By Jason Pan, in Chinese Taipei
For the 2013 season in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), the EDA Rhinos team is the new kid in town, but has big ambitions.
The EDA (pronounced ‘ee-da’) ballclub is owned by the E-United Group, who purchased the Sinon Bulls franchise from its owner – Sinon Corporation, for NT$ 130 million in a negotiated deal last month.
Following the deal’s conclusion, the two-time CPBL champions Sinon Bulls headed into history, but memory of its glory days will long remain with its legions of fans, especially for the team’s main support base in the island’s central regions.
Most of its stars and the regular line-ups of the Bulls are being retained to don the EDA Rhinos uniform, but the ballclub will be relocated, from Taichung City to the southern port city of Kaohsiung.
The team’s home ballpark will be at Kaohsiung City’s Cheng Ching Lake Stadium, while also will schedule a portion of its games in Taichung.
EDA Rhinos thus join the Uni-President Lions, Lamigo Monkeys, and Brother Elephants for the four-team circuit of the 2013 CPBL season.
E-United Group, owner of the new Rhinos team, is a business consortium with branch companies in manufacturing, medical services, real estate development, and leisure parks, which include operating EDA World Mall, and EDA Theme Park in Kaohsiung.
Already showing ambitions to compete for top honors this season, EDA Rhinos has signed the current top CPBL draft pick – Hu Chin-Lung, former LA Dodgers and New York Mets shortstop, to an NT$ 14.7 million two-year contract.
Fans and CPBL officials are applauding the franchise sale deal, saying E-United Group and its new team can be expected to revitalize local support and passion for pro baseball in the island’s southern regions.
Photo – courtesy of CPBL (Top CPBL draft pick Hu Chin-Lung signed up with EDA Rhinos)
