Marek Chlup, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound outfielder born in Turnov, Czechia, signed a developmental contract with Nippon Professional Baseball’s Yomiuri Giants on Wednesday.
Chlup’s agreement with the Giants makes him the first player born in Czechia to sign a contract with an NPB organization. On Thursday, Chlup, 25, posed for pictures in a Giants jersey and cap at a press conference welcoming him to the team.
The slugger, who transferred from North Carolina State University to North Greenville University’s NCAA Division II program after the 2020 college baseball season, was unaware NPB scouts watched him play.
“I had no idea something like this could happen,” Chlup said in a video interview on the Baseball Czech Instagram page. “Two seasons had passed since the World Baseball Classic, and out of nowhere, a scout from the Giants called me saying they would like to meet and would likely offer me a contract.”
Chlup represented the Czech Republic in the 2022 WBC Qualifiers and batted .353 with two home runs in 17 at-bats. In the 2023 WBC, the righty hitter played center field in all four games for the Czech Republic and recorded four hits in 12 at-bats. Chlup is known for his power, smashing a career-high 14 in 51 games for North Greenville University in 2023.
In a 10-2 loss against Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Chlup laced a double off Roki Sasaki, a superstar starting pitcher in NPB for the Chiba Lotte Marines. Again, the right-hander, who hit .252 with seven home runs in 80 games this season for the Lake Country DockHounds of the American Association of Professional Baseball, was stunned to learn scouts from the Giants tracked his progress.
“They saw me when we played Japan at the World Baseball Classic,” Chlup said in the video interview. “Since then, they’ve been following me, though I wasn’t aware of it. They secretly flew out to see me. The offer came out of nowhere, and I only had a few weeks to plan. This opportunity might not come again, so I took it.”
In all likelihood, Chlup will finish the 2024 NPB season with the Yomiuri Giants’ second farm team. Players signed to NPB developmental contracts can only play in minor league or exhibition games unless signed to a standard contract.
Chlup’s journey to playing Central League games with the Giants top team may not be easy, but he is proud of his accomplishments as a baseball player and wants to help grow the game of baseball in his home country.
“This is a great honor for me because my dream is to continue to promote baseball in the Czech Republic because we are a small baseball nation, but I believe we are on the rise right now,” Chlup said at the press conference on Thursday.
The Czech Republic national team will play two exhibition games against Chinese Taipei at the Taipei Dome in Taipei, Taiwan, from November 2-3 and two exhibition games against Japan from November 9-10 at the Vantelin Dome Nagoya in Nagoya, Japan. The second exhibition game on November 10 will occur three days before Japan plays its opening round game of the 2024 WBSC Premier12 tournament against Australia.
Photo: Marek Chlup of the Czech Republic bats in the first inning during the World Baseball Classic Pool B game between Czech Republic and China at Tokyo Dome on March 10, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Kenta Harada/Getty Images)
