Yankees pitcher Wang Chien-ming made his first appearance back in Taiwan at a press conference yesterday morning after touching down on a flight from New York earlier in the day.
The “Pride of Taiwan” and the first Taiwan-born player to win a World Series title greeted the press with a warm smile after a long trip with his wife and newborn son, Justin.
“It’s nice to be back,” Wang said in a black top, his familiar pin-stripe baseball pants and a pair of sneakers with the Chinese character “Wang” on the back.
He shared details of the New York Yankees’ post-World Series celebrations before talking about the progress of his rehabilitation following surgery on his throwing shoulder.
“I think I am a little ahead of schedule after my visit to [sports medicine orthopedic surgeon] Dr [James] Andrews in Alabama last week,” Wang said. “That means that I could be doing some throwing as early as next month.”
Staying ahead of schedule will be extremely important for the right-hander who registered back-to-back 19-win seasons for the Yankees in 2006 and 2007, before missing the bulk of last season because of the injury, as he will likely be declared a free agent in the off-season.
When asked whether he would remain with the Yankees or sign for a different team, Wang told reporters that nothing would be decided before Dec. 13, the deadline the Yankees have to work out a new deal with him.
“Of course, I would prefer to stay in the American League, because I don’t have to bat, but if I ended up in the NL [National League], I’ll have to work on bunting the runner over,” Wang said.
He is expected to stay in Taiwan for approximately three weeks.
Wang will continue to rehabilitate his injured shoulder in addition to training his lower body for the upcoming season. He said the rehabilitation this time was progressing much better than his previous experience in 2001 when he was a minor leaguer.
“I have not felt any pain at all since the operation and that’s very positive,” Wang said.
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