Friday, November 12, 2010

Nationals pitcher Wang expects MLB return early next season

Taipei, Nov. 12 (CNA) Washington Nationals pitcher Chien-ming Wang said Friday after returning home for an off-season break that he was around 80 percent recovered from a shoulder injury suffered in 2009 and expected to pitch in the majors next April or May.

"As you all know, I have only pitched in two games in the instructional league, " the 30-year-old Tainan native said at a press conference. "I will have to wait until next April or May to see whether I'm ready to pitch."

Wang spent the entire 2010 Major League Baseball season rehabilitating a shoulder injury he suffered in July 2009 and had surgically repaired later that month.

He signed a one-year US$2 million contract with the National League team prior to the 2010 season after his previous team, the New York Yankees, did not tender him a new contract.

Wang said he felt great and that all he was hoping for at the moment was a full recovery. "It is what every athlete lives for, to be able to actually play in games," he said.

The right-hander spent about eight hours per day rehabilitating his shoulder while in the United States, a daily grind that included applying hot compresses, lifting weights, running and pitching.

"That kind of life can be very boring, " said Wang, who took up golf as a diversion and now has about an 18 handicap.

Wang's contract will expire during the off-season, but he said he did not want to think too much about signing a new contract with the Nationals since "it was too early to tell."

The Nationals' management has said the team was pleased with Wang's performance and planned to negotiate a new deal with Wang's agent.

Wang is expected to stay in Taiwan for about two months before returning to the U.S. for spring training ahead of the 2011 season. Back in Taiwan, he said he could not wait to go home and see his parents, who live in the southern city of Tainan.

He also offered his best wishes to Taiwan's national baseball team, which is in Guangzhou, China, for the 2010 Asian Games.

Having played in the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, Wang said he had unforgettable memories of that time with his teammates during pre-tournament training sessions and the actual tournament.

Wang made his MLB debut in 2005 with the Yankees, and had consecutive 19-win seasons in 2006 and 2007, before injuries started taking their toll in mid-2008.

A foot injury in June of that year kept him out of the second half of the 2008 season and may have indirectly led to his shoulder injury in 2009.

He has a career record of 55-26 with a 4.16 ERA. (By Chris Wang) enditem/ls