The CTBC Brothers () or simply Brothers are a

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

team in Taiwan. The team was originally established as an amateur team in 1984 by the Brother Hotel located in

Taipei City Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

, and later joined the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL) in 1989. Brother Hotel's chairman Hung Teng-sheng (洪騰勝) also acted as CPBL's secretary-general from 1987 to 1991. The Brothers are currently owned by CTBC Holding. With its long history from the amateur era plus a successful marketing strategy and management, the team has long been one of the most popular Taiwanese baseball teams, winning the CPBL championship on nine occasions. The team has always worn yellow uniforms. Its current home is in

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Ta ...

, with the home field at the

Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium () is a stadium in Beitun District, Taichung, Taiwan. The stadium officially opened on November 9, 2006, replacing the antiquated Taichung Baseball Field. Located on the corner of Chongde Road (崇德� ...

History

On March 17, 1990, the Brother Elephants played the first historical CPBL game against the

Uni-President Lions The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, stylized as Uni-President 7-ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇn Lions, also known as Uni-Lions (), are a professional baseball team playing in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). The Lions are based in Tainan City, Ta ...

in the now-demolished

Taipei Municipal Baseball Stadium The Taipei Municipal Baseball Stadium () was a baseball park located in the Songshan District of Taipei, Taiwan. It was opened in 1959, and hosted numerous major baseball games over the years, including the CPBL's first game in 1990 between Uni ...

with a full house of 14,350 in attendance. These two teams are also the only two remaining original teams of the CPBL. Despite having the best season-long record for the 2004 season, the Elephants were unable to participate in the

Taiwan Series Taiwan Series () is the championship series of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). It is usually played in late October or early November, after the regular season. It was formerly known as the ''CPBL Seasonal Championship Series'' () ...

because they had won neither half-season. This resulted in the expansion of the playoffs to three teams beginning in 2005, where the team with the best season-long record among non-champions for the season would gain a

wildcard Wild card most commonly refers to: * Wild card (cards), a playing card that substitutes for any other card in card games * Wild card (sports), a tournament or playoff place awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal pla ...

berth, thus preventing a similar occurrence in the future. In mid-season of 2008, GM Hung Jui-he revealed the possibility of sale or disbanding of the organization if the financial deficit continued after 2009. In the 2009 season, Brother Elephants were triumphant in winning the second half of the season. However, the team was affected deeply by the match fixing scandal which resulted in expulsion of many team players and the coach. In October 2013, the team's president announced attempts to sell the team. The announcement drew interest from seven potential bidders. The team was sold to Hua Yi, a subdivision of CTBC Holding, by December 2013 for a price of

NT$ The New Taiwan dollar (code: TWD; symbol: NT$, also abbreviated as NT) is the official currency of Taiwan. The New Taiwan dollar has been the currency of Taiwan since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar, at a rate of 40,000 old dollars ...

400 million. The team's name change reflected their new corporate parent, but it was felt that the

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create ...

ing from their previous owners was strong enough to rename the team ''Brothers'', while retaining the elephant mascot. In 2022, the CTBC Holding officially purchased the team from Hua Yi.

Records

Regular seasons

Playoffs

Roster

Retired numbers

* *

List of managers

Brother Elephants (1990–2013)

CTBC Brothers (2014–present)

Notes

: First half-season champions : Second half-season champions

References

External links

* * {{Taichung Sports Chinese Professional Baseball League teams Baseball teams established in 1989 Sport in Taichung 1989 establishments in Taiwan