Wei Chuan Dragons

The Wei Chuan Dragons (Chinese: 味全龍; pinyin: Wèiquán Lóng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Bī-chôan-liông) are a professional baseball team in Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) that originally existed between 1990 and 1999. In 2019, negotiations regarding the franchise's revival and return to the CPBL took place. The team played one season of minor league baseball in 2020 and rejoined the CPBL in 2021.[1]

Wei Chuan Dragons
味全龍
Information
LeagueChinese Professional Baseball League
LocationTaipei City (1989–1999, 2021–present)
Hsinchu (2022–present)
BallparkTaipei Municipal Baseball Stadium (1989–1999)
Tianmu Baseball Stadium (2021–present)
Hsinchu Baseball Stadium (2022–present)
Year founded1989
2019 (refounded)
League championships19902 • 19911 • 19962 • 19972 • 20232
Taiwan Series championships1990, 1997, 1998, 1999
ColorsRed
Playoff berths8 (1990, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2022, 2023)
ManagerYeh Chun-chang
Uniforms
Home
Away

History
Wei Chuan Dragons uniform

Wei Chuan Dragons had a long amateur history when its parent company, the Wei Chuan Foods Corporation, started sponsoring Chinese Culture University's baseball team in the late 1970s. After these student players graduated, Wei-Chuan formed an amateur team to allow them to continue playing baseball in 1978; it was this team that later professionalized to become one of the first four teams of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). Due to the club's long history in the amateur era, its matches often attracted large crowds, and games with the Brother Elephants, another popular team, were often sold out. The team played at the now-demolished Taipei Municipal Baseball Stadium.

The club won CPBL championships four times, in 1990, 1997, 1998, and 1999, and became the team with most CPBL championships after the 1999 season ended. After the 1999 season, Wei Chuan Food Corporation announced its decision to disband the club,[2] mainly due to threats from local criminal gangs (Wei Chuan Dragons's then manager Hsu Sheng-ming was attacked in April 1999), the financial loss brought about by CPBL's game-fixing scandals since 1996, and the Ting Hsin International Group becoming the largest (40%) shareholder of Wei Chuan Food Corporation in 1998, as the new Ting Hsin management did not show high interest in supporting the baseball club.

The disbandment shocked many local fans and a procession was even raised against the decision. However, the Wei Chuan Food Corporation did not change its mind. Most Wei Chuan Dragons' coaches and players later found their new homes at Sinon Bulls or Kaohsiung-Pingtung Fala. The CPBL also did not fine those former Wei Chuan players and coaches who returned with Macoto Gida and First Financial Holdings Agan before the 2003 season started, because they did not leave the CPBL voluntarily.

Records
Qualified for playoffs Taiwan Series Championship

Regular seasons

Season First half-season Second half-season
Wins Losses Ties Pct. Place Wins Losses Ties Pct. Place
1990 25 20 0 .556 2 27 14 4 .659 1
1991 26 17 2 .605 1 20 19 6 .513 2
1992 23 20 2 .535 2 18 22 5 .450 4
1993 26 19 0 .578 2 22 21 2 .512 3
1994 17 27 1 .386 5 19 25 1 .432 4
1995 25 25 0 .500 3 22 27 1 .449 5
1996 25 23 2 .521 4 30 20 0 .600 1
1997 15 31 2 .326 7 31 15 2 .674 1
1998 56 48 1 .538 3 No half-seasons
1999 49 39 4 .557 3
2021 22 36 2 .379 5 28 31 1 .475 3
2022 31 29 0 .517 4 26 29 5 .473 4
2023 30 27 3 .526 2 32 26 2 .552 1

Playoffs

Season First round Taiwan Series
Opponent Wins Losses Opponent Wins Losses
1990 Did not play Mercuries Tigers 4 2
1991 Did not play Uni-President Lions 3 4
1996 Did not play Uni-President Lions 2 4
1997 Did not play China Times Eagles 4 2
1998 Uni-President Lions 2 1 Sinon Bulls 4 3
1999 Uni-President Lions 2 1 Chinatrust Whales 4 1
2022 CTBC Brothers 1 3 Eliminated
2023 Did not play

Roster

Wei Chuan Dragons roster
Players Coaches

Pitchers

Catchers

  •  4 Giljegiljaw Kungkuan
  •  9 Lin Chen-hsun
  • 60 Liu Shih-hao
  • 63 Chiang Shao-hung

Infielders

  • 21 Lee Kai-wei
  • 25 Chang Cheng-yu
  • 31 Lin Chih-sheng
  • 33 Tseng Chuan-sheng
  • 57 Namoh Iyang
  • 61 Wu Tung-jung
  • 64 Lin Wei-ting
  • 72 Shih Hsiang-yu

Outfielders

  •  2 Kuo Tien-hsin
  • 23 Brian Goodwin
  • 69 Tung Ping-hsuan
  • 93 Chen Pin-chieh

Manager

Coaches

  • 12 Wang Ying-peng (assistant battery)
  • 30 Gary Thurman (head)
  • 49 Chang Tai-shan (batting)
  • 66 Chang Chien-ming (outfield/batting)
  • 70 Yōsuke Takasu (defense)
  • 79 Lin Tsung-nan (infield/base)
  • 86 Chen Chih-wei (overall fielding)
  • 91 Kuo Sheng-an (pitching)
  • 92 Huang Yi-chih (bullpen)
  • 96 Su Po-hao (assistant batting)

Roster updated on 4 December 2022

See also

Notes
^1 First half-season champions
^2 Second half-season champions

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wei Chuan Dragons.
  1. Shan, Shelley (14 May 2019). "Wei Chuan Dragons are fifth team to join CPBL". Taipei Times. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  2. Shan, Shelley (25 June 2019). "CPBL welcomes back Dragons after 20 years". Retrieved 25 June 2019.
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