Here, there is no bigger star than Wang Chien-Ming, or Chien-Ming Wang as he’s known in the US. It’s not a stretch to say he’s a bigger star than Michael Jordan is/ was in the US. His games are televised nationwide, many on public big screens to large audiences. In most newscasts, his is the only sports story (which actually says something b/c, from what I’m able to tell, the newscasts here are filled with a lot of fluff pieces seemingly advertising some store or restaurant offering a bargain, which I guess in the current economical climates does have its place). His image is everywhere endorsing McDonald's, Ford, E Sun Bank (one of the largest in Taiwan) and computer-maker Acer. His popularity can be reflected by this fact: the country's largest circulation daily, Apple Daily, estimates that it sells as many as 300,000 extra papers on days that carry reports of another Wang victory
Wang is a major star because, well, he deserves it. He gained initial prominence as the ace of the national team in 2004 Olympics. And then quickly rose through the Yankees’ minor system and has posted back-to-back 19 win seasons for the most popular baseball team in the world, the New York Yankees. He was even the runner-up for the Cy Young award in ‘07. But he has recently hit on rough times. A promising ’08 season was derailed when he broke his leg running the bases. And then he, once again, skipped a chance to represent his country in the World Baseball Classic, which resulted in some public backlash. And, now, after his third straight disastrous start this season, his ERA is 34.50.
Before this unfathomable bad stretch, he had already fallen in my eyes. When I found out that he was once again not representing his country in the WBC, I was greatly disappointed. It would have been the 1st time he pitched for his country since becoming a major star here. His presence would have been so meaningful because he wouldn’t have been pitching for a professional team in a foreign country, he would have been pitching for his countrymen. I mean, how often is someone given the opportunity to display pride for his country on such a stage where the entire public would take notice. It seems those opportunities are limited to sporting events such as the Olympics and the World Cup. Now, baseball has the World Baseball Classic and, to some countries such as Japan and Korea, it’s a pretty important event. Actually, given its prior dominance in the little league World Series, baseball is very popular sport here as well. Thus, Wang’s rise to superstardom here is not that surprising. I would surmise that even if a Taiwanese tennis player becomes a top 5 player, s/he would not be as popular and influential as Wang.
There are those who will argue that he needed the time to rehab his foot injury, but how would pitching three innings in one game at the WBC be any different than pitching a game in the Grapefruit League? Oh, I’ll tell you how. It would have reinvigorated a country currently embroiled in economic crisis and political uncertainty. And certainly three innings in a game vs. China would have been all that he would been permitted or asked to do b/c the Taiwan team would have not played more than the minimum three games (since Japan and Korea would have been too dominant not to advance to the next round of the WBC). The worst part of their performance is the loss to China, a country that is not only Taiwan’s political rival, but also only started seriously competing in baseball a little over eight years ago. For Taiwan, losing to China in baseball is similar to the US losing to any country in basketball. But that’s merely a sign of the times for baseball here in TW. The national team also failed miserably in the ’08 Olympics and professional baseball here, due to various game-fixing scandals in the past, gets attendances similar to minor league games in the US. Indeed, the once-proud fans of sport in their country have very little to smile about, which would have made it an ideal time for a hero. Sadly, it’s clearly a role Wang is happy to benefit from, but not one he wishes to actually play anymore.
