NEW TAIPEI CITY, TAIWAN – The burly man carried his massive drum across the first level of Xinzhuang Stadium as if he was carrying an infant. He placed it behind a row of blue seats, rested his sticks on top of the drum and waited. He was one of the quietest men in the ballpark. But, eventually, that changed.

As soon as the Chinese Taipei National team hustled on to the field to play the visiting Major Leaguers, the man attacked the drums. He attacked them so vigorously that the folds of flesh on the back of his neck jiggled. The drummer was the essence of an intense fan, a portrait that was visible in hundreds of different shapes and colors throughout the stadium.

When Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson came to town, they noticed that the pulsating drums were only part of a festive atmosphere. The fans also played horns, they chanted rhythmically, they pounded Thunderstix, they danced on the dugouts and they treated a baseball game like a party.

“We need to bring some of this back to the states,” Granderson said.

Soon after some fans chanted “Let’s Go Yankees,” Granderson delighted them by ripping a titanic grand slam off left-hander Yao-Hsun Yan, so Granderson’s remarkable 2011 continued a bit longer. With one swing, Granderson gave the fans a glimpse of what he had done for the Yankees all season. He went deep off a lefty, he collected the most pivotal hit of the 7-0 win and he deflected the attention to his teammates afterwards.

One inning after Granderson’s granny, I was parked a few feet from the dugout to do an in-game interview with him. It was a terrific spot to do some observing. Even in an exhibition game, Granderson was vocal. After Granderson reached the dugout, he barked, “Good inning, guys, good inning.” 

There were several fans wearing Granderson and Cano jerseys, but Chien-Ming Wang was, by far, the most popular jersey being worn among the fans. I couldn’t walk 50 feet without seeing a Wang jersey. Cano said that he had heard Wang “was the king” in Taiwan, which might be an understatement. Wang, the former Yankee who was with the Nationals last season, is expected to pitch against the Major Leaguers in Sunday’s finale of the exhibition series.

From the fried snake in the concession stands to the public address announcer who reminded me of a caffeinated Michael Buffer, there were interesting aspects to baseball in Taiwan. The P.A. announcer was more of a hype man. His enthusiasm was admirable as he implored fans to make noise, but there were times where he kept screeching as a pitcher uncorked a pitch, which is distracting.

Still, the chants were impressive. Stephanie Chen, a recent college graduate who wants to be a judge or a lawyer, translated some of them for me. Chen said “Asian people like to be loud at baseball games,” and mentioned how Taiwanese fans mimicked the boisterous Japanese fans. The atmosphere here reminded me of the fans in Japan, who I saw when the Yankees played there in 2004.

Chen spoke impeccable English and said she was a Yankees fan who watched games on FTV. When Chen added that she also watches highlights from our postgame show on YesNetwork.com, I was pleasantly surprised. After traveling over 10,000 miles from home, I wasn’t expecting a fan to ask about our postgame show. Where’s the dude with the drum? After Chen’s cool comment, I need him to bang it a few times for me.

Follow Jack Curry on Twitter: @JackCurryYES