Baseball in Taiwan is no joke. It may not be the national sport – there isn’t a national sport in Taiwan – or be as widely practiced by the Taiwanese youth as basketball, but baseball in Taiwan has gathered a considerable following over the past few years.
So stricken with baseball fever is the nation that the Taiwanese government even just released a stimulus check of $6,000 NTD (USD equivalent) for 18 to 22 year olds to attend baseball matches. Yes, Taiwanese President Tsai Ying-wen is a baseball fan too.
Photo credit: Taiwan Presidential Office on Visualhunt
Such incentive is indeed enough to make even the more basketball-favored individual take a whack at baseball in Taiwan. However, unlike the MLB’s 30 teams, Taiwan only has six professional baseball teams making up its Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). While amateur baseball leagues exist in Taiwan, the choices of who to support remain fairly limited.
This is very much unlike matches. With each team playing a total of 120 games over the course of two half seasons, fans have ample opportunity to catch a game of their favorite team. There’s even two postseason playoffs, totalling 13 matches, with the big best-of-seven ‘Taiwan Series’ finale deciding the official CPBL champion for that year.
Why are baseball teams important when thinking about corporations in Taiwan?
With that brief introduction to the baseball scene in Taiwan, let’s get into the real meat of the article: who owns the CPBL teams in Taiwan and why is this important?
Unlike football teams in the English Premier League or even MLB teams in the US, changes in ownership of CPBL teams in Taiwan directly impact the name, appearance, and oftentimes the location of the team. So it really does matter who your owner is.
But it’s not just professional baseball club owners that have an influence on the league. Even the deputy speaker of the Legislative Yuan (Department) is the CPBL commissioner, making the Taiwanese government directly involved with baseball in Taiwan.
With so much connection, it’s clear that baseball in Taiwan is much more than just a game. In the case of the Taiwanese government, it’s a matter of international representation and a tourism draw. In the case of the baseball club owners, it’s a sponsorship dream.
Perhaps what’s even more interesting though, is that by looking at the owners of CPBL teams we have a perfect snapshot into the vying corporations in Taiwan. From financial service conglomerates to food and beverage giants, if you know the owners of these 6 teams then you know the majority of dominant manufacturers in Taiwan.
In the following sections I will introduce each professional baseball team in Taiwan and a bit about their history. Then I’ll get into the companies themselves.
CTBC Brothers (中信兄弟)
Formerly known as the Brother Elephants (for the Brother Hotel in Taipei), the CTBC Brothers are the oldest baseball club in Taiwan. They are also the national baseball team for Taiwan, and represented the nation during the recent World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March 2023.
Founded in 1984, the Brothers are the most decorated baseball club in Taiwan with a total of nine CPBL championships under their belt, which includes the most recent 2022 season. Some might argue that such success is aided by the fact that the club is considerably older than many of the other teams in the league, but I digress.
One of the founding four members of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (which began in 1989), the CTBC Brothers are based in Taichung. Although previously hailing from Taipei, the location switch occurred following the change in ownership from the Brother Hotel to CTBC in 2013. The smaller Taipei stadium may have influenced the move too.
Who owns the CTBC Brothers?
The CTBC Brothers are owned by the CTBC Financial Holding Co., Ltd (中國信託). The CTBC full name used to be the Chinatrust Bank Corporation, however the name has since been officially changed to just CTBC.
A privately owned conglomerate, CTBC Holdings subsidiaries are made up of banking (personal banking makes over 50% of the CTBC Bank’s total revenue), securities, insurance brokers, venture capital, asset management, bills finance, security, and the Taiwan lottery.
Since its establishment in 1966, CTBC Financial Holdings has expanded to over 14 countries, including the US, Canada, and Singapore. Its bank, CTBC Bank, is also one of the largest banks in Taiwan, and had over 5.5 million customers using their digital banking services in 2022 (that’s more than 23.6% of the population!).
CTBC Bank is also widely considered to be the best bank in Taiwan. With a motto like ‘We are family’, such praise isn’t hard to believe.
✨ Fun fact!✨
The owner of the CTBC Brothers, Jeffrey Koo Jr., the grandson of the founder of CTBC, is also the president of the Baseball Federation of Asia.Uni-President Lions (統一獅)
The Uni-President Lions, also known as the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, are another successful baseball club in Taiwan. Based in Tainan and with home games at the Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium, the Lions have won a total of five CPBL championships since their establishment in 1989.
Who owns the Uni-President Lions?
Since 2003, the Lions have been owned by Uni-President. Not to be confused with a group of the best universities in Taiwan, Uni-President Enterprises Corp. Taiwan is a food and beverage conglomerate.
As the largest food company in Asia, Uni-President specializes in the manufacture, processing, and sale of a variety of foodstuffs from instant noodles, beverages, dairy products, frozen foods, and baked goods. The company also owns the popular nationwide cafe chain 85°C Bakery Cafe, and has diversified into other businesses like retail, real estate, and biotech.
However, perhaps what Uni-President is most known for is its operation of stores for international chains like Starbucks, 7-Eleven, Carrefour, and Mister Donut in Taiwan. Taiwanese subsidiaries of Uni-President also include Cosmed (a cosmetics and pharmacy chainstore) and books.com.tw (an online bookstore).
Related: 10 Things to do in Tainan, Taiwan's Oldest CityWei Chuan Dragons (味全龍)
The Wei Chuan Dragons are one of the oldest baseball clubs in Taiwan, having been founded in 1989. However, they are simultaneously the second youngest baseball team in the CPBL, as the Dragons were abruptly disbanded in 1999 and only came back to life 20 years later. As such, the Dragons have only won four CPBL championships throughout their history.
A Taipei team through and through, the Wei Chuan Dragons play their home games at the Tianmu Baseball Stadium in Shilin District.
Who owns the Wei Chuan Dragons?
Since their establishment, the Wei Chuan Dragons have continuously been owned by the Wei Chuan Foods Corporation. Founded in 1953, Wei Chuan Foods has since become a leader in the manufacture and sale of instant foods, dairy products, sauces, snacks, and beverages in Taiwan.
For anyone living in Taiwan, a trip to the local PxMart or Carrefour reveals the absurd amount of products on offer under the Wei Chuan Foods umbrella. There’s MSG powder, tinned food, juice, milk, soy milk, yogurt, pudding, eggs, and so much more.
The vast amount of daily products linked to Wei Chuan really does show just how small Taiwan is, and how easy it is to understand the corporate scene in the nation just by looking at the CPBL owners.
The company also has an incredible international presence with Wei Chuan U.S.A Inc. Founded all the way back in 1972, Wei Chuan USA has a greater focus on frozen foods (dumplings, buns) and dry foods (noodles, beans). Coupled with numerous distribution centers across the country, this has made Wei Chuan a formidable force in the international Chinese food industry.
Fubon Guardians (富邦悍將)
In comparison to the four founding CPBL clubs, the Fubon Guardians (formerly known as the EDA Rhinos) have had a fairly rocky history. Established in 1993, the Guardians had four different owners before becoming the Fubon Guardians, following an acquisition by Fubon in 2017. Perhaps that’s why the Guardians have only won a total of three CPBL championships.
Based in New Taipei City, the Fubon Guardians play home matches at the Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium, the old stadium for the CTBC Brothers.
Who owns the Fubon Guardians?
The Fubon Guardians is owned by the Fubon Financial Holding Co., Ltd. (Fubon for short). A member of the Fortune 500 Global in 2021, Fubon is a financial services conglomerate based in Taiwan.
With its Taipei Fubon Bank being among the largest banks in Taiwan, Fubon’s operations also include insurance (life, automobile, property, liability), asset management, securities, and venture capital. The company additionally has banking operations in China and Hong Kong.
Though Fubon’s focus is obviously financial services, sports are also considered important. That’s because, in addition to owning the Fubon Guardians, Fubon Holdings also owns the Taipei Fubon Braves. The Braves are a professional basketball team that plays in Taiwan’s P.League+ (the highest league in Taiwan for basketball).
And, like with the Fubon Guardians baseball team and every single storefront of the bank, the Taipei Fubon Braves wear blue.
Related: 5 Things You Need to Travel in Taiwan (yes, hard cash is one of them!)Rakuten Monkeys (樂天桃猿)
Formerly known as the Lamigo Monkeys, the Rakuten Monkeys are one of the most widely known professional baseball teams in Taiwan. The club has even garnered international recognition, however it’s not quite for the reasons you might expect.
Founded in 2003, the Monkeys have won an impressive total of seven championships throughout their comparatively short play in the league. Bought in 2019 by Rakuten – the only foreign company to own a Taiwanese CPBL team – the Rakuten Monkeys were previously owned by La New (a popular shoe retailer in Taiwan) and for some time had been based in Kaohsiung.
Nowadays, the Rakuten Monkeys are Taoyuan residents and play their home games at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium, which doubles as a performance venue for big name artists and events.
International Recognition of the Rakuten Monkeys
There’s been two instances where the Rakuten Monkeys have gained international recognition:
- During the covid 19 pandemic lockdown in 2020, the Rakuten Monkeys filled their stadium with mannequins dressed as fans to simulate a packed stadium.
- During the World Baseball Classic in March 2023, the Rakuten Girls (樂天女孩) – cheerleaders for the baseball team – gained global attention for their unique support during matches and cute dancing displays.
Who owns the Rakuten Monkeys?
The Rakuten Monkeys are owned by none other than Rakuten, a Japanese e-commerce company. Founded in 1997, Rakuten is an online marketplace that offers its members “cash-back” rewards for shopping with their affiliated clients. Rakuten has since expanded into the Rakuten Group, Inc. with a number of subsidiaries, including:
- Rakuten Mobile (mobile network in Japan);
- Rakuten Viki (a, mostly, free streaming platform for Asian TV dramas and movies)
- Rakuten Viber (messaging app with 823 million monthly active users)
- Rakuten Life Insurance Co., Ltd
- Rakuten Kobo Inc. (e-book distributor and platform)
- Rakuten Bank, Ltd. (including online banking)
In fact, there’s just over 40 different subsidiaries under the Rakuten umbrella. With so much on offer, it’s no wonder that Rakuten has 1.6 billion members worldwide.
Though Rakuten is more of a global force, it does shine a light for foreigners on the close relationship between Taiwan and Japan. Taiwan Rakuten Ichiba, the Taiwanese version, was the first online site outside of Japan to be launched for the e-commerce platform in 2008.
However, what makes Rakuten as a CPBL owner particularly interesting is their continuous involvement in sport. Rakuten has not only sponsored FC Barcelona, but they also own a professional football club in Japan (Rakuten Vissel Kobe) as well as a professional baseball club in Japan (Tohuku Rakuten Golden Eagles).
So the Rakuten Monkeys are just another expansion into sport for the Japanese company.
Want to learn more about the Rakuten Monkeys? Nothing beats their promo/glory song that’s blasted in the mall adjacent to the stadium when they win. But fair warning: it’s an earworm, so you may be humming it for the rest of the day.
Related: Visit the nearby Xpark Aquarium in TaoyuanTSG Hawks (台鋼雄鷹)
A new 2022 addition, the TSG Hawks just began their debut season in the Chinese Professional Baseball League this past March 2023! Although just starting in the minor league for this season, with the coaching of Hirokazu Ibata, a former Japanese professional baseball player and 1992 Olympic gold medalist, the TSG Hawks are set for action this season and the next.
In the meantime, this rookie Kaohsiung-based member is still drumming up support across Taiwan with its minor league matches against soon-to-be-official rivals at its home Chengcing Lake Baseball Stadium.
Who owns the TSG Hawks?
Taiwan Steel Group (TSG, for short) is an amalgamation of six different Taiwanese companies spanning across four industries and ten businesses, from steel to aerospace, and beyond into biotechnology and health and leisure.
A different owner in comparison to the banks (Fubon and CTBC), e-commerce (Rakuten), and food production (Uni-President and Wei Chuan) companies currently in control, TSG is no stranger to investing in sports. In fact, with the establishment of the Hawks, TSG now owns a trifecta of sports in Taiwan: the TSG GhostHawks basketball team in Tainan, the TSG Football Club in Tainan, and the TSG Hawks baseball team in Kaohsiung.
Key Takeaways
There’s no doubt that professional baseball is an important part of Taiwanese culture. However, in addition to offering a branch of national identity, baseball in Taiwan also provides an insight into the corporate ballpark of the nation. The Lions may be battling the Dragons on the field, but it’s not a reach to see a heated game as symbolic of the industry rivalry between two of Taiwan’s most popular and well-respected food companies (Uni-President and Wei Chuan Foods).
After all, the owners of CPBL teams have their hands in many of the products used in daily life in Taiwan. From the food we eat to the ATMs and streaming platforms we use, life in Taiwan is defined by the corporate owners of these professional baseball teams in Taiwan.
How small Taiwan is indeed.
Summary
FAQ About Baseball in Taiwan
- Are there any foreign players in the CPBL?
Yes, there are quite a few foreign players in the CPBL, however there is a limit on the number of foreign players each team can have. According to Wikipedia, each team has a quota of 5 foreign players, and only two of them are allowed to be on the field at any one time.
The term ‘foreign’ refers to anyone not a resident of Taiwan, with the majority of foreign players coming to play professional baseball in Taiwan hailing from the Dominican Republic and the US.
