TAIWAN – The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) gets underway on Saturday when the reigning league champion Uni-President Lions meets the Brother Elephants. The La New Bears and the Sinon Bulls complete the four-team league.

Two previous CPBL franchises will not be competing this season. The dmedia T-Rex were kicked out of the league due to a game-fixing scandal involving team management and players, while illegal gambling by players forced the Chinatrust Whales to disband the team.

2009 CPBL STANDINGS

BROTHER ELEPHANTS SIGN FIRST TAIWANESE MAJOR LEAGUE PITCHER

Former Colorado Rockies pitcher Tsao Chin-hui has finally reached an agreement to play for the Brother Elephants this season after months of negotiations. Tsao was the first Taiwanese pitcher who made it to the U.S. major leagues.

The 28-year-old will earn NT$350,000 a month with incentives based on performance which could make the deal worth NT$5 million a year.

The right-hander made his major league debut for the Colorado Rockies on July 25, 2003 against the Milwaukee Brewers. However, Tsao suffered a right shoulder injury two years later that resulted in season-ending surgery. He missed the entire 2006 season and the Rockies allowed him to leave as a free agent.

Tsao joins former Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Chen Chin-feng, the first Taiwan-born player to reach the big leagues, to rejoin the struggling CPBL. Tsao’s signing with the Elephants should boost a league which is enduring low ticket sales due to several major gambling and match-fixing scandals over the last two decades.

The Brother Elephants also signed 29-year-old pitcher Nic Ungs, who pitched in four games for the CPBL squad in 2007. The right-hander tallied a combined 6-4 record with a 4.29 ERA in 15 games with the Huntsville Stars (AA) and the Nashville Sounds (AAA) last season.

UNI-PRESIDENT LIONS INK PAIR OF AMERICAN PLAYERS

The reigning league champion Uni-President Lions will feature two veteran U.S. minor leaguers, outfielder Rico Washington and pitcher Chris Gissell, who both have experience at the major league level.

Washington spent 12 years in the minors before making his big league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals last year. He hit .254 with 13 home runs and 40 RBIs in 92 games for the Memphis Redbirds last year.

Gissell, who pitched two seasons for the Seibu Lions (2006-07) in Japan, is a former Chicago Cubs draft pick. He posted a 7-3 record with 67 strikeouts and a 3.43 ERA in 25 appearances for the Sacramento River Cats last season

PUBLIC BETTING ON CPBL GAMES TO BEGIN SATURDAY

Taipei Fubon Bank announced recently that the public will be able to bet on CPBL games at sports lottery stores beginning on March 28. Legislation governing sports lotteries, which will be passed soon, is expected to help curb game-fixing scandals that have consistently plagued the CPBL.

The legislation governing the sale of sports lotteries – which would require 90 percent of revenue from sports lotteries be used for sports purposes – passed its first reading in the legislature in February.

The CPBL has amended league rules to restrict anyone related to baseball games ? including team managers and all league personnel ? from betting on games.

League employees directly related to the game violating the new rule will be fired, while anyone indirectly related to a game will be suspended from their position for a year, the CPBL said.

Tags: Taiwan