Is Chien-Ming Wang "The Michael Jordan of Taiwan"?

Chien-Ming Wang was officially introduced as Washington National today in front of members of the media on the field at the National's Space Coast Stadium.  The press conference went as most press events do.  There was praise for the player's ability.  The general manager talked about what a swell guy he is and how much of a positive influence he will be on the clubhouse and other players.  Then the player responded how he would like to have a great season and be with the team for a long time.  Typical press stuff that means little.  But amongst it all were some interesting quotes by General Manager Mike Rizzo.

"Not only did we get a player of his caliber, on the mound and on the field and in the clubhouse, it's also our first foray into that market," Rizzo said. "When your first guy in the market is the most popular player in the history of the country, it's a big coup for us."

I am not going to read too much into this one, but it is certainly encouraging considering some of the moves made by the team this off-season. The far East is a market that remains untouched by the Nationals, excluding their most recent addition, who could greatly increase the Nats exposure in Taiwan.    This offseason, Rizzo hired three guys (Clark, DiPuglia, McKeon) that came from clubs that were familiar with the Taiwan prospects, as well Asian baseball in general.



As the game of baseball has become more globalized, the quality of players from foreign markets improves.  Those that are able to identify and acquire potential quality players in these markets will be given a leg up on the competition.  In the second half of the twentieth century, many baseball clubs were able to greatly improve their teams with additions from the Caribbean and Latin America, much in the same way that teams will soon be able to fortify their teams with players from Japan, South Korea, or Taiwan.  In recent years, players like Ichiro Suzuki, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hideki Kuroda, Sin-Soo Choo, Akinori Iwamura, and Chien-Ming Wang have proven that Asian players can be successful in the major leagues.

There are two prospects in Japan right now, Norichika Aoki and Yu Darvish, that are garnering a lot of buzz from ML scouts and could be in the majors in the near future.  The Dodgers are probably the most proactive of all the clubs in their East Asia efforts and with good reason.  L.A. is host to a very ethnically diverse population.  This spring training, the Dodgers will split up their team into two squads, sending one squad to Taiwan for two exhibition games and the other squad to Arizona.  Among those going will surely be Kuo Hong-Chih and Hu Chin-Lung, two Taiwanese in the Dodgers system.  Kuo was the first Taiwanese high school player to sign a contract with a major league team when the Dodgers inked hi in 2000.  Now, teams across baseball have stepped up their scouting efforts in Taiwan and other Asian countries.  Many teams have top prospects that were born in Taiwan.  Some of these players include:  Fu-Te Ni (Tigers), Che-Hsuan Lin (Red Sox), Chih-Hsien Chiang (Red Sox), and Chia-Jen Lo (Astros).  They join a growing number of other Asian players in American baseball.

That brings us back to Mike Rizzo's comments today in which called Wang "The Michael Jordan of baseball."  This is hardly something Mr. Rizzo came up with, the phrase was once floated at an arbitration hearing by Wang's representatives.  Regardless, there is no doubt that Wang is the biggest name in Taiwan baseball right now.  He was a stud in Taiwan before he came to America and then once here he played with one of the most recognized franchises in the world.  His popularity in Taiwan is so great that it prompted Time magazine to name him one their 100 People of the Year in 2007.  Nicknamed "Chine Tsai" by the Taiwanese media, he is a hero to his people, who consider baseball their national sport, and is watched nightly in live or re-run broadcasts of all of his starts.  Reporters from Taiwan will surely be following him all season, even while he is rehabbing his shoulder.  The Nationals may soon become the preferred team by the Taiwanese.  It will surely expand the Nat's fan base.  What it means most of all, though, is that the Nationals have finally decided to take that next step in international development. Li Ho Wang!