Taiwan Steel Group (TSG) Chairman William Hsieh presented a letter of intent to the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) to officially kick off the expansion application procedure.
According to CPBL Commissioner Chi-Chang Tsai, the application is seeking approval by the CPBL Executive Board in May, making the TSG franchise the sixth team in the league.
Already involved with basketball (Tainan TSG GhostHawks) and football (Tainan TSG FC), the largest electric furnace steelmaking group in Taiwan announced their intent to become the expansion club of the most popular sport in Taiwan. CPBL Commissioner Chi-Chang Tsai expressed his welcome to TSG Chairman William Hsieh and promised to do his best to get the franchise on track as soon as possible.
CPBL Commissioner Tsai also hinted at the possibility of future expansions. “I don’t think we should limit ourselves on the issue of the numbers of teams. Once all our franchises are on the right track and we still see talented players out there, it is definitely possible for us to have the seventh and the eighth team.”
According to the expansion application procedure, the TSG has to submit their operation plan in April for the CPBL Executive Board to review and vote in May. Once the application is approved, the new franchise will first get to draft players in July and appear in the 2023 minor league season. The new franchise will play at the major league level in 2024.
In addition to a positive review on the proposals, the new franchise will have to pay NT$ 120 million (US$ 4.28 million) franchise royalty and NT$ 360 million (US$ 12.84 million) deposit upfront to the league while committing NT$ 100 million (US$ 3.56 million) in local baseball revitalization fund.
TSG Chairman William Hsieh also announced that the team would be called the "TSG Great Hawks" (no official English name has been confirmed yet).
The CPBL was inaugurated in 1990 and is a WBSC Associate Member. The four founding franchises are Brother Elephants, Weichuan Dragons, Uni-President Lions and Mercuries Tigers. The current five teams are Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, CTBC Brothers, Rakuten Monkeys, Fubon Guardians, and Weichuan Dragons.
