Taiwan’s professional baseball began the year on a high note with blockbuster signings of several free agents and star players receiving big contracts, which is seen as healthy development for improving the game and bolstering salary levels for most players.
Most sports commentators and fans said last season was a successful one for the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), topped by an exciting Taiwan Series that went into a decisive seventh game before the Lamigo Monkeys prevailed over the Brothers Baseball Club.
With ballparks either full or near capacity for the Taiwan Series championship games, both the Lamigo Monkeys and the Brothers enjoyed good revenue on top of the steady rise in fan support and ticket sales during the regular season.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The CPBL also got unexpected publicity from US and other foreign media when Pat Misch, a former player with the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets, faced down 27 batters to pitch a no-hitter and lead Lamigo to an 11-0 blowout of the Brothers in the series finale.
However, there were some dark clouds hovering over the league after the championship, with two of the Monkeys’ biggest stars coming to the end of their contracts: elder statesman Chen Chin-feng (陳金鋒) and captain and league Most Valuable Player Lin Chih-sheng (林智勝, also known as Ngayaw Ake).
Other teams faced similar situations, with 2015 league RBI king Lin Yi-chuan (林益全) and star catcher Cheng Ta-hung (鄭達鴻) telling the EDA Rhinos that they wanted to test their market value, while former home run king Chang Tai-shan’s (張泰山) second multiple-year contract with the Uni-President Lions expired.
Chen, Lin Chih-sheng and Cheng decided to opt for the league’s free agency system, which only began in 2009 and required players to complete nine full seasons with the league before they became eligible to use it.
After declaring their free-agent status, Lin Chih-sheng and Cheng became the first players in the league’s history to transfer to another team via the free-agent system.
Dispelling rumors that he might join a professional team in South Korea, Lin Chih-sheng on Jan. 4 signed a three-year, NT$36 million (US$1.08 million) contract with the Brothers, with yearly performance incentives of NT$3 million.
“I wanted to remain in Taiwan, so I can contribute to the development of the game, to help youngsters at the grassroots level and also improve the professional baseball environment for all players,” he said.
On Jan. 11, the Brothers signed Cheng to a three-year, NT$20 million contract.
“It was very important for me and for the league to test the free-agent system. This could be the only opportunity in my career to become a free agent and transfer to another club. I hope more players can also have the chance to do so. It is a chance for us to make a choice to stay or go for a new challenge at another team, and it is also a chance for the market to assess a player’s true worth,” Cheng said.
Backed by the deep pockets of their owner, Chinatrust Group’s CTBC Financial Holdings Co, the Brothers came out on top in the league’s first free-agent battle, and the club is now seen as the favorite to challenge for this year’s championship trophy.
However, under the league’s transfer rules, the Brothers had to pay a total of NT$11.70 million in compensation for the transfers — NT$6.45 million to the Lamigo Monkeys and NT$5.25 million to the EDA Rhinos.
Chen decided to stay true to the Monkeys and agreed to a one-year extension of his contract. He said this would be his last season, as he plans to retire at the end.
Things did not turn out so well for 20-year veteran Chang. The Uni-President Lions elected not to renew his contract, citing age (39) and a need to give younger players a chance on the starting lineup. The Lions did offer him a coaching job, but Chang turned it down.
Determined to continue playing, Chang signed a contract with Japan’s Tokushima Indigo Socks, one of the four clubs in the Shikoku Island League, an independent circuit seen equivalent to AAA level, second to Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.
Pundits said the free-agent system worked well and bodes well for the healthy development of professional baseball in the nation, giving leading players a chance to test their market value, without being sold or discarded by owners who used to see players as property who had to remain at one club their whole careers.
The transfers have also helped boost the salaries of players who are consistent and perform well, as shown by 2015 RBI king Lin Yi-chuan’s experience.
The EDA Rhinos recently signed him to a one-year contract with a monthly salary of NT$650,000, NT$100,000 more per month than he earned last season.
The Uni-President Lions signed veteran right-handed pitcher Pan Wei-lun (潘威倫) to a two-year contract at NT$500,000 per month, up by NT$50,000 per month from last season’s earnings.
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man