2009 CPBL

The 2009 Chinese Professional Baseball League season saw some major changes in the league's structure. The schedule was expanded to 120 games from 100, allowing for several new record-setters. Wilton Veras wrapped 176 hits for Sinon to set a new mark, while rookie teammate Yi-Chuan Lin drove home 113, also a new record. Chih-Sheng Lin of the Bears almost broke the home run mark. Chien-San Kao of the Lions pitched in 66 games, a new league record.

The league shrank in terms of number of teams, as two teams collapsed after the 2008 season due to gambling scandals. It was the smallest number of entries since the 2002 CPBL also featured four teams.

Despite posting the worst overall record in the circuit, the Brother Elephants made it to the finals by winning the second-half title. After the season, the Elephants became entangled in yet another CPBL gambling scandal. Additionally, the Bears' Chung-You Tsai and Ying-Feng Tsai were banned from play after the campaign for involvement in a gambling plot.

Standings

1. Uni-President Lions, 34-24-2 first half; 29-30-1 second half (Manager: Wen-Sheng Lu)
2. La New Bears, 33-26-1 first half; 28-32 second half (Manager: I-Chung Hong)
3. Sinon Bulls, 29-29-2 first half; 28-31-1 second half (Manager: Sheng-Ming Hsu)
4. Brother Elephants, 21-38-1 first half; 33-25-2 second half (Manager: Kuang-Huei Wang)

Leaders

Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic	Leader	Team	Number
Batting Average	Wu-Hsiung Pan	Uni-President Lions	.367
Runs	Yi-Chuan Lin	Sinon Bulls	92
Hits	Wilton Veras	Sinon Bulls	176
Doubles	Wilton Veras	Sinon Bulls	37
Triples	Chien-Ming Chang	Sinon Bulls	7
Home Runs	Chih-Sheng Lin	La New Bears	32
Runs Batted In	Yi-Chuan Lin	Sinon Bulls	113
Stolen Bases	Sheng-Wei Wang	Brother Elephants	42
Walks	Cheng-Min Peng	Brother Elephants	77

Pitching

Statistic	Leader	Team	Number
ERA	Wei-Lun Pan	Uni-President Lions	3.30
Wins	Itsuki Shoda	Sinon Bulls	14
Losses	Wen-Hsiung Hsu	La New Bears	11
Holds	Matt Perisho	Brother Elephants	23
Saves	Yueh-Ping Lin	Uni-President Lions	26
Innings Pitched	Aaron Rakers	La New Bears	159 1/3
Appearances	Chien-San Kao	Uni-President Lions	66
Hits Allowed	Itsuki Shoda	Sinon Bulls	191
Home Runs Allowed	Mike Smith	Brother Elephants	15
Strikeouts	Itsuki Shoda	Sinon Bulls	115
Base-on-Balls	Yu-Cheng Liao	Brother Elephants	73

Award Winners

Award	Player	Team	Position	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	W - L	SV	IP	HA	HRA	BB	SO	ERA
Most Valuable Player	Yi-Chuan Lin	Sinon Bulls	IF	486	92	169	18	113	6	.348	.395	.543	Did not pitch
Rookie of the Year	Yi-Chuan Lin	Sinon Bulls	IF	486	92	169	18	113	6	.348	.395	.543	Did not pitch

Best Ten

The following players were part of the 2009 Best Ten teams.

Position	Player	Team
P	Aaron Rakers	La New Bears
C	Chih-Kang Kao	Uni-President Lions
1B	Yi-Chuan Lin	Sinon Bulls
2B	None selected
3B	Wilton Veras	Sinon Bulls
SS	Chih-Sheng Lin	La New Bears
OF	Wu-Hsiung Pan	Uni-President Lions
OF	Chien-Ming Chang	Sinon Bulls
OF	Ssu-Chi Chou	Brother Elephants
DH	Chin-Feng Chen	La New Bears

Gold Gloves

The following players were the recipients of the Gold Glove Award in 2009.

Position	Player	Team
P	Ko-Chien Lin	Sinon Bulls
C	Chih-Kang Kao	Uni-President Lions
1B	Yi-Chuan Lin	Sinon Bulls
2B	None selected
3B	Wilton Veras	Sinon Bulls
SS	Chao-Hang Cheng	Sinon Bulls
OF	Fu-Hao Liu	Uni-President Lions
OF	Chien-Ming Chang	Sinon Bulls
OF	Chih-Yao Chan	La New Bears

Source: Taiwan Baseball Blog