Two major events occurred off the field involving the CPBL this week, with the announcement that Sunday games are to be carried by Chinese Television System (CTS) and the expected signing of former Major League player Freddy Garcia by the EDA Rhinos.
The failure to continue the 18-year relationship with local sports broadcaster Videoland Sports to provide live coverage of games on the local cable network led to a wave of complaints from fans and ultimately brought on the deal with CTS, which will begin airing one of the two games being played on Sunday this weekend.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, except that CTS would not be televising any games during the week, whereas before baseball fans have had the luxury of access to all of the games on cable television for more than 20 years.
“It’s a positive step forward for everyone, since more fans will be able to watch the games, like they have for a long time, but the sport has definitely taken a hit as far as its overall popularity is concerned,” a source close to the deal, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Taipei Times.
In a bid to revive interest in the league after it hit an all-time high a year ago with the signing of former Major League Most Valuable Player Manny Ramirez, the EDA Rhinos announced they would be signing a former Major League pitcher with 150-plus wins.
Even though the Rhinos could not release the identity of the player as of yesterday due to compliance reasons, the description of the player — “born outside of the US, but is currently an American citizen who has spent time with the New York Yankees, the Baltimore Orioles and the Atlanta Braves” — leaves little doubt that it is Freddy Garcia.
The terms of the deal were not available, but Garcia is expected to receive a contract very similar to Ramirez’s last year, which was in the NT$1.5 million (US$50,000) range with other unspecified perks, such as a free suite at the EDA Crown Plaza Hotel in Greater Kaohsiung.
The signing of Garcia should give the slumping Rhinos, who have lost five straight and were dead last in the standings with a 6-12 record as of yesterday, a much-needed boost.
Garcia could be in a Rhinos uniform as soon as next week, pending the results of a medical and the inking of a contract.
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