Taipei, Oct. 6 (CNA) Taiwanese pitcher Chien-Ming Wang of the Washington Nationals is scheduled to pitch an inning in an instructional league game in Viera, Florida Thursday Taiwan time in what could be one of the most important outings of his U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB) career.
Wang, who has been under rehabilitation for a shoulder injury that occurred before signing with the Nationals for a one-year, US$2 million deal this April, is slated to pitch one inning against the Detroit Tigers minor league team in the Florida Instructional League, a league for minor leaguers to hone their skills.
The 30-year-old veteran was quoted by the Chinese-language Liberty Times newspaper as saying that he will try to work mainly on sinkers -- his most effective weapon -- in the inning. His fastball is now clocked at around 85 miles per hour.
After a rehabilitation of almost 15 months, the right-hander will pitch under the watchful eyes of Mike Rizzo and Jim Riggleman, general manager and manager of the Nationals, which hasn't enjoyed Wang's service since he signed with the team.
Wang's performance Thursday appears to be important for his future with the Nationals, which finished with 69 wins and 93 losses and ranked last in the five-team National League East Division this season. If the team chooses not to offer him a new major league contract, he will become a free agent.
The Nationals had originally hoped Wang, who will be eligible for arbitration this offseason, would make his 2010 debut in mid-June. However, Wang has suffered a shoulder injury that, according to Rizzo, occurred more often to American football players than pitchers, citing New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who underwent the same surgery as Wang, as an example.
Wang signed with the New York Yankees in 2001 and was first called up to the mound of a major league game in April 2005.
He was the third player from Taiwan to make it into the MLB after Dodgers outfielder Chen Chin-feng and Rockies pitcher Tsao Chin-hui.
Wang shot to fame in 2006 with his powerful sinkers, scoring 19 wins to tie with Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins and put him above all other Asian pitchers in the MLB. He secured another 19 wins the following season.
While with the Yankees, Wang suffered a torn right shoulder capsule that was repaired in July 2009, but he has been slow to recover from the injury. (By Chris Wang) enditem/bc