Taiwanese pitcher Wang Chien-ming (王建民) received a rough welcome upon his return to Major League Baseball (MLB) on Friday, lasting just four innings and giving up six runs for the Washington Nationals as they lost to the New York Mets 8-5.
Two years to the day since he underwent shoulder surgery, Wang returned to the mound for his first start since July 4, 2009, when he was with the New York Yankees.
Wang walked Jose Reyes to lead off the contest and the Mets followed with four singles in a row, piling up four runs in the first inning.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
He threw 60 pitches, walked one and struck out two, before being removed from the game.
After the four-pitch walk to Reyes, the Mets shortstop moved to second on a wild pitch and to third on Justin Turner’s single to center. Reyes scored on Daniel Murphy’s hit to left.
David Wright belted a 1-2 pitch from Wang off the right-field wall for a single to load the bases and Angel Pagan hit a two-run single on the next pitch.
Photo: AFP
Wang got his first out on Jason Bay’s ground ball, before Lucas Duda’s sacrifice fly scored Wright.
After retiring eight of nine -batters, Wang allowed the Mets to put up two runs in the fourth inning before he was taken out.
Even so, Nationals manager Davey Johnson was satisfied with what he saw.
“I was actually impressed,” Johnson said of Wang. “His delivery looked really easy. He had some good velocity on the ball. I was pleased. I really didn’t think I was going to see that much.”
In a post-game press conference, Wang said he was happy to be back on the field in the MLB and felt that he “finally made it” after recovering from a prolonged injury.
He added that he didn’t play too well in the first inning because he was too excited. However, after taking a rest, Wang said he gradually became more stable in the second inning.
Recalling the past two years, Wang said his main goal was to recover from his shoulder injury, so that he could go back to the field. He said he was really glad to be back on the field and being able to be back on the field was what he was most satisfied about.
Wang thanked Taiwanese fans for their support, especially when people traveled thousands of kilometers just to watch him playing in the minor league over the past few months.
In Taipei, one of Wang’s fans, a college student surnamed Chen (陳), said that while he could have slept in since he is on his summer vacation, he got up early yesterday to watch the live broadcast of Wang’s game.
An employee at a high-tech firm surnamed Lin (林) said Wang became a focus of conversation among his colleagues as soon as they learned that Wang was coming back onto the field. Although they could not watch the broadcast on TV during work hours, many people watched the broadcast on the Internet, and “I think the -supervisor knew it, but just pretended that he didn’t.”
A party was held outside Taipei City Hall, where a large screen was set up for a live broadcast of the game.
“Today is Wang’s first game back, so I’m dressed all in red in the hope of bringing him good luck,” said a 27-year-old who got up at 4am for the gathering.
A breakfast restaurant owner said that because of Wang, many students were more willing to wake up early and his sales figures went up. Therefore, he is hoping that Wang will stay in the MLB for longer, so that his business continues to thrive.
Presidential Office spokesman Fan Chiang Tai-chi (范姜泰基) said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had sent an e-mail to Wang through the Council of Sports Affairs to give him the president’s warm wishes.
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