Rakuten Monkeys

Professional baseball team in Taiwan

Rakuten Monkeys

樂天桃猿
|  |

|

Team logo | Cap insignia
Information
League| Chinese Professional Baseball League
Location| Taoyuan
Ballpark| Rakuten Taoyuan Baseball Stadium
Founded| 2003; 22 years ago (2003)
Taiwan Series championships| (7)

* 2006
* 2012
* 2014
* 2015
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019

Playoff berths| (13)

* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2011
* 2012
* 2014
* 2015
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

Former name(s)|

* First Financial Holdings Agan (2003)
* La New Bears (2004–2010)
* Lamigo Monkeys (2011–2019)

Colors| White and red
Mascot| Rockey, Monkey, Victor
Retired numbers|

* 10
* 52

Ownership| Rakuten
President| Masayuki Morii
General manager| Yukiyoshi Oishi
Manager| Kenji Furukubo
Website| monkeys.rakuten.com.tw
Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium

The Rakuten Monkeys (Chinese: 樂天桃猿; pinyin: Lètiān Táoyúan), formerly known as La New Bears (2004–2010) and Lamigo Monkeys (2011–2019), are a professional baseball team in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan. Owned and administered by the Japanese technology conglomerate Rakuten, the Monkeys qualified for the playoffs in 2006 for the first time in team history, and by finishing with the best record in the entire season, gained an automatic berth for the Taiwan Series.

The team played their home games at Chengcing Lake Baseball Field in Kaohsiung County from 2004 to 2010. In the 2011 season, they moved to Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium. Accordingly, the team's name was changed to the Lamigo Monkeys.

## History

[edit]

### First Financial Holdings Agan (2003)

[edit]

First known as the First Securities Agan, the team was owned by the First Financial Holding Corporation, a government-funded financial holding service institute. Its then-chairman Chen Chien-lung was a keen political supporter of President Chen Shui-bian, and, upon the president's request, immediately agreed to take over one of the two former TML teams after TML was merged into CPBL in January 2003. Since Macoto Bank had already decided to take-over the Macoto Gida, Chen Chien-lung took over the Agan as promised. The majority of Agan's player came from Taipei Gida and Kaohsiung-Pingtung Fala, and not from the Taichung Agan, which carried the same mascot and were the champions of the final season of TML. Agan played its home games at Chengcing Lake Baseball Field.

After Chen Chien-lung's sudden resignation due to allegation of insider trading in August 2003, the First Financial Holding Corporation no longer showed willingness in running the team. The Agan finished the 2003 season placing fifth overall, and did not win any of the 20 games against Brother Elephants, the Taiwan Series champions of that season.

### La New Bears (2004–2010)

[edit]

Just before the 2004 season, Kaohsiung County Magistrate Yang Chiu-hsing invited the La New Corporation, a footwear manufacturer to sponsor the then-vacant Chengcing Lake Baseball Field, which was under the management of Kaohsiung County after the disbandment of Taiwan Major League. La New Corporation eventually agreed and, in addition, offered to buy the First Financial Holdings Agan, whose management had been struggling in the past season. On December 16, 2003, La New completed the process with First Financial Holdings and renamed the team La New Bears. In the first two years of their existence, the Bears did not perform well. But after several additions to the roster through drafts and the minor league, the Bears turned the team around, eventually winning the 2006 Taiwan Series title.

### Lamigo Monkeys (2011–2019)

[edit]

Lamigo Monkeys logo

After several years of futile effort to manage the Kaohsiung market, the team relocated to Taoyuan County (now Taoyuan City) and changed its name to Lamigo Monkeys in January 2011. Lamigo is a subsidiary of La New Corporation that operates a wellness center, restaurants as well as a travel agency in northern Taiwan. Since Lamigo is based in northern Taiwan, the team was moved to Taoyuan County and play their home games at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium. Their new name in Chinese, taoyuan (桃猿), is a homophone to their new home county. Despite the name change, La New Corporation retained its direct ownership of the team.[1] In 2012, the Monkeys won their first seasonal title after the name change when they defeated Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions four games to one in Taiwan Series. In July 2019, the organization announced that the team would be sold.[2][3] In September 2019, negotiations with Rakuten to acquire the team closed successfully.[4] With the sale, Rakuten became the first foreign company to own a Chinese Professional Baseball League team.[5] Terms of the sale were not disclosed.[6]

### Rakuten Monkeys (2020–present)

[edit]

The team name was formally changed to the Rakuten Monkeys on 17 December 2019. New uniforms were also revealed, similar in design to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles uniforms.[7]

In 2020, fans were not allowed to attend sporting events in Taiwan due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Rakuten Monkeys decided to place robotic mannequins in the stands to simulate the appearance of fans at their games.[8][9]

## Records

[edit]

Qualified for playoffs | Taiwan Series Championship

|

### Regular seasons

[edit]

Season  | Wins  | Losses  | Ties  | Pct.  | Place

|
|
|
|
|

First Financial Holdings Agan
2003  | 20 (9/11)  | 71 (37/34)  | 9 (4/5)  | .220 (.196/.244)  | 5 (6/5)
La New Bears
2004  | 40 (18/22)  | 56 (30/26)  | 4 (2/2)  | .417 (.375/.458)  | 6 (6/5)
2005  | 42 (16/26)  | 55 (32/23)  | 3 (2/1)  | .433 (.333/.531)  | 6 (6/2)
2006  | 62 (30/32)  | 34 (19/15)  | 4 (1/3)  | .646 (.612/.681)  | 1 (1/1)
2007 | 58 (26/32)  | 42 (24/18)  | 0 (0/0)  | .580 (.520/.640)  | 2 (3/1)
2008  | 61 (28/33)  | 35 (19/16)  | 4 (3/1)  | .635 (.596/.673)  | 2 (2/1)
2009  | 61 (33/28)  | 58 (26/32)  | 1 (1/0)  | .513 (.559/.467)  | 2 (2/4)
2010  | 55 (31/24)  | 62 (27/35)  | 3 (2/1)  | .470 (.534/.407)  | 3 (2/4)
Lamigo Monkeys
2011  | 66 (33/33)  | 52 (26/26)  | 2 (1/1)  | .559 (.559/.559)  | 1 (2/1)
2012  | 66 (28/38)  | 52 (30/22)  | 2 (2/0)  | .559 (.483/.633)  | 2 (2/1)
2013  | 58 (28/30)  | 60 (32/28)  | 2 (0/2)  | .492 (.467/.517)  | 3 (3/2)
2014  | 66 (39/27)  | 51 (19/32)  | 3 (2/1)  | .564 (.672/.458)  | 1 (1/3)
2015  | 68 (37/31)  | 52 (23/29)  | 0 (0/0)  | .567 (.617/.517)  | 1 (1/2)
2016  | 53 (27/26)  | 64 (31/33)  | 3 (2/1)  | .453 (.466/.441)  | 4 (3/3)
2017  | 78 (43/35)  | 41 (16/25)  | 1 (1/0)  | .655 (.729/.583)  | 1 (1/1)
2018  | 73 (38/35)  | 47 (22/25)  | 0 (0/0)  | .608 (.633/.583)  | 1 (1/1)
2019  | 63 (35/28)  | 55 (24/31)  | 2 (1/1)  | .534 (.593/.475)  | 2 (1/3)
Rakuten Monkeys
2020  | 59 (34/25)  | 61 (26/35)  | 0 (0/0)  | .492 (.567/.417)  | 2 (2/4)
2021  | 56 (30/26)  | 61 (30/31)  | 3 (0/3)  | .479 (.500/.456)  | 3 (3/5)
2022  | 70 (37/33)  | 46 (22/24)  | 4 (1/3)  | .603 (.627/.579)  | 1 (1/2)
2023  | 60 (29/31)  | 56 (28/28)  | 4 (3/1)  | .517 (.509/.525)  | 3 (3/2)
2024  | 62 (33/29)  | 57 (27/30)  | 1 (0/1)  | .521 (.550/.492)  | 3 (2/3)

### Playoffs

[edit]

Season  | First round  | Taiwan Series

|
|

Opponent  | Wins  | Losses  | Opponent  | Wins  | Losses
La New Bears
2006 |  Did not play | Uni-President Lions | 4  | 0
2007 |  Did not play | Uni-President Lions | 3  | 4
2008 | Brother Elephants | 0  | 3  |  Eliminated
Lamigo Monkeys
2011 |  Did not play | Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions | 1  | 4
2012  |  Did not play | Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions | 4  | 1
2014  |  Did not play | CTBC Brothers | 4  | 1
2015  |  Did not play | CTBC Brothers | 4  | 3
2017  |  Did not play | CTBC Brothers | 4  | 1
2018  |  Did not play | Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions | 4  | 2
2019  |  Did not play | CTBC Brothers | 4  | 1
Rakuten Monkeys
2022  |  Did not play | CTBC Brothers | 0  | 4
2023  | Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions | 3  | 1  | Wei Chuan Dragons | 3  | 4
2024  | Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions | 1  | 3  |  Eliminated

### Asia Series

[edit]

Year  | Round robin  | Championship round

|
|

Wins  | Losses  | Standing  | Opponent  | Result
La New Bears
2006 | 2  | 1  | 2  | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 0–1 (L)
Lamigo Monkeys
2012 | 2  | 0  | 1  | Yomiuri Giants | 3–6 (L)

## Roster

[edit]

Rakuten Monkeys roster

Players | Coaches

Pitchers

*   *  1  Shu Chih-hao
*   *  3  Hong Min-yang
*   *  4  Huang Wei-cheng
*   *  9  Chen Bo-hao
*   * 13  Liu Yu-yen
*   * 16  Wen Chan-le
*   * 17  Chen Kuan-yu
*   * 18  Liu Chia-hsiang
*   * 19  Chen Ke-yi
*   * 21  Marcelo Martinez
*   * 22  Chu Cheng-yang
*   * 23  Tseng Jen-ho
*   * 25  Jonathan Bermúdez
*   * 40  Wang Yu-hsiang
*   * 44  Zeng Jia-hui
*   * 46  Chiu Chun-wei
*   * 48  Lu Yung-chen
*   * 49  Pedro Fernandez
*   * 51  Lai Chin-chi
*   * 54  Lin Tzu-wei
*   * 57  Yang Bin
*   * 63  Lai Yin-hao
*   * 64  Wang Chih-hsuan
*   * 69  Huang Tzu-peng
*   * 75  Kuo Wen-yi
*   * 77  Chuang Hsin-yen
*   * 81  Lin Hua-wei
*   * 82  Lu Guan-yu
*   * 83  Lai Wei-cheng
*   * 88  Beau Sulser
*   * 92  Li Jia-ming
*   * 00  Su Chun-chang
*   * 177  Huang Chia-no

|  |

Catchers

*   *  2  Sung Jia-xiang
*   * 11  Lin Hung-yu
*   * 28  Chang Min-hsun
*   * 60  Lu Cheng-yan
*   * 62  Yen Hung-chun
*   * 74  Chiu Chia-ching
*   * 89  Mao Ying-chieh

Infielders

*   *  5  Liang Chia-jung
*   *  6  Lin Chen-fei
*   *  8  Chen Jia-le
*   * 12  Wu Chieh-jui
*   * 15  Lin Tzu-wei
*   * 31  Tu Yu-feng
*   * 33  Zhang Zhao-hong
*   * 38  Tung Shun-chieh
*   * 39  Lin Li
*   * 45  Feng Chien-ting
*   * 55  Tsehg Kuah-chieh
*   * 56  Liu Zi-jie
*   * 58  Liao Chien-fu
*   * 67  You Cheng-xun
*   * 79  Lin Chih-ping
*   * 94  Ma Chieh-sen
*   * 95  Lee Hsun-chieh
*   * 111  Chang Chia-hao

|  |

Outfielders

*   *  7  Chiu Hsin
*   * 24  Tsai Chen-yu
*   * 35  Cheng Chin
*   * 36  Yu Te-lung
*   * 65  Lin Cheng-hua
*   * 66  Ho Pin Shin-jung
*   * 76  Lin Yao-huang
*   * 97  Zhung Yu-cheng
*   * 98  Chen Chen-wei

|  |

Manager

*   * 87  Kenji Furukubo

Coaches

*   * 41  Cheng Chao-hang (fielding)
*   * 42  Hong Quan-yi (strength and conditioning)
*   * 43  Lin Ying-chieh (bullpen)
*   * 50  Hsu Yueh-teng (battery)
*   * 59  Liu Pin-chen (strength and conditioning)
*   * 68  Daisuke Hirose (performance)
*   * 73  Tsuyoshi Kawagishi (pitching)
*   * 90  Lin Cheng-yi(hitting)
*   * 96  Weng Ko-yao (fielding)
*   * 99  Tseng Hao-chu (bench/hitting)

Second team manager

*   * 91  Chen Yan-feng

Second team coaches

*   * 12  Wu Chieh-jui (hitting)
*   * 30  Lin Chih-yu (hitting)
*   * 47  Hsu Yu-hao (catching)
*   * 61  Tsai Ming-chin (pitching)
*   * 71  Chen Je-cheng (infield)
*   * 72  Lin Kuo-yu (pitching)
*   * 78  Lee Wei-ching (strength and conditioning)
*   * 84  Lux Hong-ki (strength and conditioning)
*   * 86  Tsai Cheng-shian (hitting)
*   * 93  Chang Wei-chien (assistant)

Roster updated on 27 March 2025

### List of managers

[edit]

No.  | Name  | Years  | Playoffs  | Championships

|
|
|
|

1  | Hsu Sheng-ming | 2003  | 0  | 0
2  | Takuji Ohta | 2004  | 0  | 0
3  | Hong I-chung | 2004–2009  | 3  | 1
4  | Tsai Jung-tsung | 2010  | 0  | 0
—  | Hong I-chung | 2011–2019  | 7  | 6
5  | Tseng Hao-chu | 2020–2023  | 2  | 0
6  | Kenji Furukubo | 2024–present  | 1  | 0

### Retired numbers

[edit]

* 10 – The number is reserved for the fans, as the tenth player on the field.
* 52 – The number is retired in honour of Chin-Feng Chen since September 2016.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Huang, Paul (7 January 2011). "La New Bears become the Lamigo Monkeys". Taipei Times. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
2. ^ Yen, Joseph (3 July 2019). "Six-time Taiwan pro baseball league champion team up for sale". Central News Agency. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
3. ^ Pan, Jason (4 July 2019). "Lamigo Monkeys being put up for sale after shortfalls". Taipei Times. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
4. ^ Shan, Shelley (19 September 2019). "Taoyuan Lamigo Monkeys sold". Taipei Times. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
5. ^ Yeh, Joseph (19 September 2019). "Rakuten buys Taiwan baseball team, will officially run it next year". Central News Agency. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
6. ^ Shan, Shelley (20 September 2019). "Lamigo Monkeys officials discuss post-sale future". Taipei Times. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
7. ^ Hsieh, Ching-wen; Yeh, Joseph (17 December 2019). "Japanese owners rename Taoyuan baseball team Rakuten Monkeys". Central News Agency. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
8. ^ Bengel, Chris (7 April 2020). "Rakuten Monkeys will have robot mannequins dressed as fans when 2020 season begins". CBS Sports. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
9. ^ Armstrong, Megan (8 April 2020). "CPBL's Rakuten Monkeys to Use Robot Mannequins as Fans Amid COVID-19". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 11 April 2020.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website (in Chinese)

* v
* t
* e

Rakuten Monkeys current roster

Active roster|

* 00 Su Chun-Chang
* 1 Su Chih-Hao
* 2 Song Jia-Xiang
* 3 Hong Min-Yang
* 4 Huang Wei-Cheng
* 5 Liang Chia-Jung
* 6 Lin Cheng-Fei
* 7 Kuo Yung-Wei
* 8 Chen Jia-Le
* 11 Lin Hung-yu
* 12 Chen Kuan-yu
* 13 Chen Hung-Wen
* 14 Su Chun-Yu
* 16 Chiu Hsin
* 17 Yu Chao-Wei
* 18 Liu Chia-Hsiang
* 19 Chen Ke-Yi
* 20 Chen Yu-Hsun
* 21 Kuo Yen-wen
* 22 Chu Chun-Hsiang
* 23 Tseng Chi
* 24 Tsai Chen-Yu
* 25 Lin Tzu-Wei
* 26 Yeh Chia-Chi
* 27 Yang Bin
* 28 Chang Min-Hsun
* 29 Chen Chun-Hsiu
* 30 Lin Chih-Yu
* 31 Tu Yu-Feng
* 33 Jake Dahlberg
* 34 Hsu Chun-Yang
* 35 Cheng Chin
* 36 Yu Te-Lung
* 37 Tseng Jen-Ho
* 38 Tung Shun-Chieh
* 39 Lin Li
* 40 Brooks Hall
* 44 Zeng Jia-Hui
* 45 Feng Chien-Ting
* 46 Chiu Chun-Wei
* 47 Hsu Yu-Hao
* 48 Lai Hung-Cheng
* 49 Pedro Fernández
* 51 Lai Chin-Chi
* 53 Yang Chia-Sheng
* 54 Lin Tzu-Wei
* 55 Li Cheng-Chen
* 58 Liao Chien-Fu
* 61 Bradin Hagens
* 62 Yen Hung-Chun
* 63 Lai Yin-Hao
* 64 Wang Chih-Hsuan
* 65 Lin Cheng-Hua
* 68 Wan Chao-Ching
* 69 Huang Tzu-Peng
* 74 Chiu Chia-Ching
* 75 Kuo Wen-Yi
* 77 Chuang Hsin-Yen
* 79 Lin Chih-Ping
* 80 Chiu Wei-Lun
* 81 Lin Hua-Wei
* 82 Huang Ching-Wei
* 83 Yang Chin-Hao
* 84 Huang Tzu-Hsuan
* 86 Chiu Tan
* 89 Mao Ying-Chieh
* 92 Fan Po-Chieh
* 93 Lin Kai-Chi
* 94 Ma Chieh-Sen
* 95 Lee Hsun-Chieh
* 97 Zhung Yu-Cheng
* 98 Chen Chen-Wei
* 168 Wen Chan-Le
* 177 Huang Chia-No

First squad
coaching|

Manager
99 Tseng Hao-Ju
Coaches
42 Hong Chuan-Yi
43 Lin Ying-chieh
44 Charles Poe
59 Liu Ping-Chen
70 Hsu Ming-chieh
73 Tsuyoshi Kawagishi
81 Wataru Nishimura
87 Kenji Furukubo
90 Lin Cheng-I
91 Chen Yen-Feng

Second squad
coaching|

Manager
75 Liu Jung-Hua
Coaches
50 Hsu Yueh-Teng
63 Tsai Yu-Hsiang
73 Tsuyoshi Kawagishi
78 Lin Ching-Min
95 Tsai Jian-Wei

* v
* t
* e

Chinese Professional Baseball League

Current teams|

* CTBC Brothers
* Fubon Guardians
* Rakuten Monkeys
* TSG Hawks
* Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions
* Wei Chuan Dragons

Defunct teams|

* Mercuries Tigers
* China Times Eagles
* Chinatrust Whales
* dmedia T-REX

Seasons|

* 2007
* 2008
* 2011
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

Taiwan Series|

* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011

Games|

* All-Star Game
* Home Run Derby

Awards|

* MVP of the Year
* Rookie of the Year
* Manager of the Year
* Most progressive
* Win champions
* ERA champions
* Strikeout champions
* Hold champions
* Save champions
* Batting champions
* Home run champions
* RBI champions
* Hit champions
* Stolen base champions

Miscellaneous|

* Scandals
* Import players

* Taiwan Major League (defunct)
* Asia Series (defunct)

* v
* t
* e

Rakuten

People|

* Hiroshi Mikitani (founder)

Products|

| Internet services|

* Rakuten Rewards
* Kobo Inc.
* Rakuten France
* Rakuten.com
* Rakuten.co.uk
* Rakuten Linkshare
* Rakuten TV
* Rakuten Sports
* Viki

|

Software|

* Rakuten DX

Sports|

* Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles‎
* Vissel Kobe
* Rakuten Monkeys

Telecommunication|

* Altiostar
* Rakuten Mobile
* Viber

Other|

* Rakuten Institute of Technology
* Rakuten Travel Experiences (formerly Voyagin)

* v
* t
* e

Sports teams in Taoyuan

Baseball|

CPBL
Rakuten Monkeys
Popcorn League
Taoyuan City
TWBL
Fearless
Goku
Taoyuan

Basketball|

PLG
Taoyuan Pauian Pilots
TPBL
Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards

Esports|

PCL
Chienhsin Bear

Futsal|

FS1
Taoyuan Li-Ching
TFL
Taoyuan
Taiwan Futsal Development League
Inter Vanung
Taoyuan Tiger Wings

Soccer|

TFPL
Ming Chuan University
Second Division
Inter Taoyuan
TMFDL
Taoyuan Tiger Wings
TMFL
Mars
Women's Development League
Tiger Wings

Volleyball|

TPVL
Taoyuan Leopards
TVL
Taoyuan TFMI Falcon
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[TWBL]: Taiwan Women Baseball League
*[PCL]: Pacific Challengers League
*[FS1]: Chinese Futsal League One
*[TMFDL]: Taiwan Men's Football Development League
*[TPVL]: Taiwan Professional Volleyball League