WHY CHIEN-MING WANG GOT HOSED

Everyone remembers what Chien-Ming Wang did for the Yankees in the mid to late 2000's. The Yankees starting staff was pretty thin from 2005 until the start of 2009, but Wang was a staple in the rotation during that time. Wang had a power sinker that he could dominate with for an entire game causing batters to beat the ball into the ground consistently. I really liked watching him when he was the ace for the Yankees. It's unfortunate that his career as a major leaguer went from sky high to rock bottom on one freak play.

Wang broke into the big leagues at the same time as Robinson Cano in early May of 2005; which lit a spark for the sputtering Yankees. Wang certainly showed that he deserved to be with the big club, as he went 8-5 with a 4.02 ERA.
(Photo: Daily News)
It wasn’t until the following two seasons that Wang evolved into an ace for the Yankees. His first breakout season came in 2006, where he won a career high 19 games, and posted a 3.63 ERA. Wang also finished second in the AL CY Young standings to then Minnesota Twin Johan Santana; and won game one of the ALDS against the Detroit Tigers pitching 6.2 innings and allowing three runs.

In 2007, Wang again won 19 games for the Yankees, this time posting a 3.70 ERA. After these two stellar seasons, you knew Wang had arrived as the next Yankee ace.

A year later in a June game against Houston, Wang was starting for the Yankees and trying to pick up a win against the Astros. He was on his way to a victory after he safely reached base, but after rounding third his career took a turn for the worst. Wang suffered a severe foot injury, a Lisfranc fracture in his right foot. Since then, he has hit rock bottom and has been nowhere near the pitcher he once was.

Wang tried to successfully heal from the injury and he came back ready for Spring Training in 2009. However, stupidly enough, the Yankees brain trust told Wang not to use his legs because it could aggravate the foot injury. (Click the link.)That last statement in itself could be a completely different article on why that was foolish because anyone who knows anything about pitching will say that this is necessary in order to be effective. At any rate, Wang got off to a terrible start in 2009, going 0-3 in three starts, with a 34.50 ERA before going back to the disabled list with a shoulder injury on April 18th.
Wang was out until May 22nd when he made a relief appearance against the Philadelphia Phillies; he went three innings and allowed two runs to score. He made a couple of other relief appearances until being moved back into the rotation to make a start on June 4th. By July 4th, Wang made 6 more starts resulting in a 1-3 record with a 6.43 ERA before suffering a fibrotic cover in his right shoulder and going back on the disabled list. Wang has not appeared in a major league game since that injury.

It's too bad that Wang really went from sky high to rock bottom with just one freak injury. You really have to feel for the guy, and only hope that he can come back strong. He did sign a contract with the Washington Nationals before the 2010 season, but did not pitch in a game for them because he was recovering from his shoulder injury. He is still with the Nationals as we speak, and he is still trying to recover from the shoulder injury. Despite everything, we do salute you Chien-Ming Wang for your time with the Yankees. We hope you can bounce back strong from this unfortunate injury.



--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




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