Taiwanese League Pitcher's Fiancee Just Gave Him an Incredible Surprise in Empty Ballpark
By Carter Owen
Sports leagues across the world are desperately trying to find ways to resume safe, sustainable play amid the COVID-19 pandemic. While some leagues like the NBA will try to begin reopening practice facilities and other official spaces in the coming weeks, Taiwain's Chinese Professional Baseball League has already resumed play without fans.
Well, without real fans. The league has placed cardboard cutouts in seats around its stadiums in hopes of making the games look as normal as possible (at least from a distance). And for Rakuten Monkeys pitcher Ryan Carpenter, this new normal produced a special kind of surprise.
Ryan Carpenter is a pitcher for the Rakuten Monkeys in Taiwan.
— Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) April 26, 2020
His fiancée secretly arranged to have her face put on four cardboard cutouts of "fans" so she could be in the crowd for his games.
Inside one of the only sports leagues now playing on Earth:https://t.co/opnDSjMc7u pic.twitter.com/SF2WYqbjSg
While living, breathing fans aren't allowed inside the stadium, Carpenter will still be "watched" by the cardboard version of his fiancée.
Carpenter, who has spent time with numerous minor league teams and the Detroit Tigers, is playing in his first season in Taiwan’s CPBL.
Rakuten Monkeys' Ryan Carpenter pitched 6.2 scoreless innings with 7 strikeouts. It is also worth mentioning that Carpenter is rocking a Don Frye moustache! #CPBL pic.twitter.com/4e2vFX8QWf
— CPBL STATS (@GOCPBL) April 23, 2020
When a majority of sports leagues return to action and life returns to normal, Carpenter's fiancée will be able to see him dominate in person. In the meantime, her cardboard likeness will do the viewing.
And at least for now, that's okay. It's a pretty cute stopgap solution, to be honest.