Hao-Yu Lee: His Goal in America Is Not to Be Taiwan's Best Player

30-second overview: In 2026, 23-year-old Hao-Yu Lee became Taiwan's 19th player to reach Major League Baseball. In his first season, he played 114 games with 330 at-bats, recording 87 hits and 10 home runs, rewriting five single-season records for Taiwanese players: games played, at-bats, hits, home runs, and RBIs. When asked about these records, he said his goal was never to be Taiwan's best player—only to try to be a good player in America. That year he also faced Taiwanese pitcher Deng Kai-wei (鄧愷威) at the plate for the first time, marking the first Taiwan-on-Taiwan pitcher-batter matchup in MLB history.

Keywords: Hao-Yu Lee, Detroit Tigers, Major League Baseball, Deng Kai-wei, Taiwan baseball

The Moment He Drove to the Canadian Border

When Lee first called up to the majors, his equipment was still in the minor leagues, so he had to drive back to get it. On the way back to Detroit, he took a wrong turn and drove all the way to Canada, not realizing his mistake until he saw the Canadian flag. His phone had no signal, and he couldn't call for help.¹

He explained to the border agent in halting English that he was a professional baseball player. The agent replied, "No problem, you're not the first person to take a wrong turn," and brought him into a small room. The agent Googled his name there, confirmed he was indeed a player, and said: "Nice! You have 2 home runs." He corrected them: "Wrong, it's 3 home runs!" He laughed, saying the Canadian border agent was very muscular, so he probably couldn't win a fight, which is why he answered without any edge—just laughing.¹

First Season: 114 Games, 10 Home Runs, Five Records Rewritten

In the 2026 season, Lee made his first call-up to the majors, becoming Taiwan's 19th player and 7th position player in MLB history. Over 114 games with 330 at-bats, he recorded 87 hits, including 10 home runs, with 46 RBIs, 3 stolen bases, and a .264 batting average. He rewrote five single-season Taiwanese player records: games played, at-bats, hits, home runs, and RBIs.¹

The 10 home runs in a single season became the most-cited number that year. In the broader league, it's not the most elite achievement, but on the historical timeline of Taiwanese players, it marks a new line.¹

"My Goal Was Never to Be Taiwan's Best Player"

On August 18 against the Pirates, he went 3-for-3 with 2 walks, reaching base five times in a single game—a new Taiwanese player record. After that game, his season hit total also surpassed Chang Yu-cheng's (張育成) 54 hits from 2021.²

The next day, in an interview with the Detroit news, he said: "I don't feel much about it. Of course I know people keep mentioning it online. But I'm just competing as hard as I can. My goal was never to be Taiwan's best player—I'm just trying to be a good player in America."²

He also mentioned that he once dreamed of following Chang Yu-cheng's path to the majors, and now others are chasing his records. On this, he said: "It's purely a natural result of playing baseball. Now that we can keep pushing the records higher, of course more is better."² At a press conference back in Taiwan, he put the same idea more concisely: he hopes to stack the records as high as possible so that future Taiwanese players have something to chase.³

The August Bench, and How He Handled It

Midway through the season, after recording hits in 12 consecutive games when he was playing well, he was benched. He admitted he felt somewhat unbalanced at first, but quickly shifted his mindset: this is how the majors work, talent is everywhere, and complaining is a waste of time—better to focus on what the coaching staff might ask of him.³

What he did during that stretch was concrete: knowing he might get chances against left-handed pitchers, he studied every left-handed pitcher he might face. "If opportunities are few, make the most of the few you get. If the chance to play comes against a left-hander, master that left-hander."³

Each Stage Has Its Own Challenge

Looking back at his years in America, he divides his development into phases. In 2022 during the pandemic, there weren't many games, and everything felt fresh. In 2023, relatively low, his numbers weren't bad, but he felt he wasn't playing well enough and sometimes doubted himself. In 2024, he let go of the previous year's doubts and played with a "can be more aggressive" mindset, producing solid results. Last year he felt 2024 was "too aggressive," so he dialed it back, but that backfired. This year he found his 2025 feel again, adding enjoyment and a playful attitude to the game.³

There's no straight line in this self-assessment. His own note on it: "Each stage has its own challenge."³

MLB's First Taiwan-on-Taiwan Pitcher-Batter Matchup

On June 16 Taiwan time, the Tigers faced the Astros, and Hao-Yu Lee stepped into the batter's box against fellow Taiwanese pitcher Deng Kai-wei—the first Taiwan-on-Taiwan pitcher-batter matchup in MLB history.⁴

In his first at-bat, he let two pitches go by before striking out. Deng smiled at him, and Lee laughed, saying he was "a bit annoyed." In the second at-bat against him, he got a hit off Deng. That game he recorded two hits and his first career stolen base in the majors. That same day, Deng pitched 3.1 innings, gave up 3 home runs, struck out 9, reached his 100th career strikeout, and took the loss.⁴

He said it was probably his first time facing a Taiwanese pitcher in his career abroad, and he found it pretty fun. His competitive intensity against a Taiwanese pitcher was stronger than against American pitchers. The two have a friendship off the field and go out to eat together, mostly talking about what they did or ate after games.⁴

Records Are Left for Others to Chase

At the press conference back in Taiwan, Lee mentioned his future goal is to make the opening day roster.¹ Based on his first full season's performance, what Lee did in 2026 was write his name into the table of Taiwanese players in MLB, and he said out loud what he's actually chasing: to be a good player who can stay in America.¹²

Further reading:

• Taiwan's Sports Development and the Olympics — Understanding Taiwan's athletes' position on the international stage through the name "Chinese Taipei."

References