About Chien-Ming Wang
Chien-Ming Wang (Chinese: 王建民; pinyin: Wáng Jiànmín; born March 31, 1980) is a Taiwanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays, and Kansas City Royals. He also played for the Chinese Taipei national baseball team, and is the current assistant pitching coach for CTBC Brothers. Wang signed as an amateur free agent with the Yankees in 2000. After working his way up the Yankees' minor league system for several seasons, he made his MLB debut in 2005. With his hard sinker, he was one of the best starting pitchers for the Yankees in 2006 and 2007, winning 19 games in both seasons and leading the American League in that category in 2006. He suffered a foot injury in 2008 that limited his appearances and effectiveness, and a series of arm injuries cost him most of the 2009 season and all of 2010. Wang returned to major leagues with the Washington Nationals in 2011, starting 21 games over two seasons while again spending time on the disabled list. He signed with the Yankees in 2013 but was released without pitching in the major leagues, then signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and made six starts with limited effectiveness. He pitched for minor league teams in several organizations in 2014 and 2015. In 2016, he returned to the major leagues as a relief pitcher with the Kansas City Royals. Wang was the third major leaguer from Taiwan, following Dodgers outfielder Chin-Feng Chen, and Rockies pitcher Chin-Hui Tsao. On September 19, 2005, Wang tied a record for assists in a game by a pitcher with nine. In 2006, Wang won 19 games (tied for the most in the majors along with Johan Santana) and posted a 3.63 ERA in 218 innings across 34 games (33 starts). Wang also threw two complete games, though the first, on June 18, was bittersweet: against the Washington Nationals, he allowed a one-out, two-run, walk-off home run by Ryan Zimmerman to lose the game 3–2.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.