Wang Chien-ming (王建民) lost his salary arbitration case against the New York Yankees on Friday and will earn US$4 million instead of his request for US$4.6 million.
Thursday's hearing was the first for the Yankees since Mariano Rivera lost in 2000. The decision left the Yankees' payroll at a major league high of US$206.4 million for 22 signed players.
"He's a special talent. It's just, really, about where he slots in a market of special players as a first-time eligible," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "Based on where the market is ... there was really no room to go any higher than 4 [million dollars]. It would have been out-of-market."
Wang went 19-7 with a 3.70 ERA last year, his second straight season with 19 wins, but lost twice as the Cleveland Indians eliminated the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs. He made US$489,500.
Even with the loss, Wang will earn the second-highest salary for a pitcher eligible for arbitration for the first time, trailing only the US$4.35 million Dontrelle Willis received under an agreement with Florida in 2006.
"The Yankees only go to arbitration when we think the player and agent's demand is over the proper market," team president Randy Levine said in a statement. "This should not be viewed as `a loss' for Wang Chien-ming. He is a valuable member of our team and we felt that we had reflected this in our filing number."
Wang's agent, Alan Nero, said his side tried to impress on the arbitration panel the pitcher's value to the Yankees and Major League Baseball in expanding the market for the team and the sport in Taiwan.
"The case did focus around Willis," Nero said. "The whole case should have not been about Willis because our midpoint was below Willis."
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from