Taiwan Major League
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The Taiwan Major League (TML 臺灣大聯盟) was a professional baseball league in Taiwan that existed from 1996 to 2003. It was established by TV tycoon Chiu Fu-sheng (邱復生) after a row over CPBL broadcasting rights. The Chinese Professional Baseball League absorbed the TML in 2003.
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[edit] History
Throughout TML's short 6-season history, all 4 teams were directly owned and administered by the Naluwan Corporation, a subsidiary of the TVBS media group both of which were chaired by Chiu Fu-sheng during that period. Chiu established TML in December 1995 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. And after each season ended Chiu might also re-distributed players to different teams to "balance each team's strength", due to the fact that all TML players' contracts were directly signed to the Naluwan Corporation but not any of the 4 teams. With these highly controversial policies TML never gained popularity comparable to CPBL, and TML also had difficulty in opening new market right after the aftermath of the The Black Eagles Incident. 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 quit TVBS's chair later. President Chen found local First Financial Holdings plus the voluntary Macoto Bank to take over the 2 new teams absorbed from TML. 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.
[edit] Teams
- 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 or abbreviated Chianan Luka(嘉南勇士)(1997~2002, absorbed by Macoto Gida in 2003)
- Kaohsiung-Pingtung Fala or abbreviated Kaoping 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 article, 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] Champions
- 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
