Chien-Ming Wang is a Taiwanese former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays, and Kansas City Royals. He was born on March 31, 1980, in Tainan, Taiwan, and began his baseball career in Taiwan before being signed by the Yankees in 2000.
Wang made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2005 and quickly became one of the team's most reliable starting pitchers. He won 19 games in both the 2006 and 2007 seasons, finishing second in the American League Cy Young Award voting in 2006. Wang was known for his sinkerball, which induced many ground balls and double plays.
However, Wang's career took a turn in 2008 when he suffered a foot injury while running the bases during an interleague game. He missed the rest of the season and struggled to regain his form in the following years. He was released by the Yankees in 2009 and signed with the Nationals, where he continued to struggle with injuries and inconsistency.
Wang spent the next few years bouncing around between the minor leagues and various MLB teams, including the Blue Jays and Royals. He had some success with the Nationals in 2011, posting a 4-3 record with a 4.04 ERA in 11 starts, but was unable to sustain that success in the following years.
Wang's career came to an end in 2016 when he announced his retirement from professional baseball. He finished his career with a 62-34 record, a 4.16 ERA, and 370 strikeouts in 764 innings pitched.
Despite his struggles in the latter part of his career, Wang remains a beloved figure in Taiwan and is considered one of the greatest Taiwanese baseball players of all time. He represented Taiwan in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and was inducted into the Taiwan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019.
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