Long Beach Armada's Adam Thomas Acquired by Taiwan League

Published on August 19, 2005 under Golden Baseball League (GBL)
Long Beach Armada News Release


The Golden Baseball League announced today that the Sinon Bulls of the China Professional Baseball League (Taiwan) have acquired right-handed pitcher Adam Thomas of the Long Beach Armada.

"Adam really deserves this opportunity as he's been superb for us all summer" said Darrell Evans, Long Beach Armada manager and former major league all-star. "I've been waiting for a call on Adam from either an MLB team or one of the top foreign leagues since he's been so dominant. We wish him well and are thrilled to have helped him to the next level."

Thomas, a 26 year old right handed pitcher from Miami, Florida who, joined the Long Beach Armada in a trade from the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the Northern League early in the season. In 9 starts in the GBL, he has a record of 5 wins and 1 loss, an E.R.A. of 2.91 and has struck out 49 batters while walking only 8 in 58 innings pitched. He has also thrown 3 complete games. Originally drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in 1999 out of St. Petersburg Junior College in Florida, he made it to high-A Rancho Cucamonga club in the California League before being released at the end of the 2002 season. He then went 16-9 with 166 strikeouts and only 64 walks in the independent Central and Northeast Leagues in the last two seasons prior to this year's campaign.

The Sinon Bulls are one of the six teams in the China Professional Baseball League (Taiwan) that began play in 1990. The Sinon Company purchased the Jungo Bears (one of the two expansion teams in 1992) in 1995, renamed them the Sinon Bulls and began an impressive run of playoff appearances. They have been in the Championship Series four of the last seven years, finally winning the Title last season as they defeated the Uni-President Lions four games to three. In addition, the Sinon Bulls have working arrangements with the Los Angeles Dodgers as they train with the Dodgers' coaches and staff at their Dominican Republic facility before the season and receive tactical coaching and player development consulting during the season. More info on this relationship can be found at http://www.sinon.com.tw/english/baseball.asp.

The China Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is Taiwan's major league and is considered the second-finest league in Asia behind the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league in Japan. The league has six teams that rotate games through 11 major venues on the island, playing 100 games in a relatively light schedule of just 3 to 4 games per week. The 25-man rosters of CPBL teams are allowed 3 foreign players, although only 2 may appear in a game at the same time causing most teams to sign pitchers as their foreigners. Baseball player salaries in Taiwan are the highest except for the major leagues in the U.S. and Japan and average about $90,000 per year for foreign players according to the league website. The CPBL has a trading deadline/roster freeze of August 31st resulting in player churn and opportunities during the last two weeks of that month.

As part of the agreement to provide Thomas to the Sinon Bulls, the Long Beach Armada have placed his contract on suspended status. He will be returned to Long Beach if he is released from the Bulls' roster prior to the September, 2006 expiration of his GBL contract.

"This is the third GBL pitcher to move up to a major professional league this week and the second to Taiwan" said Kevin Outcalt, GBL Commissioner. "With only 18 foreigners allowed and less than half of those American, it's great to see the enthusiasm that the professional league on Taiwan is showing for our players."

About the Golden Baseball League

The Golden Baseball League, Presented by Safeway Inc. /VONS, is a professional baseball league operating under a single-entity ownership model, with the League owning all the individual teams. Charter Golden Baseball League teams include the Chico Outlaws in Chico; CA, the Fullerton Flyers in Fullerton; CA, the Long Beach Armada in Long Beach; CA, the San Diego Surf Dawgs in San Diego; CA, the Mesa Miners in Mesa; AZ, the Surprise Fightin' Falcons in Surprise; AZ, the Yuma Scorpions in Yuma; AZ and the Japan Samurai Bears which will be the traveling team. The season will consist of 90 games per team and will begin late May and end in early September. Each team will have a 24-player roster.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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