Professional baseball in Taiwan
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Professional baseball was started in Taiwan by the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL 中華職業棒球聯盟) established in 1989 and the first historical game played by the Uni-President Lions visiting Brother Elephants's home at the now demolished Taipei Baseball Stadium on March 17, 1990. At its 1997 peak Taiwan had two leagues and a total of 11 professional baseball teams because of a row over broadcasting rights; the other league Taiwan Major League (TML 臺灣大聯盟) was established by TV tycoon Chiu Fu-sheng(邱復生) to compete with CPBL. Later in 2003, CPBL absorbed the TML when TML fell into deep financial trouble. As of 2006 Taiwan has one professional baseball league, the CPBL, with six professional baseball teams; average attendance is at around 3,000 per game.
Many players in the North American Major League Baseball's minor league systems as well as Japanese and South Korean players who cannot secure a seat in their countries' professional clubs were attracted to play in Taiwan since the average monthly salary for an international player, at 5,000 ~ 12,000 US Dollar, is very competitive if compared with A, AA, or even low level AAA minor league salary. While this has contributed to a relative high level of baseball playing, many people had criticized that hiring so many international players hinders growth of local players. In response to the criticisms, CPBL limits the number of international players who may play for each team. The current limit is 3 per team, although before the 2006 season, in light of the rumored involvement of international players in recent scandals (which may turn out to be overblown, however), CPBL ever considered reducing the limit to 2 per team. This idea was not carried out finally.
International players (other than Japanese and Korean players, whose names are already written in Chinese characters) are given Chinese epithets, usually two to three characters in length, as names to increase familiarity with Taiwanese fans. These epithets are generally (but not always) loose transliterations of the players' names and are generally chosen as terms meant to convey strength or might. One example is the below-referenced Jeffrey Andra, whose epithet is Feiyong (飛勇) -- meaning, literally, a flying brave man. (La New Bears appears to buck this trend; their foreign players' epithets are generally simple transliterations.)
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[edit] Game-fixing scandals
Despite the young age, the professional baseball in Taiwan had suffered two game-fixing scandals. Both times led to sharp decline in game attendance and broke many fans' hearts. However, many die-hard fans do not blame the players. Instead fans blame gangs and gamblers for their greed and forcing players to participate in game-fixing with violence and threats. They also blamed the police and the league for being unable to provide a safe environment for players to play in.
The first sign of the scandals was the so-called "August 3 Incident" when a group of weapon-carrying local black gang members rushed into a Taichung hotel and threatened 5 Brother Elephant players, including then superstar Chen Yi-hsin(陳義信), to cooperate with them and fix games for their gambling business in the evening of August 3, 1996. CPBL reported to the police immediately and these black gang members were soon seized, but rumors abounded.
The rumors came true in January 1997, just before the season started: With clear evidence, prosecutors seized a chain of CPBL players--including several famous ones who won the silver medal in the 1992 Summer Olympics--for game-fixing. During the judicial process, more and more players, mostly from the China Times Eagles, were found involved in game-fixing and were expelled by CPBL. In June 1997 only two China Times Eagle Taiwanese players remained clean, and six other teams had to borrow China Times Eagle players for the team to finish the season.
The China Times Eagles were disbanded the next year as a result, and CPBL's average attendance declined sharply, from the peak 6,000 in 1994 to merely 1,000~1,500 in 1998. However threats remained: in August 1997 the "August 3 Incident" was replayed in Kaohsiung but with victims changed to Mercuries Tigers. In April 1999, the Wei Chuan Dragons' then manager Hsu Sheng-ming(徐生明) was attacked and wounded near his Taipei residence. Mercuries Tigers and Wei Chuan Dragons also could not survive the financial loss brought about and closed down after the 1999 season ended.
In July 2005 another gambling-related scandal erupted when local Next Magazine published a story which photographed Chinatrust Whales Australian pitcher Bradley Purcell(柏德) showing up at a Taipei lounge bar along with several local black gang members. This report further pointed out several suspicious games in May and June 2005, and listed nearly 10 players involved, mostly international.
Local prosecutor Hsu Wei-yueh(徐維嶽) took up the case and imprisoned La New Bears catcher Chen Chao-ying(陳昭穎) and Macoto Cobras coach Tsai Sheng-fong(蔡生豐) on July 27, both of whom were immediately expelled. However on August 22 Hsu released the two because "they had made full confessions". Bradley Purcell himself had been fired earlier by Chinatrust Whales and left Taiwan in advance before the judicial action started.
Hsu Wei-yueh later summoned a total of near 15 players(including Sinon Bulls American pitcher Jeffrey Andra(飛勇), La New Bears Puerto Rican infielder Victor Rodriguez(羅德里茲) and Chinatrust Whales Dominican pitcher Emiliano Girón(吉龍)) from 4 CPBL teams(minus Brother Elephants and Uni-President Lions) and claimed they were implicated. None of them admitted the guilt but Hsu Wei-yueh still ruled that most of them needed bail worth NT$ 100,000 to be released. CPBL immediately expelled those players who needed to post bail. The real situation remains unknown so far, but with the recent lack of investigative advances and indictments--not to mention the fact that Hsu Wei-yueh himself was later involved in other bribe-accepting scandals, which led to his suspension and imprisonment since September 2005--there is growing suspicion about the truthfulness of these judicial actions.
[edit] CPBL teams
Taiwan national baseball team has won numerous Little League World Series championships in the 1970s and 1980s, plus the bronze medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics. However, because of the poor local baseball environment, excellent players have had to leave Taiwan to join foreign clubs. The idea to form a professional baseball league in Taiwan was first suggested and realized by local Brother Hotel's chairman Hung Teng-sheng(洪騰勝). He formed his amateur Brother Hotel baseball team in 1984 and later decided to professionalize this team in 1987. However he needed more teams to form a league: throughout 1988 and 1989 Hung visited numerous Taiwanese enterprises in hope that these enterprises could possibly form professional baseball clubs. Most of his requests were rejected, but Wei-Chuan, Mercuries, and Uni-President finally nodded. The Chinese Professional Baseball League was established on October 23, 1989 as a result, with Hung Teng-sheng acted as secretary-general until now. Hung is therefore respected as "Father of the CPBL".
Teams are owned and named after large Taiwanese companies, as in Japan. Each team manages a regional "market", as in "home city", but does not play its games exclusively in that market. The "home city" breakdown for the six teams are:
[edit] Current
- Brother Elephants (兄弟象) -- Taipei (since 1990)
- Chinatrust Whales (中信鯨) -- Taipei County (since 1997)
- La New Bears (La New 熊) -- Kaohsiung (former First Financial Holdings Agan (第一金剛) in 2003, La New Bears since 2004)
- Macoto Cobras (誠泰COBRAS) -- Taipei County (former Macoto Gida (誠泰太陽) in 2003, Macoto Cobras since 2004)
- Sinon Bulls (興農牛) -- Taichung (former Jungo Bears (俊國熊) 1993~95, Sinon Bears (興農熊) in upper 1996, Sinon Bulls since lower 1996)
- Uni-President Lions (統一獅) -- Tainan (since 1990)
Besides these home cities, regular games are also held in Hsinchu, Douliou at Douliou Baseball Stadium, Chiayi at Chiayi Baseball Field, Pingtung at Pingtung Baseball Field, Luodong, Hualien and Taitung with less frequency.
Each year the season spans from March to October, with a one-week all-star break in June or July, which separates the season into upper and lower halves. Championship series are held in late October or early November: before 2004 the 2 teams with highest winning percentage separately in the upper and lower halves would compete in the championship series. If the same team won both the 2 halves, this team was awarded a direct championship. Since 2005 the championship rules changed:
- If the 2 halved seasons' championships are different teams:
Round 1: The league's annual most winning team except the 2 halved-season championships receives a wild card, and plays with the halved-season championship with lower annual winning percentage. The team which wins 3 games among at most 5 games advances.
Round 2: Round 1's winner plays with the halved-season championship with higher annual winning percentage. The team which wins 4 games among at most 7 games is awarded championship.
- If the 2 halved seasons' champions are the same team:
Round 1: The league's 2nd annual most winning team plays with the league's 3rd annual most winning team. The team which wins 3 games among at most 5 games advances.
Round 2: Round 1's winner plays with the team winning both the two halved-seasons. The team which wins 4 games among at most 7 games is awarded championship, but the two halved-seasons' winner is automatically awarded a winning game beforehand.
In 1998 and 1999 the CPBL ever experimented another set of championship rules in which the season was not halved, and the 2nd and 3rd annual most winning teams competed under the "2 wins out of at most 3 games" rule to qualify for the final championship series with the annual most winning team. Although such system was short-lived in CPBL, the TML later adopted it throughout its history.
Also since 2005 the champion team will represent Taiwan in the Asia Series to compete with other champion teams from Japan, South Korea and China's professional baseball leagues.
[edit] Defunct
- China Times Eagles (時報鷹)(1993~97)
- Mercuries Tigers (三商虎)(1990~99)
- Wei Chuan Dragons (味全龍)(1990~99)
[edit] TML teams
During TML's short 6-year history, all 4 teams were directly owned and administered by the TVBS media group, which was chaired by Chiu Fu-sheng during that period. Chiu established TML in 1996 shortly after TVBS lost the bid to broadcast CPBL games from 1997 to 2006 (TVBS won this bid earlier from 1993 to 1996) in anticipation to maintain advertisement revenue as well as revenge CPBL. The other TML's keyman was local Sampo Corporation's then chairman Chen Sheng-tian(陳盛沺); his amateur baseball team Sampo Giants had been wanting to join CPBL since 1992, however CPBL repeatedly rejected his application for unexplained reasons. Chen Sheng-tian later decided to cooperate with Chiu Fu-sheng and turned Sampo Giants into Taipei Gida, as well as sponsored this team until the end of 2000 when he realized there was no possibility for TML to profit. TML's first historical game was played by the Taipei Gida visiting Chiayi-Tainan Luka's home at Chiayi County Baseball Stadium on February 28, 1997, a preselected date to recognize the 228 Incident as well as intentionally being earlier than CPBL's season in anticipation to attract more attention.
Throughout TML's history, TML had been luring active CPBL players to break their CPBL contracts and join TML by paying them high salary in excess of real market value. A total of near 30 CPBL players, both Taiwanese and international, were attracted to TML; however because of Chiu's indecent incentive to form TML, many these players' fans ceased to support them and called them "traitors" henceforth. TML also had a much looser policy on international players, even allowing a team to own 11 international players in its first 1997 season, and 7 in its second 1998 season.
Chiu annually leased the 4 teams' logos and legal rights to different sponsors for advertising purpose, so every year each team would bear different name from different sponsors, only with home city and mascot remained the same. All these TML's policies were highly controversial; plus TML's single-entity nature, TML never gained popularity comparable to CPBL. Despite nice pay, young, potential players hesitated to join TML because its games were not competitive enough, and sponsors gradually disappeared.
In January 2003 Chiu finally decided to close down TML after long time loss (an estimated 1.6 billion NT$ loss was amassed during the 6 seasons, mainly due to TML's poor attendance, lack of TV broadcast royalties, and extra high personnel expense) and political pressure from President Chen Shui-bian; Chiu also quitted TVBS's chair later. President Chen found local Macoto Bank and First Financial Holdings to sponsor the 2 absorbed TML teams. Macoto Bank went on running, while First Financial Holdings sold Agan to La New Corporation one year later, forming today's CPBL. Macoto Bank was later absorbed by Shin Kong Financial Holdings in January 2006, but the Cobras still carries the name "Macoto" so far.
Before CPBL's 2003 season started, CPBL decided to fine each active former "traitor" player who returned back with Gida and Agan for 1~4 million NT$ because of their previous contract-breaking. Both Macoto Bank and First Financial Holdings originally refused to pay the fine, so during 2003 these "traitor" players had no game to play. However in 2004 Macoto Bank and La New Corporation finally paid the fine by adding extra restrictions in these players' contracts. These players could finally show up in CPBL again after long time absence.
The mascots Gida, Agan, Luka and Fala originated from Taiwanese aborigines symbols. They mean "Suns", "Robots", "Braves" and "Thunder Gods" separately. However after the merger CPBL ruled that the 2 new teams needed to have their mascots changed to CPBL-style animals within one year; Macoto Bank and La New Corporation followed accordingly before the 2004 season started.
- Taipei Gida (台北太陽)(1997~2002, absorbed by First Financial Holdings Agan in 2003)
- Taichung Agan (台中金剛)(1997~2002, absorbed by Macoto Gida in 2003)
- Chiayi-Tainan Luka (嘉南勇士)(1997~2002, absorbed by Macoto Gida in 2003)
- Kaohsiung-Pingtung Fala (高屏雷公)(1997~2002, absorbed by First Financial Holdings Agan in 2003)
Like CPBL, TML games were also occasionally held in minor cities as listed in the CPBL section, and it adopted CPBL's 1998 and 1999 unhalved season system and championship rules throughout its history. TML ever suggested a real Taiwan championship competed by the 2 leagues' annual most winning teams, but CPBL refused determinedly.
[edit] Exporting Talent
While Taiwan has been producing great baseball talent for the last few decades, its best players usually leave the domestic league to play for professional teams in Japan or North America. In the 1980s, Taiwanese pitchers such as 郭泰源 (Taigen Kaku) and 莊勝雄 (Katsuo Soh) posted impressive numbers for Seibu Lions and Chiba Lotte Marines, respectively, of the Japanese baseball league, respectively. More recently, a slew of young stars (outfielder Chin-Feng Chen and pitchers Chien-Ming Wang, Chin-Hui Tsao and Hong-Chih Kuo) became the first group of Taiwanese players to reach the North American Major League Baseball.
[edit] Championship by season
[edit] CPBL
- 1990: Wei Chuan Dragons defeated Mercuries Tigers, 4-2
- 1991: Uni-President Lions defeated Wei Chuan Dragons, 4-3
- 1992: Brother Elephants (by winning both half-seasons)
- 1993: Brother Elephants defeated Uni-President Lions, 4-2
- 1994: Brother Elephants (by winning both half-seasons)
- 1995: Uni-President Lions (by winning both half-seasons)
- 1996: Uni-President Lions defeated Wei Chuan Dragons, 4-2
- 1997: Wei Chuan Dragons defeated Chinatimes Eagles, 4-2
- 1998: Wei Chuan Dragons defeated Sinon Bulls, 4-3
- 1999: Wei Chuan Dragons defeated Chinatrust Whales, 4-1
- 2000: Uni-President Lions defeated Sinon Bulls, 4-3
- 2001: Brother Elephants defeated Uni-President Lions, 4-3
- 2002: Brother Elephants defeated Chinatrust Whales, 4-0
- 2003: Brother Elephants defeated Sinon Bulls, 4-2
- 2004: Sinon Bulls defeated Uni-President Lions, 4-3
- 2005: Sinon Bulls defeated Macoto Cobras, 4-0
- 2006: La New Bears defeated Uni-President Lions, 4-0
[edit] TML
- 1997: Chiayi-Tainan Luka defeated Taipei Gida, 4-3
- 1998: Taipei Gida defeated Kaohsiung-Pingtung Fala, 4-3
- 1999: Taichung Agan defeated Taipei Gida, 4-2
- 2000: Taipei Gida defeated Kaohsiung-Pingtung Fala, 4-0
- 2001: Taichung Agan defeated Taipei Gida, 4-2
- 2002: Taichung Agan defeated Kaohsiung-Pingtung Fala, 4-1
[edit] See Also
- Chinese Taipei baseball team
- 2006 Chinese Professional Baseball League Playoffs
- Taiwan Series
- Konami Cup Asia Series
[edit] External links
- Chinese Professional Baseball League (in Chinese)
- History of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (in English)
- Taiwanese Baseball Primer
| Professional Baseball in Taiwan | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chinese Professional Baseball League | ||
| Brother Elephants | Uni-President Lions | Sinon Bulls |
| Chinatrust Whales | Macoto Cobras | La New Bears |
| Defunct Teams | ||
| China Times Eagles | Mercuries Tigers | Wei Chuan Dragons |
| Taipei Gida | Taichung Agan | Chiayi-Tainan Luka |
| Kaohsiung-Pingtung Fala | Jungo Bears | First Financial Holdings Agan |
|
|
||
| Taiwan Series | Asia Series | Olympic Games | Asian Games | ||
| Baseball World Cup | Intercontinental Cup | Asian Cup Baseball | World Baseball Classic | ||
| Taiwan Major League | Chinese Taipei Baseball Team | Chinese Taipei Baseball Association | Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee | ||
