page_title: Chien-Ming Wang
section_title: 2008–2009
hierarchical_section_title: Chien-Ming Wang / Major league career / New York Yankees / 2008–2009
caption_attribution_description: English: Chien-Ming Wang, Taiwanese pitcher for the New York Yankees Bân-lâm-gú: Ông Kiàn-bîn, tī New York Yankees ê Tâi-uân tâu-tshiú. 王建民，佇紐約洋基隊的台灣投手。
context_page_description: Chien-Ming Wang is a Taiwanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals. He also played for the Taiwan national baseball team, and is the current bullpen coach and assistant pitching coach.
  Wang signed as an amateur free agent with the Yankees in 2000. After working his way up the Yankees' minor league system for several seasons, he made his MLB debut in 2005. With his hard sinker, he was one of the best starting pitchers for the Yankees in 2006 and 2007, winning 19 games in both seasons and leading the American League in that category in 2006. He suffered a foot injury in 2008 that limited his appearances and effectiveness, and a series of arm injuries cost him most of the 2009 season and all of 2010. Wang returned to major leagues with the Washington Nationals in 2011, starting 21 games over two seasons while again spending time on the disabled list. He signed with the Yankees in 2013 but was released without pitching in the major leagues, then signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and made six starts with limited effectiveness.
context_section_description: The beginning of the 2008 season saw Wang at the top of the Yankees rotation and the ace with veterans Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte. In the final Yankee Stadium season opener against the Toronto Blue Jays, Wang pitched 7.0 innings, allowing only 2 runs and picking up his first win of the season. In his first start against the Boston Red Sox in 2008, he pitched a one-run, two-hit complete game.
  On April 22, 2008, Wang recorded a win against the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. The victory, in Wang's 85th career start, made him the fastest Major Leaguer to record 50 wins as a starter since Dwight Gooden, who won his 50th game in his 82nd start on June 29, 1986, at Chicago for the New York Mets. Wang also became the quickest Yankee to 50 wins since Ron Guidry, who accomplished this in his 82nd start.
  Wang finished April with a perfect 5–0 record, leading the American League along with Joe Saunders. On May 2, Wang became the first six-game winner in the American League with a win over the Seattle Mariners with just one earned run over six innings. On May 8, Cliff Lee of the Cleveland Indians beat Wang 3–0, handing Wang his first loss of the season. During this loss, Wang allowed three runs and five hits in seven innings. On June 10, after going six starts with two losses and four no decisions since May 2, Wang defeated the Oakland Athletics 3–1 to end the longest victory drought of his career. Through 2008, Wang had the third highest winning percentage of all starting pitchers over the last three years (46–15, .754).
  On June 15, Wang was taken out of an interleague game versus the Houston Astros due to a right foot injury he sustained while running the bases, something he was not used to doing, since pitchers do not bat in the American League. Wang was diagnosed with a torn Lisfranc ligament of the right foot and a partial tear of the peroneus longus of the right foot. Despite not requiring surgery, he was on crutches and wearing a protective boot. The cast was removed on July 29, but the extensive rehabilitation process prevented Wang from pitching for the remainder of the season. Yankees' part-owner Hank Steinbrenner showed frustration with pitchers having to bat in the National League and suggested that the League  "join the modern age". On December 22, 2008, Wang and the New York Yankees avoided salary arbitration when they agreed to a $5 million, one-year contract. Wang made $4 million in the 2008 season after losing in salary arbitration. He had asked for $4.6 million.
  On April 3, 2009, Wang became the first Yankees' starting and the first game winning pitcher of the new Yankee Stadium in the stadium opener exhibition game against Chicago Cubs. His regular season began with an extraordinarily bad performance. In his first start of the regular season, Wang gave up 7 earned runs and 9 hits in 3.2 innings against the Baltimore Orioles. That was followed by a one-inning appearance against the Tampa Bay Rays when he surrendered 8 earned runs in just one inning.  In his third start, against the Cleveland Indians in New York on April 18, Wang was credited for eight more earned runs in 1.1 innings; Cleveland won the game 22–4. After his first 3 appearances, Wang was 0–3 with a whopping 34.50 ERA.
  There was speculation that the right foot injury Wang sustained during the 2008 season caused him to compensate with the rest of his pitching motion, leading to his 2009 struggles. Following the April 18 game manager Joe Girardi said, "We have some time. We have a day off, I think Thursday, and we're going to have to decide what's best for Chien-Ming Wang and the team."  On April 22, General Manager Brian Cashman, at a Q&A at Southern Connecticut State University, confirmed Wang's release point was 5 inches higher than the same time the previous season.
  After being removed from the rotation and sent down to Tampa to work out mechanical issues, Wang was diagnosed with weakness in the muscles of both hips and placed on the disabled list. He was activated from the disabled list on May 22, 2009, and on his first day on the acti
caption: Wang pitching for the New York Yankees in 2009
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