Eleazar Ng is the first Singaporean baseballer to earn a professional contract

SINGAPORE – As national baseball captain Eleazar Ng was grocery shopping in his first week in Ureshino, Japan, he was stopped by another shopper who was trying to tell him about an offer in the store.

The shopper took his phone out and began using Google translate to type his message in Bahasa Indonesia after recognising that Ng was a player from Saga Indonesia Dreams, a team competing in the Kyushu Asia League, a third-tier independent league in Japan.

Ng, who is not fluent in Bahasa Indonesia, found this incident bemusing as he makes an interesting start to life in Japan since arriving in the Saga prefecture in March.

“When you go around the city or when you walk around the area, even in other cities, people will know who you are because you appear on the magazine, the newspaper and there are posters of your team everywhere you go,” said Ng of the strong baseball culture over there.

“When I came here I was shocked because there were people watching us train, kids were watching us warm up. People are very welcoming and they will try to help you as much as possible even though there’s a language barrier.”

The 24-year-old, who will be with the team till October, is the first Singaporean to sign a professional baseball contract.

Before him, compatriot Kohei Wong became the first player from the Republic to join a professional baseball outfit when he was with Japanese team Ibaraki Astro Planets on a training contract in 2023. 

But pursuing the sport professionally was not always the plan for Ng. Just a few months ago, he was mulling over whether to take up the offer to join the team, who were set up to promote baseball in South-east Asia.

Operated by Neo Asia Japan, the team comprise mainly Indonesian players, alongside others from Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Japan.

The pitcher had caught the eye of the team’s scouts while Singapore were in Indonesia playing friendlies ahead of the Asian Games in 2023.

He received a verbal offer from the team and while he was keen, there were some other factors like being away from his family to consider.

Going to Japan also meant Ng, who was a regular in the Singapore Armed Forces, would have to take a pay cut. This was a concern for him with big expenses such as his HDB Build-To-Order flat on the horizon.

He consulted those around him, including his colleagues, friends, family members, partner and his teammates back home, who told him to go for it as it was a rare opportunity and a chance to raise the profile of the sport in Singapore.

Ng also asked himself if he would regret not going in the future. He added: “The answer was yes. I didn’t want to grow old and tell my kids I almost made it to play in Japan.”

The team’s president Yuji Fukuhara highlighted his goal to help develop baseball in various parts of Asia where the sport is not as prominent, adding he was impressed by Ng’s ability.

Fukuhara said: “He has a strong sense of responsibility, and is expected to have a future as a young fastball pitcher.”

Ng also had to overcome doubts over whether he would be good enough to play professionally.

The pressure of leading Singapore out in their maiden Asiad outing in Hangzhou got to him, leading to a disappointing tournament for all as the Republic bowed out after two games in China.

It took him a few months to regain his confidence and start preparing for his stint in Japan, which has been eye-opening so far.

In the opening weekend of the league in mid-April, Ng got his first taste of professional baseball. There was a noticeable difference in the standard of play, even in the warm-up.

Ng noted how some of the players were hitting every ball out of the field during their batting practice ahead of the game, something he rarely witnessed in Singapore.

The best pitchers were throwing speeds of 140 to 145kmh, while Ng’s best is 131kmh.

These encounters have only whetted his appetite as he aims to make the most of his time in Japan to improve as a player and bring the lessons he has learnt back to Singapore.

He said: “I hope to show everyone what a pro athlete does, try to inspire them to hopefully step out of their comfort zone to reach here and strive for something even more. Hopefully more players can come here and do even better than me.”

National team manager Joseph Tan noted the significance of Wong and Ng’s overseas pursuits, saying: “Given the limited exposure of baseball in Singapore, such opportunities for baseball for the individuals and the sport are golden opportunities.”