BASEBALL/Uni-Lions manager backs CPBL expansion amid talk of potential 7th team

Taipei, June 13 (CNA) Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions Manager Lin Yue-ping (林岳平) said he supports expanding the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) and believes Taiwan could eventually accommodate as many as eight teams.

Lin's remarks came after TS Financial Holding Chairman Thomas Wu (吳東亮) said on Friday that the company had internally discussed forming a CPBL franchise following a proposal from a shareholder at the company's annual meeting.

The shareholder suggested that TS Financial establish the league's seventh team and name it the "Taishin Shin Kong Lions" after Shin Kong Group founder Wu Ho-su (吳火獅). Wu responded that the idea had been evaluated internally, though it would require further planning and a careful assessment of costs.

TS Financial Holding was created in July 2025 through the merger of Taishin Financial Holding Co. and Shin Kong Financial Holding Co.

Asked to comment on the matter, Lin said he welcomed league expansion, citing the successful entry of the Wei Chuan Dragons and TSG Hawks in recent years.

"If a seventh team follows the current system, I believe it can become competitive within three years," Lin said.

More teams would place greater pressure on club operations, Lin said, but could attract additional corporate investment, create more opportunities for players and strengthen the talent pool for Taiwan's national team.

With Taiwan operating a single professional league, Lin said the market could ultimately support around eight teams.

However, Lin jokingly urged caution over having two teams in the league named "Lions," noting that the Uni-President franchise has been the only CPBL team to use the name in the league's 37-year history.

He emphasized that his team is also the only CPBL club that has never changed ownership.

"The two words 'Uni-President Lions' carry huge significance in Taiwanese baseball," he said. "If they (the other team) really decide to join, I hope they can consider this seriously and respect it."

Meanwhile, CTBC Brothers General Manager Peng Cheng-min (彭政閔) welcomed the prospect of a new franchise, saying the league's business environment, resources and player compensation have improved dramatically since he began his professional career in 2001.

"The whole environment is getting bigger," Peng said. "Adding teams would be a plus for the league."

Asked about a possible home venue for a future expansion, Peng pointed to the planned completion of Pingtung Baseball Stadium, while also mentioning Hsinchu and eastern Taiwan as potential options.

A seventh team would mark the CPBL's largest expansion since the league merged with the Taiwan Major League (TML) in 2003.

Taiwan once had 11 professional teams, with seven clubs in the CPBL and four in the rival TML in 1997.

Since the two leagues merged in 2003, however, the CPBL has never had more than six teams.

This is not the first time Shin Kong Group has been linked to professional baseball.

After Shin Kong Financial Holding acquired Macoto Bank in 2005, the company briefly had an opportunity to take over the CPBL's Macoto Cobras franchise, but ultimately did not assume ownership of the team.