The EDA Rhinos yesterday announced that the club’s owners are intending to terminate operations and seek buyers for the club, a move that has grave consequence for the CPBL, Taiwan’s professional baseball league.
“The team has lost 10 of the past 11 games. Due to this, the club [executives] have discussed and reviewed the matter, and found that there is too much of a gap between the expectations and the team’s overall performance,” a statement released by the club said.
“We also want to apologize to the legions of fans and sponsors for their sustained support,” it added.
Executives of the E United Group, the Kaohsiung-based corporation that owns the EDA Rhinos, yesterday convened an interim board meeting where they reviewed the team’s performance in the first-half season.
The executives decided to put the team up for sale.
The Rhinos are slated to see out the remainder of the current season, including all second-half season games and the player draft, “and we expect the players to take the games in earnest and put in diligent efforts, and produce results that reflect the true value of the players,” the statement said.
E United Group founder Lin Yi-shou bought the Sinon Bulls from Taichung-based Sinon Corp for an estimated NT$130 million (US$4.01 million at today’s rates) in 2012, renaming the team the EDA Rhinos and moving them to Kaohsiung.
They are one of the four teams in Taiwan’s CPBL, which is now in a precarious position, as sports analysts have previously said that if any one team quits, then the league might fold.
In recent weeks, there has been speculation regarding the future of the Brothers Baseball Club, which is owned by Jeffrey Koo Jr of CTBC Financial Holding Co.
Prosecutors raided CTBC offices and took Koo in for questioning in connection with at least three cases of alleged insider trading and other financial irregularities.
According to news reports, EDA owner Lin Yi-shou said: “I spent more than NT$100 million on the team, but EDA Rhino players did not take the game seriously and gave poor performances.”
CPBL commissioner Wu Chih-yang last night said that he was shocked by the news, but still hoped the club could continue its operation, while the league would help to find a buyer for the team.
Players also spoke out and asked the government to sponsor the team to sustain pro baseball in Taiwan.
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