Friday, September 10, 2010

Brother Elephants reach milestone in Taiwanese pro baseball

Taipei, Sept. 10 (CNA) The Brother Elephants beat the Sinon Bulls 3-2 Friday for its 1,000th win in team history, becoming the second team to achieve the milestone in Taiwan's professional baseball history.

The Elephants, one of only two Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) teams that have been part of the league since it was established in 1990, has now registered 1,000 wins, 963 losses and 75 draws in its 21-year history.

The Uni-President Lions, the other original member, was the first team to reach the 1,000-win mark in June 2009.

The Elephants blanked the Lions 4-0 Thursday to win its 999th game on Sept. 9, leaving it one win away from the 1,000-win milestone.

Arguably the most storied and popular team in the league, the Elephants suffered a devastating blow after losing almost 20 players and staff to a major game-fixing scandal that broke out last October. It involved more than 40 retired and active players and coaches.

Despite the roster overhaul, the Elephants lead the four-team league's second-half standings with a 26-18 record, after finishing the first-half standings in third place with a 25-33-2 mark.

Uni-President leads the four-team CPBL with seven championships, followed by Brother with six titles. (By Chris Wang) enditem/ls