Dmedia T-REX
Encyclopedia
The dmedia T-REX was a professional baseball team belonging to the Chinese Professional Baseball League
(CPBL).
(TML) Taipei Gida
, taking over from the original sponsor Sampo Corporation. After TML's merger with CPBL in early 2003, Macoto Bank decided to run one of the 2 absorbed TML teams and the new team Macoto Gida (誠泰太陽) was formed accordingly along with its sister team First Financial Holdings Agan. Interestingly, during the merger draft Macoto Bank picked the bulk of Macoto Gida's players from Taichung Agan
and Chiayi-Tainan Luka
, but not the original Taipei Gida
. Macoto Bank went on running and changed the team's mascot
to animal-style cobra
s following CPBL's regulations in early 2004.
In 2004 and 2005 the Macoto Cobras was head-coached by Tai-Yuan Kuo
, a legendary Taiwanese pitcher
who played for the Seibu Lions
for 13 years. In 2005 this team competed with Sinon Bulls
in the CPBL championships, but was defeated 0-4.
After the merger of Macoto Bank into Shin Kong Financial Holdings in January 2006, the Shin Kong Financial Holdings finally did not absorb the Cobras due to disagreement on purchase prices as well as its lacking willingness. So during the 2006 season it was Macoto Bank's original chairman Lin Cheng-i(林誠一) and his son, Macoto Bank's original CEO Lin Chih-kuang(林致光) who used their own money to run this team. Unable to afford such burden, after the 2006 season ended the Lins have been trying to sell this team. The Foxconn
Corporation was once reportedly interested, but finally in February 2007 it was the Taoyuan-based Jiuhe(九禾) Corporation which came to the takeover agreement with the Lins. However on March 5, 2007 this takeover was disapproved by the CPBL General Managers committee. At the end of 2007 season, rumors about the team's sale again surfaced. It is announced on February 4, 2008, that dmedia System Co., Ltd. is the new owner of the team.
On October 8, 2008, T-REX CEO Shih Chien-shin was called to the local district attorney's office along with the team's general manager, spokesperson, and three other players for alleged game-fixing. On the following day, CPBL announced that it is freezing T-REX's membership pending investigation. On October 23, 2008, CPBL announced that Dmedia T-REX has been expelled from the league.
Chinese Professional Baseball League
The Chinese Professional Baseball League , or CPBL, is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 2003...
(CPBL).
History
The history of the team can be traced back to early 2001 when local Macoto Bank started to sponsor Taiwan Major League'sTaiwan Major League
The Taiwan Major League was a professional baseball league in Taiwan that operated from 1996 to 2003. It was established by TV tycoon Chiu Fu-sheng after a row over CPBL broadcasting rights...
(TML) Taipei Gida
Taipei Gida
Taipei Gida was a Taiwanese professional baseball team that existed from 1997 to 2002. It was one of the four Taiwan Major League teams and was based in Taipei, Taiwan...
, taking over from the original sponsor Sampo Corporation. After TML's merger with CPBL in early 2003, Macoto Bank decided to run one of the 2 absorbed TML teams and the new team Macoto Gida (誠泰太陽) was formed accordingly along with its sister team First Financial Holdings Agan. Interestingly, during the merger draft Macoto Bank picked the bulk of Macoto Gida's players from Taichung Agan
Taichung Agan
The Taichung Agan , literally the Taichung Robots was a Taiwanese professional baseball team belonging to the Taiwan Major League . It was based in Taichung and took the Taichung Baseball Field as its home throughout its history...
and Chiayi-Tainan Luka
Chiayi-Tainan Luka
The Chiayi-Tainan Luka or abbreviated Chianan Luka was a professional baseball team in the Taiwan Major League that existed from 1997 to 2002. Its homes were Chiayi County Baseball Stadium and Tainan Baseball Field...
, but not the original Taipei Gida
Taipei Gida
Taipei Gida was a Taiwanese professional baseball team that existed from 1997 to 2002. It was one of the four Taiwan Major League teams and was based in Taipei, Taiwan...
. Macoto Bank went on running and changed the team's mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
to animal-style cobra
Cobra
Cobra is a venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. However, not all snakes commonly referred to as cobras are of the same genus, or even of the same family. The name is short for cobra capo or capa Snake, which is Portuguese for "snake with hood", or "hood-snake"...
s following CPBL's regulations in early 2004.
In 2004 and 2005 the Macoto Cobras was head-coached by Tai-Yuan Kuo
Tai-Yuan Kuo
Kuo Tai-yuan, ; , born March 20, 1962), is a retired Taiwanese NPB baseball pitcher and currently a baseball coach. With 117 wins accumulated during his 13 seasons in the Seibu Lions, Kuo set the record of being the international player who achieves most wins in the NPB history, and is widely...
, a legendary Taiwanese pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
who played for the Seibu Lions
Seibu Lions
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based west of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Prince Hotels, which in turn is owned by the Seibu Group...
for 13 years. In 2005 this team competed with Sinon Bulls
Sinon Bulls
Despite a nice start, this club had been performing poorly throughout its short history, mainly due to the controversial leading styles of Jungo Corporation's then chairman Chen I-ping...
in the CPBL championships, but was defeated 0-4.
After the merger of Macoto Bank into Shin Kong Financial Holdings in January 2006, the Shin Kong Financial Holdings finally did not absorb the Cobras due to disagreement on purchase prices as well as its lacking willingness. So during the 2006 season it was Macoto Bank's original chairman Lin Cheng-i(林誠一) and his son, Macoto Bank's original CEO Lin Chih-kuang(林致光) who used their own money to run this team. Unable to afford such burden, after the 2006 season ended the Lins have been trying to sell this team. The Foxconn
Foxconn
The Foxconn Technology Group is a multinational business group anchored by the Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. , a Taiwan-registered corporation headquartered in Tucheng, Taiwan...
Corporation was once reportedly interested, but finally in February 2007 it was the Taoyuan-based Jiuhe(九禾) Corporation which came to the takeover agreement with the Lins. However on March 5, 2007 this takeover was disapproved by the CPBL General Managers committee. At the end of 2007 season, rumors about the team's sale again surfaced. It is announced on February 4, 2008, that dmedia System Co., Ltd. is the new owner of the team.
On October 8, 2008, T-REX CEO Shih Chien-shin was called to the local district attorney's office along with the team's general manager, spokesperson, and three other players for alleged game-fixing. On the following day, CPBL announced that it is freezing T-REX's membership pending investigation. On October 23, 2008, CPBL announced that Dmedia T-REX has been expelled from the league.
Records
| Qualified for playoffs | Taiwan Series Taiwan Series Taiwan Series is the championship series of the Chinese Professional Baseball League. It is usually played in October, after the regular season. It was formerly known as the CPBL Seasonal Championship Series , and was renamed the Taiwan Series after the merger of the Chinese Professional Baseball... Championship |
Asia Series Asia Series The Asia Series is an international baseball tournament in East Asia that was first held between November 10 and November 13, 2005, in Tokyo. The tournament was sponsored by Konami corporation from 2005 to 2007 and was known as the Konami Cup in that period.It is played among the annual champions... Championship |
Regular seasons
| Season | Wins | Losses | Ties | Pct. | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macoto Gida | |||||
| 2003 | 30 (21/9) | 64 (27/37) | 6 (2/4) | .319 (.438'.196) | 5 (5/6) |
| Macoto Cobras | |||||
| 2004 | 43 (26/17) | 54 (24/30) | 3 (0/3) | .443 (.520/.362) | 5 (4/6) |
| 2005 | 50 (29/21) | 43 (20/23) | 8 (2/6) | .538 (.592/.477) | 2 (1/5) |
| 2006 | 48 (24/24) | 50 (24/26) | 2 (2/0) | .490 (.500/.480) | 4 (4/3) |
| 2007 | 44 (28/16) | 55 (21/34) | 1 (1/0) | .444 (.571/.320) | 5 (1/6) |
| dmedia T-REX | |||||
| 2008 | 37 (21/16) | 60 (28/32) | 1 (1/0) | .381 (.429/.333) | 6 (4/6) |
| Total | 252 | 326 | 21 | .436 | -- |
Playoffs
| Season | First Round | Taiwan Series | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Wins | Losses | Opponent | Wins | Losses | |
| Macoto Cobras | ||||||
| 2005 | Uni-President Lions Uni-President Lions The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions are a professional baseball team based in Tainan City, Taiwan. The organization is named after the Uni-President Corporation, one of Taiwan's largest conglomerate whose sub-company Uni-President Baseball Team Company oversees operations of the team... |
3 | 1 | Sinon Bulls Sinon Bulls Despite a nice start, this club had been performing poorly throughout its short history, mainly due to the controversial leading styles of Jungo Corporation's then chairman Chen I-ping... |
0 | 4 |
| 2007 2007 Chinese Professional Baseball League playoffs The Chinese Professional Baseball League playoffs included the three top teams from the regular season and saw Uni-President Lions crowned as the champion with the Taiwan Series through the month of October, 2007... |
Uni-President Lions Uni-President Lions The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions are a professional baseball team based in Tainan City, Taiwan. The organization is named after the Uni-President Corporation, one of Taiwan's largest conglomerate whose sub-company Uni-President Baseball Team Company oversees operations of the team... |
0 | 3 | Eliminated. | ||
| Total | Combining the first round and Taiwan Series | 3 | 8 | |||
Notable former players
- Mario EncarnacionMario EncarnacionMario González Encarnación was a baseball outfielder born in Baní, Dominican Republic. He played for the Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs for a brief duration—23 games in and ....
- Hsieh Chia-hsian
- Lin En-yu
- Cory BaileyCory BaileyPhillip Cory Bailey is a former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball between and . He batted and threw right-handed....
- Lin Ying-chieh