Taiwanese pitcher Wang Chien-ming, who arrived home yesterday for a month-long stay, said he is hoping to play Major League Baseball next year, but will also consider retiring if he does not find the right situation.
“I do not have any expectations. If there is a team that wants me, I will play. If there is not, [I might] retire,” Wang said on arrival at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. “My agents are in contact with teams. I have not heard anything.”
Wang was designated for assignment by his former team, the Kansas City Royals, in September, meaning he was removed from the team’s 40-man roster and essentially let go.
Photo: Yao Chieh-hsiu, Taipei Times
The 36-year-old Wang is now a free agent, but asked by reporters about his hopes were for next year, Wang said he was not thinking too much about where his career will take him.
Looking back at his performance this season, Wang said he did his best.
“All these years of training were meant to prepare me for the moment this year,” he said. “Even though I did not play too many games, I made the most of every opportunity I had.”
Wang said he would attend a baseball camp in Pingtung County from Tuesday through Friday next week and join players from the Chinese Professional Baseball League in a charity golf event in Miaoli County on Dec. 28.
The right-hander appeared in 38 games for the Royals this season, compiling a 6-0 record and a 4.22 ERA. He worked 53-1/3 innings out of the bullpen and had 30 strikeouts and 18 walks.
Wang become a folk hero in Taiwan from 2005 to 2008 when he starred for the New York Yankees, but a foot injury in 2008 and arm injuries in 2009 sent his career into a downward spiral.
He is still popular in Taiwan and Royals games were regularly broadcast this season so that people could see him pitch live.
MOTHER KNOWS BEST: Warriors’ coach Kerr said his 91-year-old mother criticized him for his attitude toward officials that led to his ejection from Monday’s game Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Wednesday rescued the Oklahoma City Thunder with a game-tying buzzer-beater before finishing with 46 points in a 129-125 overtime victory against the Utah Jazz. The reigning NBA champions looked to be heading for a third straight loss after the Jazz inched into a 114-112 lead following Lauri Markkanen’s layup with just three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. However, NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander drained a superb 13-foot jump shot to tie it up at 114-114 as the buzzer sounded to send the game into overtime. Gilgeous-Alexander then took over in the extra period with nine points as the Western
Mohamed Salah’s Egypt knocked reigning champions Ivory Coast out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a 3-2 win in the quarter-finals on Saturday, while Victor Osimhen starred as Nigeria beat Algeria 2-0 to set up a clash with hosts Morocco. In Agadir, Morocco, a thrilling last-eight tie saw Omar Marmoush and Ramy Rabia net in the first half for the Pharaohs before an own goal by Ahmed Aboul-Fetouh brought the Ivorians back into it. Salah then got Egypt’s third early in the second half and they held on after Guela Doue again reduced the deficit. Egypt is to face Senegal
AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE: Sabalenka aims to follow up with a third Australian Open win, while Taiwanese Joanna Garland claimed a WTA 125 title in Canberra Aryna Sabalenka beat Karolina Muchova in straight sets to reach her third Brisbane International final in a row yesterday, a week ahead of the Australian Open. Sabalenka looked in great touch against the tricky Czech, who had won their last three meetings and went into the match as one of the few players with a winning record over the world No. 1. However, Sabalenka showed her class and power as she broke Muchova once in each set to take the semi-final 6-3, 6-4 in 89 minutes to face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the final. “I struggled against her a couple of times [in
Brandon Miller scored 18 points, LaMelo Ball had 17 and the Charlotte Hornets built a 47-point lead in the first half of a 150-95 rout against the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. It was the second-biggest win in franchise history for the Hornets and their largest on the road. The Hornets bounced back from a pair of frustrating losses in a big way, having fallen to Toronto by one point and Indiana by two in their last two games. Charlotte pounded the NBA champion Thunder by 27 in Oklahoma City before those defeats, previously the Hornets’ most lopsided victory of the season. Tre
RSS