

HS: Yeah I went back to Korea.

TT: Why did you leave?

HS: I had some things going on with my taxes there. They were charging me taxes from 2014 to 2018, so I needed to go there and pay some tax bills. I paid a lot of money in taxes last year.

TT: You are back here now, how is life living under the COVID-19 umbrella?

HS: For me it really isn’t that bad because I don’t like to go out. And we have to respect the rules, you know.

TT: You are playing here with ‘mostly’ the same guys as last year. How does it feel to be back with the team?

HS: I love those guys. I mean, I feel like family. We are together nine months of the year, so this is my second home.

TT: Back with COVID-19. A lot of fans around the world are following the CPBL now. What do you think about that?

HS: I think it is good (for people) to watch baseball in another part of the world, not just the U.S. and Japan.

And for me, baseball is the same, it’s fun, you know. So more people know about baseball in Taiwan now.

TT: What would you say to those new fans of the CPBL around the world?

HS: Just be careful, take care of yourselves, and don’t go out too much. This situation with the coronavirus is no joke. It is something serious. We have to be careful.

TT: And we are standing here next to the Monkeys’ batters, balls flying everywhere, what prediction do you have for tonight’s game?

HS: I am not playing today but it is a baseball game. Whoever’s gonna win, is gonna win. We don’t know what’s going to happen. Good luck to the Monkeys team, but I really want my team to win, but it’s baseball.

Follow the Fubon Guardians on Twitter here.

& meet the Fubon Guardians UK based fans here.