1 00:00:34,492 --> 00:00:36,369 [children chattering] 2 00:00:37,162 --> 00:00:38,496 [girl] What’s a Yankee? 3 00:00:38,788 --> 00:00:41,124 [boy] Yankees is a baseball team, Yankees. 4 00:00:41,416 --> 00:00:42,250 [girl] Oh. 5 00:00:43,251 --> 00:00:44,377 Cool. 6 00:00:44,461 --> 00:00:46,087 [Chien-Ming Wang] Cool. 7 00:00:47,297 --> 00:00:49,048 -Hi. -[Chien-Ming] Hello. 8 00:00:49,507 --> 00:00:52,385 I was going to tell you, he’s Justin’s dad. 9 00:00:52,469 --> 00:00:53,470 -[Chien-Ming] Yeah? -Yeah. 10 00:00:53,595 --> 00:00:54,554 See? 11 00:00:55,555 --> 00:00:57,724 -Oh, my God. -[laughter] 12 00:01:01,227 --> 00:01:04,939 My mom told me... Uh, us that you’re famous. 13 00:01:05,023 --> 00:01:06,399 My mom told me that. 14 00:01:06,483 --> 00:01:07,692 Before, not now. 15 00:01:07,942 --> 00:01:08,860 -Oh. -[laughing] 16 00:01:09,778 --> 00:01:11,029 Cool. 17 00:01:12,322 --> 00:01:13,573 [children laughing] 18 00:02:17,095 --> 00:02:18,096 [male commentator 1] Think about the Yankees, 19 00:02:18,179 --> 00:02:20,431 you think about all that money in that big payroll, 20 00:02:20,515 --> 00:02:22,350 and who gets the ball in Game One? 21 00:02:22,433 --> 00:02:23,810 Chien-Ming Wang, 22 00:02:23,893 --> 00:02:25,228 who has been, without a doubt, 23 00:02:25,311 --> 00:02:29,107 the best starter down the stretch for the New York Yankees. 24 00:02:29,232 --> 00:02:31,234 [male commentator 2] That sinker goes down, 25 00:02:31,317 --> 00:02:36,072 a lot of hitters talk about hitting it, and it feels like a bowling ball. 26 00:02:36,156 --> 00:02:37,574 What a description 27 00:02:37,657 --> 00:02:39,701 of a tough sinker from Wang. 28 00:02:40,785 --> 00:02:44,497 [male commentator 3] One of the best sinkers during his era. 29 00:02:48,877 --> 00:02:49,919 [male commentator 1] One, two, pitch. 30 00:02:50,003 --> 00:02:51,713 -Ordonez strikes out. -[crowd cheering] 31 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:54,799 [male commentator 2] He was fun to watch 32 00:02:54,883 --> 00:02:57,218 for a couple of years, and it was exciting. 33 00:02:58,052 --> 00:02:59,929 -He's struck him out. -[crowd cheering] 34 00:03:00,930 --> 00:03:01,973 [male commentator 1] He’s a great pitcher. 35 00:03:02,056 --> 00:03:04,601 A lot of the guys who come here, they can’t stand on that mound. 36 00:03:04,684 --> 00:03:08,104 And they’re great any place else, but they come in and stand there, 37 00:03:08,187 --> 00:03:09,397 he had that. 38 00:03:09,814 --> 00:03:12,483 [male commentator 2] He won 19 games two years in a row, 39 00:03:12,567 --> 00:03:16,404 and he was like the next great pitcher for the Yankees. 40 00:03:17,155 --> 00:03:19,657 [male commentator 1] Wang rounds third, he scores. 41 00:03:19,991 --> 00:03:23,828 It is a two run base hit and Wang got hurt running the bases. 42 00:03:24,037 --> 00:03:26,372 Wang is bent over at home plate, 43 00:03:26,706 --> 00:03:28,875 and the Yankees will have to go to the bullpen. 44 00:03:28,958 --> 00:03:30,376 He can barely walk. 45 00:03:31,461 --> 00:03:32,378 [man] Too early. 46 00:03:32,462 --> 00:03:34,422 He hurt himself and never came back from it. 47 00:03:34,505 --> 00:03:35,882 He seemed like he had it... 48 00:03:36,674 --> 00:03:38,092 and it wasn’t there. 49 00:03:38,927 --> 00:03:39,761 It was sad. 50 00:03:39,844 --> 00:03:41,137 [thud] 51 00:03:52,315 --> 00:03:55,318 [male commentator 1] He’s not pitched in the Major Leagues since 2013, 52 00:03:55,401 --> 00:03:58,029 when he made six appearances with the Blue Jays, 53 00:03:58,279 --> 00:04:00,365 and has not been the same guy since. 54 00:04:02,158 --> 00:04:03,618 [male commentator 1] Right after Spring Training, 55 00:04:04,202 --> 00:04:06,788 he was the first ever Yankee starting pitcher 56 00:04:06,871 --> 00:04:08,331 at the new Yankee Stadium. 57 00:04:08,414 --> 00:04:11,042 Now, it was an exhibition game, it wasn’t a regular season game. 58 00:04:11,459 --> 00:04:13,878 That was the first game the Yankees played in their new home, 59 00:04:13,962 --> 00:04:15,880 and he was the starting pitcher on the mound. 60 00:04:15,964 --> 00:04:17,423 [male commentator 2] That’s something nobody can take away from him. 61 00:04:17,507 --> 00:04:18,341 [male commentator 1] That’s right. 62 00:04:18,424 --> 00:04:20,426 [male commentator 2] That’s a pretty cool experience. 63 00:04:22,637 --> 00:04:26,140 [Chien-Ming in Mandarin] This is my sixth team in the past two years. 64 00:04:26,224 --> 00:04:28,601 The last time I was in the Majors was two years ago. 65 00:04:28,685 --> 00:04:31,437 My sinker does not have the late life 66 00:04:31,521 --> 00:04:32,730 like it used to, 67 00:04:32,814 --> 00:04:37,402 the velocity is slower now at 86 or 87 mph. 68 00:04:38,069 --> 00:04:39,570 [male commentator 1] Here’s the one off pitch, 69 00:04:39,654 --> 00:04:41,823 and there’s a drive to the gap in right center field. 70 00:04:41,906 --> 00:04:42,740 That’s got some steam. 71 00:04:42,824 --> 00:04:45,159 [Chien-Ming] I just want to continue to pitch 72 00:04:45,243 --> 00:04:47,704 and see if I could get my groove back. 73 00:04:48,246 --> 00:04:50,164 [male commentator] One run, two hits, 74 00:04:50,248 --> 00:04:52,041 and nobody left on base. 75 00:04:54,585 --> 00:04:58,172 [man] It’s tough to see good guys struggle, 76 00:04:58,256 --> 00:05:02,010 especially from what he was to what he is now. 77 00:05:02,510 --> 00:05:05,346 He was throwing low to mid-90 sinkers, 78 00:05:05,430 --> 00:05:08,599 and probably throwing it 90% of the time, it was nuts. 79 00:05:08,683 --> 00:05:10,768 [male commentator] Drive to right field, it’s in, it’s a hit, 80 00:05:10,852 --> 00:05:12,812 this is going to score two runs. 81 00:05:12,895 --> 00:05:14,397 Navarro scores, 82 00:05:14,522 --> 00:05:17,191 all the way around third into score is Parmelee 83 00:05:17,275 --> 00:05:19,027 in a double and it’s three to one. 84 00:05:19,277 --> 00:05:21,904 Chien-Ming Wang now has given up four hits. 85 00:05:23,072 --> 00:05:23,906 Throws home... 86 00:05:25,325 --> 00:05:27,452 swings and bloops one to left, 87 00:05:27,535 --> 00:05:29,787 that’s going to drop in and will score another run. 88 00:05:31,205 --> 00:05:32,790 [man] I... I wish he never got hurt. He would've been... 89 00:05:32,874 --> 00:05:33,708 He would've been... He would’ve been 90 00:05:33,791 --> 00:05:35,335 still here with the Yankees, tell you the truth. 91 00:05:35,418 --> 00:05:37,295 Yeah, definitely. 92 00:06:16,125 --> 00:06:17,960 [door creaking] 93 00:06:30,973 --> 00:06:34,560 [Alan Chang] The day he got released by the Triple-A Braves, 94 00:06:34,644 --> 00:06:36,229 I hear he’s very calm, and... 95 00:06:36,854 --> 00:06:38,815 Um, but yet, you know, that day 96 00:06:38,898 --> 00:06:41,609 I could sense in the voice in his phone call 97 00:06:41,692 --> 00:06:44,403 that he could have tears in his eyes, 98 00:06:44,529 --> 00:06:46,614 and he’s never been released in mid-season. 99 00:06:46,697 --> 00:06:47,907 So I just tell him, uh, 100 00:06:47,990 --> 00:06:50,076 "Hey, don’t worry, do you want to continue to pitch?" 101 00:06:50,243 --> 00:06:53,079 You know, you’ve had a great career, 102 00:06:53,162 --> 00:06:54,705 if you don’t want to pitch anymore, 103 00:06:54,956 --> 00:06:58,209 you can go home, and you’ve already done so much. 104 00:07:01,129 --> 00:07:03,381 And he just tell me that, hey, you know, 105 00:07:03,464 --> 00:07:05,424 keep looking for teams for him, um, 106 00:07:05,550 --> 00:07:07,426 he wants to continue to pitch. 107 00:07:07,635 --> 00:07:10,721 And at that time, all the other 29 Major League teams, 108 00:07:10,805 --> 00:07:13,391 their Triple-A rotations are full, too. 109 00:07:13,641 --> 00:07:17,186 There were two teams, San Diego Padres and New York Mets, 110 00:07:17,270 --> 00:07:19,522 but they decided to pass on Chien-Ming. 111 00:07:22,150 --> 00:07:23,526 And I explained to him that 112 00:07:23,609 --> 00:07:26,362 if he wants to go home to Florida and rest, 113 00:07:26,529 --> 00:07:28,698 and, you know, wait for a Major League team 114 00:07:28,781 --> 00:07:32,660 to come up with a spot in the Triple-A roster, he could do that. 115 00:07:32,743 --> 00:07:34,912 But the risk is, if he goes home, 116 00:07:35,079 --> 00:07:37,248 he would have to restart up the throwing program again 117 00:07:37,331 --> 00:07:39,167 once a spot opens. 118 00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:01,272 [Chien-Ming] I struggle with the thoughts of calling it a career. 119 00:08:01,939 --> 00:08:03,649 If I ended this... 120 00:08:04,567 --> 00:08:07,236 at least I could return to Taiwan, 121 00:08:07,570 --> 00:08:09,489 and spend some time with my parents. 122 00:08:10,781 --> 00:08:14,952 I’m getting older, too, sometimes I do think about this. 123 00:08:15,703 --> 00:08:20,374 They are in Taiwan, and it’s just the two of them there. 124 00:08:23,669 --> 00:08:26,297 We talked to Chien-Ming about, you know, what he wants to do 125 00:08:26,380 --> 00:08:27,882 and totally respect him. 126 00:08:27,965 --> 00:08:31,093 I know... You know, he’s had a storied career, 127 00:08:31,302 --> 00:08:35,181 and I told him that, "Hey, you know, after all you’ve been through, 128 00:08:35,431 --> 00:08:37,475 if you want to hang it up... 129 00:08:38,518 --> 00:08:42,647 You’ve had such a, you know, unbelievable career already, 130 00:08:42,730 --> 00:08:46,359 you know, and it’s such a good example to little kids like my son... 131 00:08:47,109 --> 00:08:48,986 You know... 132 00:08:49,070 --> 00:08:50,988 We love you and... 133 00:08:51,072 --> 00:08:52,823 You know, you can..." 134 00:08:52,907 --> 00:08:55,117 [crying] 135 00:09:00,122 --> 00:09:01,290 Sorry... 136 00:09:13,928 --> 00:09:16,264 [Chien-Ming] Even if there’s no opportunities 137 00:09:16,347 --> 00:09:17,181 in the affiliated organizations, 138 00:09:17,265 --> 00:09:19,308 you still need to stay in shape. 139 00:09:20,309 --> 00:09:24,146 Alan found an Independent League team. 140 00:09:24,939 --> 00:09:28,859 The level is in between Double-A and Triple-A 141 00:09:29,652 --> 00:09:32,780 with a lot of good players playing there. 142 00:09:39,662 --> 00:09:42,164 I told him whatever the team is, I’ll go. 143 00:09:44,041 --> 00:09:46,460 I’m running out of options. 144 00:10:06,272 --> 00:10:09,525 This has got to be the lowest point, 145 00:10:10,151 --> 00:10:15,615 there’s not even a Minor League spot. 146 00:10:16,073 --> 00:10:18,159 So, I have to go to the Independent League. 147 00:10:20,161 --> 00:10:21,704 What I worry about is, 148 00:10:21,787 --> 00:10:24,874 whether I’ll ever make it back into the MLB system. 149 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:41,474 [in Mandarin] He is well aware of how much time he has left. 150 00:10:41,557 --> 00:10:44,477 After all, he is a pitcher of a certain age. 151 00:10:49,649 --> 00:10:51,108 You want to support him, 152 00:10:51,192 --> 00:10:53,402 sure, give it all you’ve got and keep going. 153 00:10:53,527 --> 00:10:56,614 But on the other hand, you feel sorry for him 154 00:10:56,739 --> 00:10:57,907 because... 155 00:10:58,741 --> 00:11:03,245 he’s no longer the same pitcher. 156 00:11:04,246 --> 00:11:09,085 The only thing that remains is his spirit. 157 00:12:03,597 --> 00:12:06,684 [indistinct conversations on TV] 158 00:12:33,127 --> 00:12:34,753 [Wellington Wang grunts] 159 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:41,177 [Charlene Wu] Okay, Kolby, let's see where your brother is. 160 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:44,054 [children chattering] 161 00:12:48,517 --> 00:12:49,351 Justin. 162 00:12:50,478 --> 00:12:51,562 [car door opens] 163 00:13:13,501 --> 00:13:14,710 I totally understand 164 00:13:14,793 --> 00:13:17,129 the heart and soul of ballplayers is on the fields. 165 00:13:17,338 --> 00:13:19,715 Watching him struggle these past few years, 166 00:13:19,798 --> 00:13:22,426 I am really torn, too. 167 00:13:22,801 --> 00:13:25,721 I want him to keep playing, but I don’t want him 168 00:13:25,804 --> 00:13:28,265 to miss out on our family this much. 169 00:13:46,242 --> 00:13:49,078 [indistinct commentary over PA] 170 00:14:02,132 --> 00:14:03,968 [indistinct chatter] 171 00:14:06,053 --> 00:14:07,930 [Patrick Day] They all got their backs up against the wall. 172 00:14:08,055 --> 00:14:09,974 Is the way they view it. Um... 173 00:14:10,057 --> 00:14:13,936 And it’s true, their... Their worlds get crushed a little bit. 174 00:14:14,144 --> 00:14:16,647 You know, they’re inside of an organization, 175 00:14:16,730 --> 00:14:18,774 feeling really good about themselves, 176 00:14:18,899 --> 00:14:19,733 then all of a sudden... 177 00:14:21,527 --> 00:14:23,070 they get released. 178 00:14:23,487 --> 00:14:25,447 There’s 1,400 free agents out there 179 00:14:25,531 --> 00:14:29,076 all the time, and there’s only 200 spots in this league. 180 00:14:30,494 --> 00:14:31,745 [Stan Cliburn] A lot of them had been to the Major Leagues. 181 00:14:31,912 --> 00:14:35,499 I think 80 of the 200 players last year in the league 182 00:14:35,583 --> 00:14:37,501 all had Major League experience. 183 00:14:37,585 --> 00:14:39,920 So this is a league where guys who’ve been to the Major Leagues, 184 00:14:40,588 --> 00:14:43,340 they’re back here for whatever reason, whether it was injury, 185 00:14:43,424 --> 00:14:45,426 their age might have caught up with them, 186 00:14:45,509 --> 00:14:48,262 weeded them out of the Major League system they were in 187 00:14:48,345 --> 00:14:50,806 because of the youth movement coming in with the younger players. 188 00:14:50,931 --> 00:14:52,433 But their backs are against the wall, 189 00:14:52,558 --> 00:14:54,810 and the... and the thing is, to put up the numbers, 190 00:14:55,311 --> 00:14:57,688 to get out of here, and to be seen by Major League scouts 191 00:14:57,771 --> 00:15:00,441 and to get back, they have to perform. 192 00:15:01,650 --> 00:15:03,068 [man] Come, get it. Ready. 193 00:15:03,694 --> 00:15:05,571 [crowd cheering] 194 00:15:06,739 --> 00:15:08,282 And Chien-Ming was one of the guys 195 00:15:08,407 --> 00:15:11,410 that felt like his quickest way back in Major League Baseball 196 00:15:11,493 --> 00:15:14,580 was through the Atlantic League and through Southern Maryland. 197 00:15:14,663 --> 00:15:16,749 [train horn blaring] 198 00:15:26,216 --> 00:15:27,760 -[Chien-Ming] Chien-Ming. -[man on phone] How are you? 199 00:15:27,885 --> 00:15:29,511 [Chien-Ming] Good, how are you? 200 00:15:29,637 --> 00:15:31,263 [man speaking indistinctly on phone] 201 00:15:31,430 --> 00:15:34,058 No, I get released. [chuckles] 202 00:15:34,141 --> 00:15:35,601 -You got released? -Yeah. 203 00:15:36,685 --> 00:15:38,646 [man speaking indistinctly on phone] 204 00:15:38,896 --> 00:15:41,523 Oh, I don’t know, no team, now... 205 00:15:42,274 --> 00:15:43,192 Yeah. 206 00:15:44,443 --> 00:15:46,195 Can I go see you? 207 00:15:46,737 --> 00:15:49,698 -And I take you to dinner. -[man speaking indistinctly on phone] 208 00:15:49,907 --> 00:15:52,910 Okay, I see you in a little bit. 209 00:15:54,620 --> 00:15:55,663 All right. 210 00:16:01,627 --> 00:16:03,045 [dog barking] 211 00:16:03,128 --> 00:16:04,922 [indistinct conversations] 212 00:16:08,384 --> 00:16:10,177 [dogs panting] 213 00:16:11,345 --> 00:16:13,389 [indistinct conversations] 214 00:16:16,392 --> 00:16:17,726 Chien, how are you? 215 00:16:17,810 --> 00:16:20,229 -Good, how are you? -Nice to see you. 216 00:16:20,604 --> 00:16:22,940 Did you hear... What is this? 217 00:16:23,315 --> 00:16:24,149 -Uh... -Tea? 218 00:16:24,233 --> 00:16:25,651 No, the... 219 00:16:27,820 --> 00:16:28,862 Merry Christmas. 220 00:16:28,946 --> 00:16:30,072 Oh, okay. 221 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:32,366 Look at you, the picture on the wall. 222 00:16:32,658 --> 00:16:34,243 -[donkey snorts] -You hear the donkeys? 223 00:16:34,326 --> 00:16:35,285 [Chien-Ming] Yeah. 224 00:16:35,494 --> 00:16:36,704 He brought some apples. 225 00:16:39,331 --> 00:16:40,541 [snorts] 226 00:16:41,291 --> 00:16:43,085 [in Mandarin] Look at his room. 227 00:16:43,252 --> 00:16:44,920 Isn’t this incredible? 228 00:16:46,338 --> 00:16:51,885 I don’t think that there is a collection of Major League stuff quite like this, 229 00:16:52,469 --> 00:16:53,303 anywhere. 230 00:16:53,929 --> 00:16:55,681 -Uh, Billy? -Yeah. 231 00:16:59,393 --> 00:17:01,979 [man] Does... Does your arm feel strong, Chien-Ming? 232 00:17:02,646 --> 00:17:05,524 [Chien-Ming in English] Yeah, I feel strong, but this year, different. 233 00:17:06,233 --> 00:17:09,403 And every time I throw one game, 234 00:17:09,486 --> 00:17:13,824 like 100 pitch, next day I don’t feel nothing. 235 00:17:13,907 --> 00:17:15,451 No soreness, nothing. 236 00:17:16,827 --> 00:17:17,745 That’s good. 237 00:17:17,828 --> 00:17:19,830 -It’s good? -Yeah. 238 00:17:19,955 --> 00:17:22,708 -He’s done it in the past... -Mmm-hmm. 239 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:24,960 Been a great pitcher, 240 00:17:25,044 --> 00:17:27,504 and he’s young enough that he can still do it. 241 00:17:28,130 --> 00:17:29,381 There’s some signs that-- 242 00:17:29,465 --> 00:17:32,801 You never give up on a guy who’s already done it. 243 00:17:32,885 --> 00:17:35,220 If somebody hasn’t done it, then you don’t worry about it. 244 00:17:36,138 --> 00:17:38,724 There’s a lot of scouts probably, you know... 245 00:17:39,475 --> 00:17:40,684 mentioned that he’s... 246 00:17:40,809 --> 00:17:42,644 They... They think he's done. 247 00:17:42,728 --> 00:17:43,854 He’ll never recover. 248 00:17:43,937 --> 00:17:44,938 Well, that’s bullshit. 249 00:17:47,274 --> 00:17:49,735 [Billy Connors] Well, he’s, number one... 250 00:17:49,818 --> 00:17:52,071 When I first... I saw him pitch his first game... 251 00:17:52,821 --> 00:17:54,490 in Staten Island. 252 00:17:54,907 --> 00:17:59,620 He's, uh... Not only he's a tremendous pitcher, 253 00:17:59,912 --> 00:18:01,789 but he’s a tremendous person. 254 00:18:02,122 --> 00:18:03,332 He’s a hard worker, 255 00:18:03,624 --> 00:18:04,666 great kid... 256 00:18:06,710 --> 00:18:08,712 and I fell in love with him. I just... 257 00:18:09,588 --> 00:18:11,632 I knew we would make it to the big leagues. 258 00:18:12,007 --> 00:18:14,093 He had 19 wins, 19 wins, 259 00:18:14,259 --> 00:18:16,470 and the year he got hurt, he would’ve won 20. 260 00:18:17,346 --> 00:18:18,347 Right, Chien? 261 00:18:19,098 --> 00:18:19,932 I try. 262 00:18:21,642 --> 00:18:23,477 He’s a special person, 263 00:18:24,019 --> 00:18:25,813 and I love him to death. 264 00:18:29,650 --> 00:18:31,443 [Chien-Ming in Mandarin] I’ve never thought of how good 265 00:18:31,568 --> 00:18:32,903 I could become. 266 00:18:32,986 --> 00:18:34,696 Didn’t think much of it when I was young. 267 00:18:34,780 --> 00:18:39,535 Just thought by playing baseball, I could go out and have fun. 268 00:18:39,993 --> 00:18:43,914 I never thought I would play in the States 269 00:18:44,373 --> 00:18:47,417 or Japan or anything. 270 00:18:47,584 --> 00:18:49,628 Never thought of it. 271 00:18:50,337 --> 00:18:52,422 [male commentator] In the pitcher, from Taiwan, 272 00:18:52,506 --> 00:18:54,800 is Chien-Ming Wang, 273 00:18:54,967 --> 00:18:57,678 who’s making his 12th start of the season. 274 00:18:57,761 --> 00:19:01,849 Six-three, 185 pounds and flawless mechanics, 275 00:19:01,932 --> 00:19:04,685 and here is his pitching coach Neil Allen to talk about him. 276 00:19:04,810 --> 00:19:07,104 Pitching for us today would be the young man from Taiwan 277 00:19:07,271 --> 00:19:08,438 Chien-Ming Wang. 278 00:19:08,522 --> 00:19:11,358 He’ll be throwing a fastball, curve ball, slider, 279 00:19:11,900 --> 00:19:13,819 change, and split-finger. 280 00:19:13,902 --> 00:19:16,488 Uh, he’s got a lot of confidence in all of his pitches right now, 281 00:19:16,655 --> 00:19:18,407 and he throws them all at any time in the count, 282 00:19:18,490 --> 00:19:19,908 and he’s having a lot of success for us 283 00:19:19,992 --> 00:19:21,618 so we hope that he will continue. 284 00:19:21,702 --> 00:19:22,703 [crowd cheering] 285 00:19:22,786 --> 00:19:27,791 First and foremost, I was like his United States dad, I guess. 286 00:19:27,916 --> 00:19:30,419 ‘Cause I knew he was a long ways from his dad, 287 00:19:30,502 --> 00:19:31,795 and I wanted to be there for him 288 00:19:31,879 --> 00:19:33,172 -if he wanted to talk. -That’s okay. 289 00:19:33,255 --> 00:19:34,631 We don’t want to give them anything 290 00:19:34,715 --> 00:19:36,466 to hit a big home run right there, okay? 291 00:19:36,550 --> 00:19:38,427 I was always there for him, 292 00:19:38,510 --> 00:19:40,596 trying to put a smile on his face every day, 293 00:19:40,762 --> 00:19:42,431 and he started trusting me. 294 00:19:42,556 --> 00:19:45,767 We developed a relationship and that’s how it all started. 295 00:19:45,851 --> 00:19:47,603 [male commentator] Signed by the Yankees 296 00:19:47,686 --> 00:19:50,647 for a $1.9 million bonus two years ago, 297 00:19:50,731 --> 00:19:53,901 and then blew out his shoulder after 14 pro starts 298 00:19:54,026 --> 00:19:55,402 here on Staten Island. 299 00:19:55,485 --> 00:19:57,112 [Neil] We always knew he had a big arm, 300 00:19:57,279 --> 00:19:59,907 and he could throw it by people, but it was straight. 301 00:19:59,990 --> 00:20:01,533 So we knew in time, 302 00:20:01,617 --> 00:20:04,077 that we had to do something to create some movement for him. 303 00:20:04,411 --> 00:20:05,454 He got to Triple-A, 304 00:20:05,537 --> 00:20:06,663 you got more experienced hitters. 305 00:20:06,747 --> 00:20:07,664 And there was a point in time 306 00:20:07,748 --> 00:20:09,958 where he would be giving up some hits and things like that. 307 00:20:10,042 --> 00:20:11,460 And I said, "Okay, it’s time. 308 00:20:12,002 --> 00:20:14,129 We need to start teaching you a sinker." 309 00:20:14,379 --> 00:20:16,506 And he kind of looked at me like, "Sinker?" 310 00:20:16,590 --> 00:20:19,301 You know, and I go, "Yes, we’re gotta get the ball to do this." 311 00:20:19,384 --> 00:20:21,553 He grabbed it, and he ran with it. 312 00:20:21,845 --> 00:20:23,347 [male commentator] He’s got the sort of stuff 313 00:20:23,430 --> 00:20:27,100 that projects him out to be a three or two starter in the rotation, 314 00:20:27,184 --> 00:20:29,645 and this is the first day of the rest of his career. 315 00:20:30,312 --> 00:20:31,939 Chien-Ming Wang... 316 00:20:32,648 --> 00:20:35,150 will start his Major League career with this pitch. 317 00:20:35,234 --> 00:20:36,485 It’s a strike. 318 00:20:39,071 --> 00:20:39,905 I cried. 319 00:20:41,156 --> 00:20:41,990 Um... 320 00:20:44,117 --> 00:20:46,203 ‘Cause he was such a great kid. 321 00:20:47,329 --> 00:20:48,830 And, um... 322 00:20:50,374 --> 00:20:54,544 I can’t even imagine what it was like to go that far from home 323 00:20:54,711 --> 00:20:57,756 and work so hard for so long through injuries, 324 00:20:57,839 --> 00:20:59,925 and accomplish what he had accomplished. 325 00:21:00,384 --> 00:21:03,553 That... When he came and warmed up for that first game... 326 00:21:03,762 --> 00:21:06,556 And I remember, in New York, there was a Taiwanese section, 327 00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:09,601 they were holding signs, and they were going crazy for him 328 00:21:09,685 --> 00:21:10,769 and everything like that. 329 00:21:11,436 --> 00:21:12,437 And in my own mind, 330 00:21:12,521 --> 00:21:14,648 I just reminisce and thought about the past... 331 00:21:15,941 --> 00:21:20,070 the hard road that kid traveled to get to where he got to that night. 332 00:21:20,362 --> 00:21:23,323 [male commentator] Chien-Ming Wang winds, kicks, and he’s ready to deal. 333 00:21:23,407 --> 00:21:26,493 Let’s do it at the new Yankee Stadium. 334 00:21:26,660 --> 00:21:28,370 [Brian Cashman] On the mound, he was a beast for us, 335 00:21:28,453 --> 00:21:30,414 he was a ferocious competitor, 336 00:21:30,497 --> 00:21:34,251 he had some of the nastiest stuff that we’ve acquired since I’ve been here. 337 00:21:34,334 --> 00:21:37,462 And it was great to see that our belief in him paid off, 338 00:21:37,671 --> 00:21:41,174 you know, because eventually he won 19 games two straight years for us. 339 00:21:41,258 --> 00:21:43,343 It was exciting and very proud for us. 340 00:21:43,427 --> 00:21:44,511 [male commentator 1] Listen to the ovation. 341 00:21:44,594 --> 00:21:45,595 [crowd cheering] 342 00:21:45,679 --> 00:21:47,264 [male commentator 2] Oh, If you’re thinking about Taiwan, 343 00:21:47,347 --> 00:21:49,057 it’s a country that is, uh, 344 00:21:49,808 --> 00:21:53,603 slightly smaller than, uh, Maryland and Delaware combined, 345 00:21:53,687 --> 00:21:57,357 but 22 million, almost 23 million people live there. 346 00:21:57,691 --> 00:21:59,192 On the other side of the world, you know, 347 00:21:59,276 --> 00:22:04,489 you hear the stories about he might be the most popular 348 00:22:04,573 --> 00:22:07,617 or the highest celebrity profile in the country of Taiwan. 349 00:22:07,701 --> 00:22:10,287 That was... You know, it’s kind of cool to hear that type of stuff. 350 00:22:10,370 --> 00:22:12,039 -[man screaming] -Let’s go, Chien-Ming Wang. 351 00:22:13,206 --> 00:22:14,624 [in unison] Let’s Go, Yankees. 352 00:22:14,708 --> 00:22:16,460 [whistling in rhythm] 353 00:22:18,962 --> 00:22:20,630 [Jessica Kung in Mandarin] The rise of Chien-Ming Wang 354 00:22:20,714 --> 00:22:22,299 brought along a projection of national pride. 355 00:22:22,382 --> 00:22:24,551 A Taiwanese kid, born and raised 356 00:22:24,634 --> 00:22:29,056 with a personality that encompassed all that is Taiwanese, 357 00:22:29,139 --> 00:22:32,684 hard working and humble, 358 00:22:32,768 --> 00:22:35,812 just an encapsulation of Taiwanese workingman culture, 359 00:22:35,896 --> 00:22:37,814 all projected through Wang’s personality. 360 00:22:38,315 --> 00:22:41,068 He is our national pride. 361 00:22:41,151 --> 00:22:44,613 [male commentator] The main newspaper in his city 362 00:22:45,322 --> 00:22:49,576 would sell 300,000 more copies 363 00:22:49,659 --> 00:22:52,579 the day after he pitched. Wow. 364 00:22:52,746 --> 00:22:56,166 [Jessica] When he became the ace of the Yankees, the whole world saw it, 365 00:22:56,333 --> 00:22:59,419 it was as if the whole world also saw Taiwan. 366 00:22:59,669 --> 00:23:03,840 All of this national pride exploded and projected onto him. 367 00:23:03,924 --> 00:23:06,051 [crowd cheering] 368 00:23:09,596 --> 00:23:12,474 [in Mandarin] I think it’s because he really reached a level 369 00:23:12,599 --> 00:23:15,102 that nobody could have ever reached. 370 00:23:15,227 --> 00:23:19,147 I believe there will never be another player from Taiwan 371 00:23:19,314 --> 00:23:20,816 who will reach his level of accomplishment. 372 00:23:20,899 --> 00:23:27,405 He gave people in his generation 373 00:23:27,656 --> 00:23:31,326 a lot of hope and confidence. 374 00:23:31,576 --> 00:23:32,911 Including us ballplayers, so that we know, 375 00:23:32,994 --> 00:23:37,290 you can actually make it that far. 376 00:23:38,500 --> 00:23:41,086 [Chien-Ming] It was a wonderful process. 377 00:23:41,461 --> 00:23:42,921 Of course, I do miss it sometimes. 378 00:23:43,004 --> 00:23:45,841 But the road of life 379 00:23:45,924 --> 00:23:47,968 doesn’t go forward all the time. 380 00:23:48,677 --> 00:23:51,847 [male commentator] Wang rounds third, he scores. 381 00:23:52,013 --> 00:23:53,682 It is a two run base hit 382 00:23:53,765 --> 00:23:55,767 and Wang got hurt running the bases. 383 00:23:55,851 --> 00:23:59,271 He can barely walk, the Yankees take a five to nothing lead, 384 00:23:59,354 --> 00:24:01,940 but they lose their starting pitcher as a result. 385 00:24:02,023 --> 00:24:04,442 [Brian] Well, it was "Oh, no," certainly worried, 386 00:24:05,152 --> 00:24:07,988 but never expecting it to have the... the long term effect 387 00:24:08,071 --> 00:24:09,656 on his career that it wound up having. 388 00:24:09,739 --> 00:24:11,658 It was a career defining moment. 389 00:24:11,783 --> 00:24:12,868 We lost our ace. 390 00:24:13,034 --> 00:24:15,620 You know, that injury cost us a great deal, 391 00:24:15,704 --> 00:24:17,998 it certainly cost him a great deal, too. 392 00:24:18,081 --> 00:24:20,041 [crowd chattering] 393 00:24:23,712 --> 00:24:26,047 [male commentator 1] Problem for Chien-Ming Wang here with nobody out. 394 00:24:26,673 --> 00:24:28,967 And that ball is hit in the air to center field and hard. 395 00:24:29,050 --> 00:24:31,219 It looks like that sinker is just not sinking. 396 00:24:31,845 --> 00:24:34,848 [male commentator 2] High fly ball deep right backing up is Cabrera. 397 00:24:34,931 --> 00:24:36,516 [male commentator 3] One of the worst pitches Chien-Ming Wang 398 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:39,519 has thrown today, to the wrong hitter. 399 00:24:43,481 --> 00:24:45,901 I believe that all pitchers are one pitch away from 400 00:24:45,984 --> 00:24:46,943 never pitching again. 401 00:24:47,068 --> 00:24:48,236 And, um... 402 00:24:48,361 --> 00:24:52,032 You know, Chien-Ming, I mean, he had the foot injury, 403 00:24:52,157 --> 00:24:55,327 never was really able to get back on track, 404 00:24:55,410 --> 00:24:56,953 and I think that’s what hurt him. 405 00:24:57,037 --> 00:24:58,622 [male commentator] Now, there’s something wrong with Chien-Ming Wang. 406 00:24:59,873 --> 00:25:01,499 What could that be? 407 00:25:03,627 --> 00:25:06,796 [Chien-Ming] I felt pain pushing off the rubber, 408 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:08,590 and I was really anxious, 409 00:25:08,673 --> 00:25:11,718 so I threw even harder 410 00:25:11,801 --> 00:25:13,845 and my delivery went out of form, 411 00:25:13,929 --> 00:25:17,140 I was throwing only with my arm. 412 00:25:28,151 --> 00:25:30,570 [indistinct chatter] 413 00:25:30,695 --> 00:25:32,155 [groans softly] 414 00:25:36,243 --> 00:25:37,327 [grunts] 415 00:25:42,832 --> 00:25:44,626 [man] All the way up, breathe. 416 00:25:44,876 --> 00:25:47,337 Good, bring it down. Keep your wrists straight, okay? 417 00:25:48,672 --> 00:25:53,760 [in Mandarin] When you stitch up after a shoulder surgery, 418 00:25:53,885 --> 00:25:56,763 there will be at least four suture anchors. 419 00:25:57,305 --> 00:25:59,015 As a whole, 420 00:25:59,099 --> 00:26:00,976 we’d call that a major surgery. 421 00:26:01,059 --> 00:26:03,311 But in his case, 422 00:26:03,395 --> 00:26:04,854 there were 13 anchors. 423 00:26:05,105 --> 00:26:11,194 It’s not just a line or a surface, it’s the entire shoulder being opened up, 424 00:26:11,861 --> 00:26:15,073 reconstructed and cleaned up. 425 00:26:20,203 --> 00:26:21,913 [Hong-Chih] I’d always heard about his injury, 426 00:26:21,997 --> 00:26:23,957 but I was never fully aware of it, 427 00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:26,501 except hearing about it being really serious. 428 00:26:27,002 --> 00:26:30,171 But when he took off his shirt and you saw the scars, 429 00:26:30,255 --> 00:26:31,214 you knew... 430 00:26:32,090 --> 00:26:33,216 it was really serious. 431 00:26:33,466 --> 00:26:34,467 I’ve been in rehab a lot myself, 432 00:26:34,551 --> 00:26:36,219 and I’ve seen many players with shoulder surgeries, 433 00:26:36,303 --> 00:26:38,263 when he took off his shirt, 434 00:26:38,596 --> 00:26:39,681 I was moved. 435 00:26:39,764 --> 00:26:40,640 I wanted to cry. 436 00:26:40,724 --> 00:26:42,934 But I had to tease him, I was, like, 437 00:26:43,476 --> 00:26:47,147 all these scars and marks, 438 00:26:47,856 --> 00:26:50,859 you wouldn’t think he is a pitcher. 439 00:26:51,651 --> 00:26:53,028 You wonder how he can still throw 440 00:26:53,111 --> 00:26:55,363 with that shoulder. 441 00:26:55,447 --> 00:26:58,450 He must have withstood a lot of stress, 442 00:26:58,533 --> 00:27:02,871 and had lots of motivation, to keep doing what he’s doing. 443 00:27:32,275 --> 00:27:34,402 [crowd applauding] 444 00:27:46,539 --> 00:27:48,500 [Ping-Huang Wang] He really persevered. 445 00:27:48,917 --> 00:27:51,878 You’re in the Minor League, or the Independent League, 446 00:27:51,961 --> 00:27:53,463 and not in the Majors, 447 00:27:54,172 --> 00:27:57,092 I told him this is the business of sports. 448 00:27:58,134 --> 00:28:00,345 It’s going to be a tough road, 449 00:28:00,428 --> 00:28:02,430 but if you want to keep playing, 450 00:28:02,514 --> 00:28:05,558 you have to endure it. 451 00:28:10,313 --> 00:28:13,608 [in Mandarin] When he was young, he would complain his arm hurt. 452 00:28:13,900 --> 00:28:19,030 He would have a hard time climbing up the stairs after workouts. 453 00:28:22,909 --> 00:28:25,120 [Ping-Huang] He would come home exhausted, 454 00:28:25,203 --> 00:28:26,871 but he continued to play on. 455 00:28:26,955 --> 00:28:30,375 Sometimes he would say his arm was sore or something, 456 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:33,503 but it was just him talking, 457 00:28:33,586 --> 00:28:36,131 he just kept on playing. 458 00:28:38,466 --> 00:28:41,052 I think there’s a stubborn side of him 459 00:28:41,219 --> 00:28:43,263 that carried him through this day. 460 00:28:43,430 --> 00:28:44,973 [crowd applauding and cheering] 461 00:29:02,615 --> 00:29:05,577 When I started my rehab, everything I did hurt. 462 00:29:05,660 --> 00:29:08,413 I had trouble stretching, 463 00:29:08,580 --> 00:29:11,291 raising my arm, it all had to be really slow, really slow. 464 00:29:11,875 --> 00:29:15,503 [John Hsu] I remember he would tell me, even when driving, 465 00:29:15,628 --> 00:29:18,757 he’d feel pain pulling the wheel, turning the wheel. 466 00:29:19,007 --> 00:29:23,553 The injury he had was a first in all of baseball, 467 00:29:23,678 --> 00:29:27,015 nobody knew if he could make it back with an injury like this. 468 00:29:27,724 --> 00:29:30,185 He exhibited his stubbornness throughout his rehab. 469 00:29:30,268 --> 00:29:31,728 I think rarely you see 470 00:29:31,895 --> 00:29:34,814 a person capable of persistently doing something 471 00:29:34,898 --> 00:29:36,816 as repetitive as he did in his rehab. 472 00:29:37,734 --> 00:29:41,613 I think getting to know him made it a little easier for me 473 00:29:41,696 --> 00:29:45,325 because I knew what buttons to push. 474 00:29:45,617 --> 00:29:47,410 Chien-Ming definitely sets goals, 475 00:29:47,494 --> 00:29:49,120 he just wanted to pitch again. 476 00:29:49,204 --> 00:29:52,081 I think he wanted to do it to prove the Yankees wrong. 477 00:29:52,707 --> 00:29:55,877 [John Hsu] He had started throwing Live BP, 478 00:29:56,002 --> 00:30:00,006 which means he started facing live batters. 479 00:30:00,089 --> 00:30:02,550 He pitched a little bit and said... 480 00:30:03,802 --> 00:30:04,636 "It didn’t feel right." 481 00:30:04,719 --> 00:30:07,347 He couldn’t continue to pitch. 482 00:30:08,348 --> 00:30:10,141 From what I know of him... 483 00:30:11,100 --> 00:30:14,437 it’s impossible for him 484 00:30:14,521 --> 00:30:15,814 to stop halfway through. 485 00:30:17,649 --> 00:30:20,819 He just, "Very bad pain, very bad." 486 00:30:20,902 --> 00:30:23,112 And I was, like, "Okay, yeah, you know, 487 00:30:23,196 --> 00:30:24,697 get your glove, I’ll go throw with you." 488 00:30:25,406 --> 00:30:27,575 "No, you know, listen, very bad pain." 489 00:30:27,659 --> 00:30:30,787 And I’m, like, "All right, get your glove." 490 00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:33,122 "I’m not throwing today." 491 00:30:33,331 --> 00:30:35,250 I said, "Okay, well, then, you should quit. 492 00:30:35,333 --> 00:30:36,668 You know, why don’t you retire?" 493 00:30:36,793 --> 00:30:38,586 He said something very serious to me, 494 00:30:38,795 --> 00:30:39,963 he said 495 00:30:40,213 --> 00:30:42,006 "If you’re hurting, then go home. 496 00:30:42,090 --> 00:30:43,299 Just give up." 497 00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:45,260 [Steve Cober] He’s a big guy, you know? 498 00:30:45,343 --> 00:30:47,345 So he gets up, you know, "I’m not, I no quit." 499 00:30:47,428 --> 00:30:49,222 And I was like, uh-oh, you know, 500 00:30:49,305 --> 00:30:50,890 what if this guy come over and punches me. 501 00:30:50,974 --> 00:30:52,559 I kind of touched a nerve. 502 00:30:53,101 --> 00:30:53,935 He walked out, 503 00:30:54,018 --> 00:30:55,603 and I don’t think he played catch that day. 504 00:30:55,979 --> 00:30:58,606 I... I’m sure I probably insulted him, 505 00:30:58,690 --> 00:30:59,607 I really am. 506 00:30:59,732 --> 00:31:01,025 Of course I didn’t want to give up. 507 00:31:01,150 --> 00:31:02,527 I was not going to concede. 508 00:31:02,735 --> 00:31:04,779 I wanted to be back on the mound. 509 00:31:04,863 --> 00:31:07,866 And the next day or so, one of the conversations, 510 00:31:08,032 --> 00:31:10,410 he wanted to make sure that I knew... 511 00:31:11,202 --> 00:31:12,453 that he was all in. 512 00:31:12,579 --> 00:31:15,290 From then on, 513 00:31:15,498 --> 00:31:17,500 I really started following the program 514 00:31:17,584 --> 00:31:19,919 he designed for me 515 00:31:20,003 --> 00:31:22,338 and threw hard. 516 00:31:22,422 --> 00:31:26,676 And slowly but surely, I started to feel better. 517 00:31:27,093 --> 00:31:31,431 I know a lot of guys that I’ve been around, 518 00:31:31,514 --> 00:31:33,641 they probably would’ve quit. 519 00:31:33,766 --> 00:31:35,977 [Chien-Ming] And at the end, 520 00:31:36,060 --> 00:31:37,437 I was really able to pitch again. 521 00:31:37,520 --> 00:31:40,940 It’s a miracle 522 00:31:41,024 --> 00:31:42,817 that I can still pitch today. 523 00:31:43,067 --> 00:31:44,652 [male commentator] And he’s back in the Major Leagues now 524 00:31:44,736 --> 00:31:48,781 for the first time since July 4th of 2009. 525 00:31:48,907 --> 00:31:50,325 It was kind of a big day for me. 526 00:31:50,408 --> 00:31:53,328 I mean, it was... I felt almost like a proud parent, you know. 527 00:31:57,415 --> 00:31:59,876 Standing up in the box, first inning didn’t go so well, 528 00:31:59,959 --> 00:32:03,338 I remember, you know, he gave up a couple of runs, wasn’t throwing strikes, 529 00:32:03,421 --> 00:32:04,839 gave a couple of hits, and just... 530 00:32:05,298 --> 00:32:08,217 I think a lot of that was more his nerves than anything else. 531 00:32:08,593 --> 00:32:11,095 But at the same point, I could remember being up in the box, 532 00:32:11,179 --> 00:32:12,889 like pacing back and forth, and... 533 00:32:13,431 --> 00:32:14,557 You know, I was nervous, 534 00:32:14,641 --> 00:32:17,185 it was like I was waiting to have my first child. 535 00:32:17,268 --> 00:32:19,145 In the waiting room pacing around... 536 00:32:20,438 --> 00:32:21,481 and being nervous. 537 00:32:21,981 --> 00:32:23,149 I was kind of like, 538 00:32:24,150 --> 00:32:26,277 "Hey he’s finally here, he’s going to make it." 539 00:32:26,736 --> 00:32:28,071 [male commentator] Pitch is over, strike three called. 540 00:32:28,154 --> 00:32:29,364 Outside corner 541 00:32:29,447 --> 00:32:31,282 with a sinker from Wang 542 00:32:31,366 --> 00:32:35,119 who picks up the strike out, that’s his first of the night. 543 00:32:49,384 --> 00:32:50,885 [Alan] When that opening came up, 544 00:32:50,969 --> 00:32:54,347 we continued to push the Mariners to consider Chien-Ming 545 00:32:54,430 --> 00:32:56,224 and after several days, 546 00:32:56,307 --> 00:32:58,351 it’s decided to, uh, move forward 547 00:32:58,434 --> 00:33:03,022 and buy him out of his contract with Southern Maryland. 548 00:33:04,691 --> 00:33:08,861 [Chien-Ming] After Alan told me, he gave me two or three days 549 00:33:08,945 --> 00:33:10,238 to pack. 550 00:33:10,321 --> 00:33:14,826 I had to pack up everything I had over there. 551 00:33:14,909 --> 00:33:16,995 A whole year worth of stuff. 552 00:33:17,495 --> 00:33:19,372 All shoved into my car, 553 00:33:19,455 --> 00:33:25,586 and shipped the car over from Maryland. 554 00:33:27,839 --> 00:33:29,590 This is the third team of this year, 555 00:33:29,674 --> 00:33:30,717 it’s tiring, 556 00:33:30,925 --> 00:33:35,680 but if not for the Independent League, I might not have made it over here. 557 00:33:45,606 --> 00:33:47,859 [crowd cheering] 558 00:34:23,311 --> 00:34:24,729 I’ve been in the States for so many years now, 559 00:34:24,812 --> 00:34:26,522 and stayed in many places. 560 00:34:27,023 --> 00:34:29,233 From Staten Island at the beginning, 561 00:34:29,692 --> 00:34:30,693 to Trenton... 562 00:34:31,944 --> 00:34:33,279 and Columbus. 563 00:34:33,821 --> 00:34:39,035 In recent years, from Toronto to Buffalo... 564 00:34:39,786 --> 00:34:40,828 Louisville, 565 00:34:41,037 --> 00:34:41,871 Charlotte... 566 00:34:42,538 --> 00:34:44,415 suburbs of Atlanta, 567 00:34:45,041 --> 00:34:46,584 to the Independent Leagues, 568 00:34:46,918 --> 00:34:49,378 and then Tacoma. 569 00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:53,382 I’d been moving places every year... 570 00:34:56,886 --> 00:34:58,346 to the point where I didn’t know 571 00:34:59,055 --> 00:35:00,515 where I was. 572 00:35:01,682 --> 00:35:06,854 It’s like, when I’d wake up, I would forget where I was. 573 00:35:21,119 --> 00:35:22,662 [man singing in foreign language] 574 00:35:29,085 --> 00:35:31,087 [laughter] 575 00:35:52,817 --> 00:35:54,360 [tape running] 576 00:36:11,878 --> 00:36:13,254 [Su-Chen Yang] This is all Taiwanese cooking, 577 00:36:13,379 --> 00:36:14,755 Taiwanese tastes. 578 00:36:26,434 --> 00:36:27,768 -[in Mandarin] Mrs. Wu. -[in Mandarin] Ming, here you are. 579 00:36:27,852 --> 00:36:29,520 -Haven’t seen you for so long. -It’s been a while. 580 00:36:30,771 --> 00:36:31,856 We missed you. 581 00:36:31,939 --> 00:36:32,773 Are you feeling better? 582 00:36:32,857 --> 00:36:34,192 Wasn’t too good for a while, but much better now. 583 00:36:34,275 --> 00:36:35,818 I heard you fell from the stairs. 584 00:36:35,902 --> 00:36:37,403 Yeah, I did. [laughing] 585 00:36:37,486 --> 00:36:39,488 But I’m good now, my son fixed me. 586 00:36:39,697 --> 00:36:40,615 Really? 587 00:36:40,865 --> 00:36:43,117 I fell and couldn’t get up. 588 00:36:43,242 --> 00:36:44,493 You had makeup on today. 589 00:36:44,744 --> 00:36:50,499 I did that to welcome you, just a little lipstick, something light. 590 00:36:50,583 --> 00:36:53,628 When will you come again? I’ll take you to some king crabs. 591 00:36:54,503 --> 00:36:56,005 You have to come on Tuesdays. 592 00:36:56,088 --> 00:36:56,923 Tuesday? 593 00:36:57,006 --> 00:37:01,302 King crabs are on Tuesday, Wednesday is lobster day, 594 00:37:01,385 --> 00:37:02,595 remember that. 595 00:37:02,678 --> 00:37:03,512 Wow. 596 00:37:03,596 --> 00:37:07,016 These are all for you. 597 00:37:09,018 --> 00:37:10,561 It’s not good if it gets cold, come. 598 00:37:10,645 --> 00:37:12,521 It’s okay, I can wait for them. 599 00:37:13,022 --> 00:37:13,981 We’ll eat together. 600 00:37:14,148 --> 00:37:15,399 Okay. 601 00:37:15,608 --> 00:37:18,152 That’s your baby, take care of it. 602 00:37:19,237 --> 00:37:20,488 It’s all on that arm. 603 00:37:20,988 --> 00:37:21,822 All on this arm. 604 00:37:22,657 --> 00:37:24,575 [speaking unintelligible] 605 00:37:25,076 --> 00:37:26,160 [baby cooing] 606 00:37:28,287 --> 00:37:29,622 Why are you crying? 607 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:34,335 [door bell dings] 608 00:37:34,543 --> 00:37:35,753 [indistinct conversations] 609 00:37:38,381 --> 00:37:39,590 [in Mandarin] Come, sit there. 610 00:37:46,264 --> 00:37:47,640 [Michael Wu] When he made it to the Major Leagues, 611 00:37:47,723 --> 00:37:48,808 everybody was reporting on it, 612 00:37:49,141 --> 00:37:51,310 I was like, this guy looks like my classmate. 613 00:37:52,061 --> 00:37:54,855 At the beginning, he told me his name I vaguely remembered, 614 00:37:54,939 --> 00:37:56,857 and slowly I drew the connection to him. 615 00:37:57,942 --> 00:38:01,279 I think the one thing I did right was refer him to Dr. Wu 616 00:38:02,154 --> 00:38:03,864 so he could treat him. 617 00:38:04,782 --> 00:38:09,161 At first Michael gave Chien-Ming my number 618 00:38:09,412 --> 00:38:10,621 and he called me up. 619 00:38:10,705 --> 00:38:12,748 We went through some checkups, 620 00:38:12,832 --> 00:38:15,751 he would drive up from Tacoma for treatments. 621 00:38:16,544 --> 00:38:18,921 It was a Saturday after a treatment 622 00:38:19,005 --> 00:38:20,673 when he flew out for a game. 623 00:38:20,756 --> 00:38:27,555 We were all wondering whether he would struggle 624 00:38:27,638 --> 00:38:29,515 or perform? 625 00:38:37,398 --> 00:38:39,650 [kids screaming] 626 00:38:41,902 --> 00:38:43,654 We watched as he kept on pitching 627 00:38:44,322 --> 00:38:46,991 into the 9th inning about to finish the game. [chuckles] 628 00:38:47,950 --> 00:38:49,368 [male commentator] Swing and a grounder right side, 629 00:38:49,452 --> 00:38:51,954 O’Malley to his left up with it, throws over to first base 630 00:38:52,038 --> 00:38:53,831 in time, that will end the game, 631 00:38:53,998 --> 00:38:58,336 as Chien-Ming Wang pitches a complete game, three hit shutout, 632 00:38:58,419 --> 00:39:01,380 as Tacoma snaps the Dodgers' five game winning streak. 633 00:39:01,881 --> 00:39:05,426 He finished and won, we sent a message and said, 634 00:39:05,926 --> 00:39:07,136 "What a game you pitched." 635 00:39:07,219 --> 00:39:09,972 Yeah, and he just said... 636 00:39:10,473 --> 00:39:12,725 He’d felt very energized. 637 00:39:18,481 --> 00:39:21,734 [in heavy accent] He’s been outstanding his last, you know, two three starts. 638 00:39:21,901 --> 00:39:24,653 He’s being consistent, he have a lot of good stuff to show, 639 00:39:24,987 --> 00:39:26,697 he have the stuff now. 640 00:39:35,247 --> 00:39:37,375 [Chien-Ming] Everything felt right 641 00:39:37,458 --> 00:39:38,834 in that game. 642 00:39:38,918 --> 00:39:42,463 You go out there and pitch, 643 00:39:42,546 --> 00:39:44,423 everything felt smooth. 644 00:39:45,591 --> 00:39:48,386 The late life on my pitches, the angles, 645 00:39:48,469 --> 00:39:50,846 they were all where I wanted them to be. 646 00:39:51,347 --> 00:39:52,932 Wonderful, that was beautiful to watch. 647 00:39:53,015 --> 00:39:54,725 [indistinct conversations] 648 00:39:54,809 --> 00:39:55,726 [chuckles] 649 00:39:55,810 --> 00:39:59,188 [Albert Wu] Then he came back, came here for dinner, 650 00:39:59,271 --> 00:40:01,148 and from the car he said he had shoes for me. 651 00:40:01,232 --> 00:40:02,608 He gave me a look, 652 00:40:02,691 --> 00:40:05,653 he said, "These are the game shoes from that game." 653 00:40:06,278 --> 00:40:07,196 I was like, "Oh." 654 00:40:07,279 --> 00:40:08,948 It made my day. [chuckles softly] 655 00:40:29,260 --> 00:40:31,679 [indistinct commentary] 656 00:40:54,869 --> 00:40:56,787 [Jaime Navarro] He have everything going for him right now, 657 00:40:56,954 --> 00:41:00,124 and that’s a good thing, now he just got to stay on it, 658 00:41:00,207 --> 00:41:01,959 and then, that’s going to take him to the big league 659 00:41:02,042 --> 00:41:03,419 faster than you think it will. 660 00:41:07,590 --> 00:41:08,966 [man yelling] 661 00:41:09,967 --> 00:41:11,635 [Pat Listach] If a guy still feels like he can still contribute 662 00:41:11,719 --> 00:41:13,554 at the Major League Level, he’s going to give it all he’s got. 663 00:41:13,637 --> 00:41:14,638 And that’s what he’s doing. 664 00:41:14,722 --> 00:41:16,015 And with the way he’s pitched lately, 665 00:41:16,098 --> 00:41:19,143 I really don’t think he’s that far away from a Major League job again. 666 00:41:19,643 --> 00:41:21,145 [Albert] Towards the end of the season, 667 00:41:21,228 --> 00:41:23,397 he hardly mentioned any discomfort. 668 00:41:23,481 --> 00:41:25,441 It’s great there were no pains or anything, 669 00:41:25,524 --> 00:41:27,776 so he could really give it a final push. 670 00:41:28,360 --> 00:41:29,612 [interviewer in Mandarin] You sure do hope he makes 671 00:41:29,695 --> 00:41:30,988 the Mariners Major League team. 672 00:41:31,071 --> 00:41:32,740 Very much so, very much so. 673 00:41:32,907 --> 00:41:35,242 We watch all his games, 674 00:41:35,326 --> 00:41:37,328 and hope that he throws complete games every time. 675 00:42:55,072 --> 00:42:58,117 [Chien-Ming] I went to Taipei for high school, 676 00:42:58,200 --> 00:43:01,745 and college, after that, I came to the States. 677 00:43:01,829 --> 00:43:02,663 Almost... 678 00:43:03,372 --> 00:43:05,708 half of the time I’ve been away from home. 679 00:43:13,173 --> 00:43:14,675 I never got to spend... 680 00:43:16,677 --> 00:43:19,638 enough time with my parents during this time. 681 00:43:20,347 --> 00:43:23,392 They’ve always supported me, 682 00:43:23,976 --> 00:43:26,604 keep going out there and explore when you are young. 683 00:43:28,564 --> 00:43:29,690 I don’t know how much longer 684 00:43:29,773 --> 00:43:31,400 I will stay in the States, 685 00:43:31,483 --> 00:43:35,946 and one day if I return to Taiwan, they will be old. 686 00:43:42,077 --> 00:43:43,954 [Ping-Huang] Your home is in Taiwan. 687 00:43:44,038 --> 00:43:46,999 Just take good care of yourself when you are there... 688 00:43:48,125 --> 00:43:53,505 your mother and I, we’ll take care of ourselves, don’t worry. 689 00:43:59,678 --> 00:44:04,808 As long as he’s happy and healthy, and takes good care of his family, 690 00:44:05,392 --> 00:44:06,393 I always tell him, 691 00:44:06,477 --> 00:44:08,646 take care of your family, and we will be okay. 692 00:44:08,729 --> 00:44:11,690 We live a simple life here in Taiwan. 693 00:44:11,815 --> 00:44:14,777 We will take care of ourselves. 694 00:44:27,956 --> 00:44:31,293 As long as you stay mentally tough and want to 695 00:44:31,377 --> 00:44:32,961 make another run at the Major Leagues... 696 00:44:33,045 --> 00:44:34,546 If it happens, great. 697 00:44:34,630 --> 00:44:36,131 If not, we’ll just walk away. 698 00:44:41,303 --> 00:44:42,680 [crowd cheering] 699 00:44:45,557 --> 00:44:49,103 [Ping-Huang] You’ll have to walk away sooner or later, 700 00:44:49,186 --> 00:44:53,273 you don’t need to keep trying to climb the ladder. 701 00:45:11,792 --> 00:45:16,713 I told him, you look at flowers, after full bloom, they wither and fall. 702 00:45:17,339 --> 00:45:20,759 You’d still need to come back down once you’ve climb the tallest tower. 703 00:45:20,843 --> 00:45:22,594 Age is always an issue. 704 00:45:23,220 --> 00:45:24,346 You get old... 705 00:45:25,305 --> 00:45:26,723 you can’t fight it. 706 00:45:27,141 --> 00:45:28,684 That’s what I always tell him. 707 00:46:04,511 --> 00:46:06,180 [audience cheering] 708 00:46:06,263 --> 00:46:10,142 Chien-Ming, he totally understands his role through the years 709 00:46:10,225 --> 00:46:12,019 as the Pride of Taiwan. 710 00:46:12,102 --> 00:46:15,272 You know, that’s a title that’s given him a lot of pressure, 711 00:46:15,439 --> 00:46:19,026 and he does understand the social responsibility 712 00:46:19,109 --> 00:46:22,404 that he’s carrying on his shoulder what he meant to Taiwan. 713 00:46:30,454 --> 00:46:35,125 [Chien-Ming] This title is what the media created. 714 00:46:35,209 --> 00:46:40,923 Personally, I think everyone has his or her specialty 715 00:46:41,048 --> 00:46:43,175 they just haven’t been discovered. 716 00:46:43,884 --> 00:46:47,638 So, this name is, it’s superficial. 717 00:46:56,188 --> 00:47:00,609 Eventually, it wears on you. 718 00:47:01,527 --> 00:47:02,819 Because everyone... 719 00:47:03,779 --> 00:47:05,614 is watching you with eyes wide open. 720 00:47:06,281 --> 00:47:07,824 [crowd cheering] 721 00:47:09,785 --> 00:47:12,913 With those expectations, it forces you to try so hard 722 00:47:12,996 --> 00:47:15,290 to perform for everyone. 723 00:47:16,208 --> 00:47:21,088 PRIDE OF TAIWAN - A HERO, A PRISONER 724 00:47:26,260 --> 00:47:30,681 NOT QUITTING, WANG WILL CONTINUE TO PLAY IN USA NEXT YEAR 725 00:47:31,306 --> 00:47:35,561 "KEEP FIGHTING IN THE US" WANG RETURNS TO THE STATES 726 00:47:36,019 --> 00:47:40,065 10 YEARS IN MLB CHIEN WILL ENJOY $180K ANNUAL PENSION 727 00:47:40,524 --> 00:47:44,695 WANG IS STILL TWO YEARS AWAY FROM FULL MLB RETIREMENT PENSION 728 00:47:45,153 --> 00:47:49,116 JUST A LITTLE LONGER. CHIEN ENJOYS $15K MONTHLY PENSION PAY 729 00:47:49,283 --> 00:47:51,326 What’s so great about Chien-Ming Wang? 730 00:47:52,411 --> 00:47:54,580 I’m just a ballplayer. 731 00:47:54,830 --> 00:47:56,873 How is that different from everyone else? 732 00:47:59,126 --> 00:48:03,088 I’d rather not have this "Pride of Taiwan" title. 733 00:48:13,932 --> 00:48:16,143 [Jessica] As his career has continued, it has forced him to begin 734 00:48:16,226 --> 00:48:20,314 accepting things that he wouldn’t have before, 735 00:48:20,397 --> 00:48:23,609 play for teams he would have no interest in playing for. 736 00:48:24,443 --> 00:48:25,777 Reality sets in, 737 00:48:26,361 --> 00:48:28,363 forcing him to make adjustments. 738 00:48:28,447 --> 00:48:30,824 As he bounced around the Minors, there was less attention 739 00:48:30,907 --> 00:48:33,493 and pressure to be the "Pride of Taiwan." 740 00:48:33,744 --> 00:48:35,621 No more reporters, no more spotlights. 741 00:48:35,704 --> 00:48:39,082 He got to slowly rediscover himself. 742 00:48:45,547 --> 00:48:48,091 [Chien-Ming] It’s a change, 743 00:48:48,550 --> 00:48:50,969 my thought process changed. 744 00:48:52,721 --> 00:48:56,683 I don’t have so much pressure anymore, it’s more like... 745 00:48:58,685 --> 00:49:01,980 I’m just pitching for myself 746 00:49:02,689 --> 00:49:04,941 and it made my life simpler. 747 00:49:09,029 --> 00:49:11,323 From the beginning, that’s all I ever hoped for. 748 00:49:11,448 --> 00:49:14,701 To live like everyone else... 749 00:49:16,078 --> 00:49:18,705 to just be the best that I can be. 750 00:49:19,456 --> 00:49:20,749 Stay true to myself... 751 00:49:21,625 --> 00:49:24,795 stay true to my profession, and that’s all there is to it. 752 00:49:38,392 --> 00:49:43,230 What I need to work on now is how to make my arm recover faster 753 00:49:43,313 --> 00:49:46,316 between each game. 754 00:49:46,817 --> 00:49:51,279 From game to game this season, I was not consistent. 755 00:49:51,363 --> 00:49:53,365 Lots of ups and downs. 756 00:49:54,616 --> 00:49:57,953 The good stuff that he flashed in the last three, 757 00:49:58,036 --> 00:49:59,204 four weeks of the season, 758 00:49:59,287 --> 00:50:00,330 in those games, 759 00:50:00,414 --> 00:50:02,499 you know, it kind of gave him some hope. 760 00:50:02,582 --> 00:50:06,169 That... His late life stuff flashed back, 761 00:50:06,336 --> 00:50:08,296 now how do you extend it. 762 00:50:11,091 --> 00:50:12,926 [Chien-Ming] Alan said, 763 00:50:13,009 --> 00:50:15,512 "You’ve been training on your own in the off-season 764 00:50:15,595 --> 00:50:17,723 for the last few years, and there’s no consistent results, 765 00:50:17,806 --> 00:50:21,184 only significant ups and downs." 766 00:50:21,893 --> 00:50:23,979 [Alan] We heard a lot about Ron Wolforth 767 00:50:24,062 --> 00:50:26,273 and the Texas Baseball Ranch program had done 768 00:50:26,356 --> 00:50:29,359 for several high profile pitchers making comebacks, 769 00:50:29,443 --> 00:50:31,570 he knows what he is doing with pitchers. 770 00:50:32,028 --> 00:50:35,532 [Chien-Ming] So Alan told me, "You’ve got nothing to lose. 771 00:50:37,576 --> 00:50:39,119 You should go try this out, 772 00:50:39,202 --> 00:50:44,624 maybe you can learn something new and one day be able to teach others." 773 00:51:01,933 --> 00:51:04,060 The first time I walked in, I wondered... 774 00:51:05,353 --> 00:51:06,938 is this a baseball school? 775 00:51:07,022 --> 00:51:08,440 It was just tucked in a small plaza. 776 00:51:11,318 --> 00:51:12,694 [Alan] You know, Chien-Ming looked around 777 00:51:12,778 --> 00:51:14,070 and I said, "Hey, you know, 778 00:51:14,154 --> 00:51:17,657 a lot of magic happened in this room, I bet." [chuckles] 779 00:51:17,991 --> 00:51:21,453 Randy gave us a very informative presentation, and... 780 00:51:21,536 --> 00:51:23,747 About the ways that the Ranch’s program 781 00:51:23,830 --> 00:51:26,416 will help Chien-Ming get his consistency back 782 00:51:26,500 --> 00:51:27,709 and help with his recovery 783 00:51:27,793 --> 00:51:30,796 and maintaining a late life on his sinking fastballs. 784 00:51:30,962 --> 00:51:32,547 Go, quick, quick, quick. 785 00:51:32,631 --> 00:51:35,342 [Ron Wolforth] He has a couple mechanical inefficiencies. 786 00:51:35,425 --> 00:51:38,345 You get in the mid-30s, you start to lose some mobility. 787 00:51:38,762 --> 00:51:41,890 And when your body doesn’t quite move as athletic as it did 788 00:51:41,973 --> 00:51:44,059 when it’s 21 or 22, 789 00:51:44,142 --> 00:51:48,021 you can develop movement pattern, flaws or inefficiencies 790 00:51:48,104 --> 00:51:50,482 that the body starts to unravel sooner. 791 00:51:51,900 --> 00:51:55,070 And when you get to Chien-Ming’s level... 792 00:51:56,029 --> 00:51:59,658 a five percent drop in performance can get you just whacked. 793 00:52:02,911 --> 00:52:05,330 The first time he talked about this... 794 00:52:06,498 --> 00:52:07,624 "forearm fly out"... 795 00:52:07,707 --> 00:52:11,169 But I’ve never heard of this phrase in baseball. 796 00:52:11,253 --> 00:52:13,839 He said he’s never heard about it. 797 00:52:13,964 --> 00:52:16,675 And... Really? I was like, really? 798 00:52:16,758 --> 00:52:19,219 How about any of your Major League organization coaches, 799 00:52:19,302 --> 00:52:21,888 have, you know, they mentioned about this forearm fly out issue? 800 00:52:21,972 --> 00:52:24,724 You know, and he said, nothing. He’s never heard of it. 801 00:52:25,016 --> 00:52:27,269 ...changed to just enough... 802 00:52:27,519 --> 00:52:32,566 Forearm fly out means when you throw while your foot lands, 803 00:52:32,649 --> 00:52:37,028 your arm is open and extended, 804 00:52:37,112 --> 00:52:40,323 not at the normal 90 degrees angle. 805 00:52:41,283 --> 00:52:46,705 When you throw like that, it’s all throwing with the shoulder. 806 00:52:46,788 --> 00:52:50,208 It puts pressures on it, and it’s easier to get hurt. 807 00:52:51,334 --> 00:52:53,420 Everyone has a balloon, 808 00:52:53,795 --> 00:52:57,215 trying to find that 90% angle and to stabilize it. 809 00:53:05,557 --> 00:53:07,225 Now, with one on one off, 810 00:53:07,309 --> 00:53:09,519 so he doesn’t even have to think about forearm fly out, 811 00:53:09,603 --> 00:53:13,398 he’s working on... on one off one on one off... 812 00:53:13,481 --> 00:53:14,566 [Ron] It was forearm fly out, 813 00:53:14,649 --> 00:53:17,611 it’s a little bit of out of sequence in his glove, 814 00:53:17,694 --> 00:53:21,364 and not using his lower half as much as he needed to. 815 00:53:21,489 --> 00:53:25,327 The core of our body from mid-thigh to lower back, 816 00:53:25,410 --> 00:53:26,912 very important in pitching. 817 00:53:27,037 --> 00:53:30,290 And the arm just goes along for the ride until it’s there. 818 00:53:30,624 --> 00:53:33,585 And Chien-Ming was not using this very much. 819 00:53:39,674 --> 00:53:40,884 [Randy Sullivan] We were having him doing a drill 820 00:53:40,967 --> 00:53:44,095 to try to get a little bit more lower half initiation. 821 00:53:44,179 --> 00:53:45,889 A little bit more glut activation. 822 00:53:45,972 --> 00:53:47,390 And he wasn’t crazy about the drill, 823 00:53:47,474 --> 00:53:48,433 he told us that, 824 00:53:48,516 --> 00:53:50,644 "It feels like I’m pushing the ball when I did this drill." 825 00:53:51,186 --> 00:53:53,480 [Alan in English] If you don’t think this suits you, you should tell him, 826 00:53:53,563 --> 00:53:55,774 he needs to understand you and how your body responds. 827 00:53:57,609 --> 00:54:00,487 [Randy] There is always skepticism and doubt, and we welcome it. 828 00:54:00,570 --> 00:54:02,656 We don’t need to be right, if you believe what you believe, 829 00:54:02,739 --> 00:54:04,074 I’m not going to try to change you. 830 00:54:04,491 --> 00:54:06,326 I’m just going to give you here’s what I know, 831 00:54:06,409 --> 00:54:07,869 and then let you... 832 00:54:07,953 --> 00:54:09,704 put you in an environment where you can begin to experiment 833 00:54:09,788 --> 00:54:10,622 and see what works. 834 00:54:13,208 --> 00:54:14,376 -Good? -No. 835 00:54:14,459 --> 00:54:17,170 -No? Okay. -[laughter] 836 00:54:17,671 --> 00:54:19,297 [Randy] All right, let’s come up with a different alternative, 837 00:54:19,381 --> 00:54:20,715 that’s... that's what we do. 838 00:54:20,966 --> 00:54:22,842 We are not going to take 839 00:54:22,926 --> 00:54:25,387 a Major Leaguer who’s throwing at the high level that he has 840 00:54:25,470 --> 00:54:26,763 and make wholesale changes. 841 00:54:27,138 --> 00:54:30,100 I don’t know if he’ll be better than 842 00:54:30,183 --> 00:54:32,936 when he was winning back to back 19 games. 843 00:54:33,061 --> 00:54:34,062 He could be. 844 00:54:34,938 --> 00:54:38,733 But I don’t think that’s the point, my point is to get him back, 845 00:54:38,817 --> 00:54:40,860 he doesn’t have to be better than that. 846 00:54:40,944 --> 00:54:42,779 Just get him back to near that, 847 00:54:42,862 --> 00:54:45,198 and I think there is no question that he could do that. 848 00:55:00,714 --> 00:55:02,048 [whistle blowing] 849 00:55:56,770 --> 00:55:59,439 -So we’re good, no tear, but strain. -Mmm-hmm. 850 00:56:01,107 --> 00:56:04,652 [Chien-Ming] There’s a bit of disappointment and doubt. 851 00:56:04,736 --> 00:56:08,073 The body is still learning to adjust 852 00:56:08,156 --> 00:56:10,700 to the layers upon layers of pressure stacking up. 853 00:56:11,117 --> 00:56:12,744 And every day you are learning... 854 00:56:14,079 --> 00:56:19,501 to communicate with the new soreness of your body. 855 00:56:19,584 --> 00:56:24,547 Trying to make it as cogwheels with each cog fitting perfectly. 856 00:56:24,923 --> 00:56:28,802 So right now, the body is experimenting with these new mechanics. 857 00:56:28,927 --> 00:56:32,680 It feels as if there’s a void, a disconnect. 858 00:56:32,764 --> 00:56:35,517 Unlike before, 859 00:56:35,600 --> 00:56:38,520 when it was like a perfectly fitting cogwheel. 860 00:56:40,980 --> 00:56:42,065 -Hey, thank you. -Thank you. 861 00:56:42,148 --> 00:56:43,399 I can’t wait for you to get back, 862 00:56:43,858 --> 00:56:46,319 you’re going to be like Iron Man when you come back. 863 00:56:46,402 --> 00:56:48,446 Maybe I get softer when I come back. 864 00:56:48,530 --> 00:56:49,739 No. [laughing] 865 00:56:51,366 --> 00:56:52,200 Oh, man. 866 00:57:07,841 --> 00:57:09,843 [man] We have an awesome staff here, 867 00:57:09,926 --> 00:57:12,637 guys with a ton of experience who are here to help you. 868 00:57:12,720 --> 00:57:14,472 And the way that you guys are going to get the most 869 00:57:14,556 --> 00:57:15,723 out of the next four days, 870 00:57:15,807 --> 00:57:17,809 is if you take advantage of those guys who are here 871 00:57:17,892 --> 00:57:19,853 and ask as many questions as you can. 872 00:57:21,020 --> 00:57:24,566 [Chien-Ming] Pitching starts from the bottom to the top, to your arm, 873 00:57:24,649 --> 00:57:27,110 your legs are stronger than your arms. 874 00:57:27,193 --> 00:57:29,821 You are still learning about your body, 875 00:57:29,904 --> 00:57:33,241 you are not using your lower half correctly yet, 876 00:57:33,408 --> 00:57:37,787 to gather yourself and drive the force forward. 877 00:57:39,247 --> 00:57:42,292 When you step out aim at your target, 878 00:57:42,667 --> 00:57:44,669 step, stabilize yourself. 879 00:57:47,046 --> 00:57:50,175 Turn back a little bit, your toes, yes. 880 00:57:50,425 --> 00:57:52,844 Use your hip, 881 00:57:53,219 --> 00:57:54,304 slide out... 882 00:57:56,055 --> 00:57:57,015 lift up 883 00:57:57,557 --> 00:57:58,516 and slide out. 884 00:58:00,810 --> 00:58:02,604 It’s very important to pass these on. 885 00:58:02,687 --> 00:58:06,649 The hope is to take what I’ve learned overseas 886 00:58:06,774 --> 00:58:09,360 and share them with these youngsters, 887 00:58:10,069 --> 00:58:12,197 make Taiwanese baseball better. 888 00:58:13,364 --> 00:58:15,950 Looking at these young players working so hard, 889 00:58:16,493 --> 00:58:17,952 I’m quite moved. 890 00:58:18,953 --> 00:58:21,456 I thought of when I was little, 891 00:58:22,123 --> 00:58:24,501 working on utilizing the lower half 892 00:58:24,834 --> 00:58:26,586 and arm angles... 893 00:58:27,462 --> 00:58:29,464 what I’ve learned at the Baseball Ranch, 894 00:58:29,714 --> 00:58:32,634 it’s like revisiting these fundamentals from the past. 895 00:58:35,762 --> 00:58:37,764 [both speaking in Mandarin] 896 00:58:40,433 --> 00:58:42,435 [Alan] Including the time he go back to Taiwan, 897 00:58:42,519 --> 00:58:44,062 he’s gone all in. 898 00:58:44,145 --> 00:58:46,439 And execute the plan, so there wasn’t a break, 899 00:58:46,523 --> 00:58:50,360 there was a continuance in building up his foundation 900 00:58:50,443 --> 00:58:51,945 to push through this program. 901 00:58:58,159 --> 00:59:01,496 [Chien-Ming] By training with Chi-Hung Cheng in Tainan during this time, 902 00:59:02,497 --> 00:59:07,168 he shared his experiences with me and I shared mine, 903 00:59:07,252 --> 00:59:09,671 slowly I started to feel progress. 904 00:59:10,838 --> 00:59:12,924 All those feelings of disconnect earlier 905 00:59:13,007 --> 00:59:14,259 slowly faded. 906 00:59:34,779 --> 00:59:37,240 [Ron] Your body, kind of learning it, kind of learning it, 907 00:59:37,323 --> 00:59:40,994 it’s just like you’re building a house with little sticks, right? 908 00:59:41,077 --> 00:59:42,078 And it takes a while. 909 00:59:47,959 --> 00:59:49,711 [Chien-Ming] And Ron told me 910 00:59:49,794 --> 00:59:52,297 that I can start throwing bullpen sessions. 911 01:00:05,226 --> 01:00:07,061 Is that four or two? 912 01:00:09,647 --> 01:00:11,232 That really sunk. 913 01:00:17,780 --> 01:00:19,866 Balls are constantly going where they’re supposed to go. 914 01:00:19,949 --> 01:00:21,117 -[Randy] Yeah. -For him... 915 01:00:21,200 --> 01:00:25,496 -[Randy] Mmm-hmm. -That sink is just... it’s it. 916 01:00:25,622 --> 01:00:28,791 [Randy] Yeah, that’s his niche. [Ron] So be really good at that. Right? 917 01:00:29,083 --> 01:00:31,127 And I’ll let you know when we’re going to Spring Training, 918 01:00:31,836 --> 01:00:34,130 -if you want to fly out-- -[Randy] That’ll be great, I’d love to. 919 01:00:40,303 --> 01:00:42,305 [Ron] So my critique of you in the video 920 01:00:42,388 --> 01:00:45,183 was that you don’t use a lot of your lower half, 921 01:00:45,308 --> 01:00:47,810 and, uh, now it’s much better. 922 01:00:47,977 --> 01:00:51,356 I... I videoed you in your bullpen. 923 01:00:51,856 --> 01:00:53,149 That means two things: 924 01:00:53,232 --> 01:00:57,195 Potentially, I think you can get it back up to 95mph with that, 925 01:00:57,278 --> 01:01:00,365 and the second thing is, and probably more importantly, 926 01:01:00,448 --> 01:01:03,868 in the long run, is there’s less stress to the shoulder. 927 01:01:05,828 --> 01:01:08,456 Start revving it up, Chien. Start revving it up, baby. 928 01:01:08,539 --> 01:01:09,832 Let’s go, let’s go. 929 01:01:10,750 --> 01:01:13,044 [Randy] Today, is Velo-Push Day. 930 01:01:13,127 --> 01:01:15,880 This means he’s just going to push the envelope and throw hard. 931 01:01:15,963 --> 01:01:18,675 It’s time to ramp it up, get him ready for the season. 932 01:01:18,800 --> 01:01:20,510 So that when the lights come on 933 01:01:20,593 --> 01:01:23,012 -and Spring Training starts... -[woman] 85.7 mph. 934 01:01:23,096 --> 01:01:25,556 [Randy] ...he kicks the door down at about 93, 95, 935 01:01:25,723 --> 01:01:29,018 so that they have no choice but to put him on the team, 936 01:01:29,102 --> 01:01:30,144 no choice. 937 01:01:30,269 --> 01:01:32,689 He can’t go there and ease his way in, 938 01:01:32,772 --> 01:01:33,981 he’s got to go there on fire. 939 01:01:34,065 --> 01:01:38,277 He’s got to go there and be so good that they have no choice. 940 01:01:38,653 --> 01:01:41,489 And so, he’s been ramping up for about two months now 941 01:01:41,572 --> 01:01:42,657 to get ready for this. 942 01:01:43,324 --> 01:01:44,784 What we learned about Chien is that 943 01:01:44,867 --> 01:01:47,120 -without competition... -86.7mph 944 01:01:47,328 --> 01:01:48,496 [Randy] ...he’s not as good. 945 01:01:52,125 --> 01:01:53,459 -87.0 mph. -[Randy] Yes! 946 01:01:53,584 --> 01:01:54,544 He’s coming on! 947 01:01:54,752 --> 01:01:55,586 So we, uh... 948 01:01:55,670 --> 01:01:58,589 We arranged our 12th rounder from the Red Sox, 949 01:01:58,756 --> 01:02:00,675 Kevin, to come in and throw against him. 950 01:02:00,842 --> 01:02:02,844 -[grunts] -Ninety-seven. 951 01:02:03,010 --> 01:02:06,139 [Randy] If Kevin beats Chien by four miles an hour, 952 01:02:06,723 --> 01:02:08,683 then Chien’s out, 100 bucks. 953 01:02:08,766 --> 01:02:10,685 88.1 mph. [screaming] 954 01:02:15,273 --> 01:02:16,733 [Randy] His first few throws, it was quiet, 955 01:02:16,816 --> 01:02:18,735 and there’s nobody competing with him, he’s on his own, 956 01:02:19,277 --> 01:02:22,321 and he was like 81 mph, then he got to 84 mph. 957 01:02:22,697 --> 01:02:26,784 And when he started competing, he went from 84 to 87 mph, 958 01:02:26,868 --> 01:02:28,077 to 90 mph. 959 01:02:28,786 --> 01:02:31,289 94 mph. 960 01:02:31,372 --> 01:02:33,416 [all cheering] 961 01:02:33,541 --> 01:02:34,751 90.2 mph. 962 01:02:36,252 --> 01:02:38,921 [cheering] 963 01:03:17,460 --> 01:03:19,712 [Chien-Ming] Most of the players leave home 964 01:03:19,796 --> 01:03:21,589 when the season starts. 965 01:03:21,881 --> 01:03:24,217 You’d miss out on... 966 01:03:24,967 --> 01:03:30,765 seeing your kids grow and everything they do. 967 01:03:30,890 --> 01:03:33,768 [in Mandarin] Daddy can you put these on for me? 968 01:03:34,602 --> 01:03:36,270 [children chattering] 969 01:03:39,148 --> 01:03:41,025 My dad has these eyes... 970 01:03:42,735 --> 01:03:45,988 they can turn into this... 971 01:03:47,865 --> 01:03:50,701 Daddy, can you do those eyes for me? 972 01:03:50,785 --> 01:03:53,162 Like when you do this. 973 01:03:53,246 --> 01:03:54,372 [in English] Do it. 974 01:03:59,669 --> 01:04:01,128 [Charlene] He would tell his schoolmates, 975 01:04:01,212 --> 01:04:03,381 "My dad is a ballplayer, he’s always playing." 976 01:04:03,881 --> 01:04:05,633 Kids who play baseball would ask him, 977 01:04:05,716 --> 01:04:10,346 "Does your dad hit home runs?" 978 01:04:10,429 --> 01:04:11,514 And Justin would say, 979 01:04:11,597 --> 01:04:13,307 "No, because he’s a pitcher." 980 01:04:13,641 --> 01:04:15,810 Dad play baseball for real... 981 01:04:17,270 --> 01:04:19,939 not for fun, for real. 982 01:04:21,941 --> 01:04:24,735 [Charlene] He’d leave in January and come back around October. 983 01:04:24,819 --> 01:04:27,113 When we say Daddy is going to work, 984 01:04:27,196 --> 01:04:30,032 it means it’s for a long time, 985 01:04:30,116 --> 01:04:33,035 more than 200 days or so. 986 01:04:33,327 --> 01:04:36,330 [panting, yelling] 987 01:04:37,123 --> 01:04:38,708 [interviewer in Mandarin] When Daddy goes to work... 988 01:04:38,791 --> 01:04:40,334 [interviewer in English] What do you... What do you tell him on the phone? 989 01:04:41,419 --> 01:04:43,921 Uh, when are you going to come back? 990 01:04:46,674 --> 01:04:48,175 And... 991 01:04:49,552 --> 01:04:50,636 that’s all. 992 01:04:51,012 --> 01:04:51,929 [interviewer] What does he tell you? 993 01:04:52,972 --> 01:04:56,601 Uh... He doesn’t know yet. 994 01:04:59,103 --> 01:05:03,274 [in Mandarin] Sometimes parents would go to school 995 01:05:03,357 --> 01:05:07,612 to see kids play violin or something, 996 01:05:07,695 --> 01:05:09,906 and I couldn’t be there. 997 01:05:09,989 --> 01:05:12,158 He would feel sad... 998 01:05:13,367 --> 01:05:15,453 he would call and say, 999 01:05:15,536 --> 01:05:18,205 "You didn’t come to see my performance." 1000 01:05:18,289 --> 01:05:21,459 He would tell you, and he’d be in tears... 1001 01:05:23,085 --> 01:05:25,171 It makes you sad, too. 1002 01:05:34,388 --> 01:05:36,557 [Charlene] At the beginning, 1003 01:05:36,641 --> 01:05:38,392 he would ask for Daddy, "When will he be back? 1004 01:05:38,476 --> 01:05:39,393 When will he be back?" 1005 01:05:39,477 --> 01:05:41,395 Then slowly... 1006 01:05:42,063 --> 01:05:44,231 he doesn’t ask as much... 1007 01:05:45,566 --> 01:05:47,151 and then he stops asking. 1008 01:05:47,276 --> 01:05:51,155 That’s when you feel, he’s grown up a little. 1009 01:06:04,251 --> 01:06:05,628 [in Mandarin] I like Daddy... 1010 01:06:07,171 --> 01:06:08,297 being home. 1011 01:06:15,388 --> 01:06:18,599 [Charlene] Chien-Ming drew this... 1012 01:06:19,642 --> 01:06:21,310 and Justin drew that. 1013 01:06:23,562 --> 01:06:26,774 When he misses Daddy, he would look at the photos, 1014 01:06:27,441 --> 01:06:30,486 and he would draw. 1015 01:06:30,611 --> 01:06:35,908 I would tell him to think when Daddy finally gets off work, 1016 01:06:35,992 --> 01:06:38,995 what you would like to do with him and draw that. 1017 01:06:40,955 --> 01:06:42,957 All he wanted is 1018 01:06:43,040 --> 01:06:44,834 to spend more time together. 1019 01:06:46,085 --> 01:06:50,006 He and Justin are Ninja Turtles. 1020 01:07:19,952 --> 01:07:22,788 We receive packages from Daddy all the time... 1021 01:07:25,041 --> 01:07:27,168 It’s probably an act of compensation. 1022 01:07:28,669 --> 01:07:31,172 Because Justin sometimes would tell him on the phone, 1023 01:07:31,255 --> 01:07:36,385 what he wanted, what he had seen recently, 1024 01:07:36,844 --> 01:07:41,932 what other kids are playing with. 1025 01:07:44,727 --> 01:07:46,729 So in his mind... 1026 01:07:51,150 --> 01:07:54,862 [sobbing] because he couldn’t be by his side, 1027 01:07:54,945 --> 01:07:58,491 when he sees stuff for kids, he would buy them 1028 01:07:58,574 --> 01:08:00,159 and send them our way. 1029 01:08:00,242 --> 01:08:01,869 He’d write Justin Wang on the package, 1030 01:08:01,994 --> 01:08:04,622 and when he received them, he would be overjoyed. 1031 01:08:04,705 --> 01:08:08,375 Wow. This came from Daddy, he would bring them to school, 1032 01:08:08,459 --> 01:08:12,213 telling his friends that his dad sent him something. 1033 01:08:12,505 --> 01:08:14,215 [both speaking in Mandarin] 1034 01:08:24,767 --> 01:08:28,062 When Chien-Ming is about to leave for work, 1035 01:08:28,145 --> 01:08:30,481 there will be a haircut session for our sons. 1036 01:08:30,564 --> 01:08:33,776 But when he does this, 1037 01:08:33,859 --> 01:08:35,361 Justin knows... 1038 01:08:36,112 --> 01:08:37,613 what it means. 1039 01:08:45,287 --> 01:08:50,835 An hour before I leave, he would start crying. 1040 01:08:53,712 --> 01:08:56,048 He would stand by the door and wave, 1041 01:08:56,132 --> 01:08:57,967 and say 1042 01:08:58,050 --> 01:09:00,719 "Daddy, you can come visit me when you are free." 1043 01:09:22,950 --> 01:09:24,994 [Chien-Ming] Because I’m committed to keep playing, 1044 01:09:25,077 --> 01:09:29,415 I had to sacrifice the time I would’ve spent with them. 1045 01:09:37,006 --> 01:09:40,676 I gave myself a two-year goal, 1046 01:09:40,801 --> 01:09:44,221 but that was two years ago and now going into the third. 1047 01:09:44,680 --> 01:09:48,976 I just want to prove that I can pitch in the Major League again. 1048 01:09:50,853 --> 01:09:54,190 Just for one day. [chuckles] 1049 01:09:57,526 --> 01:09:59,153 -[interviewer in Mandarin] Just one day? -Huh? 1050 01:10:00,696 --> 01:10:02,781 I don’t know, one day, 1051 01:10:02,865 --> 01:10:04,033 I’m back. 1052 01:10:14,627 --> 01:10:17,046 I’m not doing this for the retirement pension. 1053 01:10:17,129 --> 01:10:21,926 Because no matter how long you’re in the Majors, 1054 01:10:22,009 --> 01:10:23,385 you will get a pension. 1055 01:10:23,469 --> 01:10:24,803 It’s just a difference in the amount, 1056 01:10:25,429 --> 01:10:30,851 so no one is doing this for the pension. 1057 01:10:31,518 --> 01:10:34,104 I’m in this for an opportunity to prove myself, 1058 01:10:34,188 --> 01:10:39,193 prove to the people in the industry, the general managers. 1059 01:10:39,276 --> 01:10:44,198 They said I’m a damaged goods, that I won’t come back. 1060 01:10:44,281 --> 01:10:45,824 I just want to prove 1061 01:10:45,908 --> 01:10:48,285 that I can still stand on that Major League mound. 1062 01:10:52,665 --> 01:10:54,833 I’m not sure how much longer I can go on, 1063 01:10:54,917 --> 01:10:58,671 but I will do my best. 1064 01:11:01,715 --> 01:11:05,261 Maybe until I can no longer throw, then I’ll stop. 1065 01:11:25,197 --> 01:11:28,575 For the Royals, he was essentially like a 35-year-old lottery ticket. 1066 01:11:28,659 --> 01:11:31,287 He’s a guy they saw in the off-season was available. 1067 01:11:31,370 --> 01:11:33,872 I just think that they thought he’d been in the big leagues before, 1068 01:11:33,956 --> 01:11:36,583 he’d had success, you know, why not give him a shot. 1069 01:11:37,668 --> 01:11:40,963 Well, obviously, he’s coming off a season 1070 01:11:41,046 --> 01:11:44,008 you know, that he struggled quite a bit result-wise, 1071 01:11:44,091 --> 01:11:47,261 so this is a more difficult off-season 1072 01:11:47,511 --> 01:11:49,930 to land on a spot for Spring Training. 1073 01:11:50,931 --> 01:11:53,267 [Chien-Ming] The Major League regulars are all set, 1074 01:11:53,350 --> 01:11:57,229 so there’s only one or two spots 1075 01:11:57,313 --> 01:11:59,523 for everyone else to fight for. 1076 01:11:59,606 --> 01:12:04,403 So when the team asked Alan if I could pitch in relief, 1077 01:12:05,070 --> 01:12:07,156 Alan and I discussed it and thought 1078 01:12:07,239 --> 01:12:08,615 whichever gives me more of opportunity for a spot, 1079 01:12:08,699 --> 01:12:09,742 I wouldn’t mind trying. 1080 01:12:09,825 --> 01:12:13,454 [man] Come on, Wang. Get over there, nice and easy. 1081 01:12:13,954 --> 01:12:18,000 He was one of the first starter candidates we signed for Triple-A. 1082 01:12:18,083 --> 01:12:21,587 And it was a guy that, if you could use the phrase "catch lightning in a bottle," 1083 01:12:21,670 --> 01:12:22,921 it would fit perfectly. 1084 01:12:24,715 --> 01:12:26,800 [Jeffrey Flanagan] There won’t be many spots available in the bullpen, 1085 01:12:26,884 --> 01:12:29,887 because two of the guys that will lose out to the rotation 1086 01:12:29,970 --> 01:12:31,472 will likely shift right into the bullpen. 1087 01:12:31,555 --> 01:12:34,850 They’ve already got four guys set, you know, in the back end of the bullpen. 1088 01:12:34,933 --> 01:12:39,104 So, if you carry seven pitchers going into the season, 1089 01:12:39,188 --> 01:12:40,105 you can do the math, 1090 01:12:40,189 --> 01:12:42,733 you’re looking at one spot that’s available. 1091 01:12:42,816 --> 01:12:43,901 He’s in the mix, 1092 01:12:43,984 --> 01:12:45,778 uh, it’s gonna be an uphill climb for him, though, [chuckles] 1093 01:12:45,861 --> 01:12:47,488 because there’s so many bodies in camp. 1094 01:12:48,238 --> 01:12:49,365 [Dave Eiland] Chien-Ming is going to pitch, 1095 01:12:49,448 --> 01:12:51,450 he’s here because we feel like he has something left. 1096 01:12:51,575 --> 01:12:53,494 I really don’t look at a guy’s age. 1097 01:12:53,911 --> 01:12:56,205 You can either pitch and get guys out or you can’t. 1098 01:12:56,288 --> 01:12:58,624 But the tell-tale sign is when he gets in a game, 1099 01:12:58,707 --> 01:13:00,334 he starts to face hitters. 1100 01:13:00,417 --> 01:13:03,087 I’m going to do all I can for him, I’m going to pull hard for him. 1101 01:13:03,170 --> 01:13:05,923 But ultimately, it’s up to him, and how he goes out and pitches 1102 01:13:06,006 --> 01:13:07,341 and how he goes out and performs. 1103 01:13:08,050 --> 01:13:09,551 [male commentator 1] Chien-Ming Wang, 1104 01:13:09,635 --> 01:13:12,471 former Yankee on the comeback trail, 1105 01:13:12,554 --> 01:13:15,682 signed a Minor League deal with Kansas City is pitching. 1106 01:13:19,144 --> 01:13:21,939 [male commentator 2] That very first pitch was 93 mph. 1107 01:13:22,022 --> 01:13:23,607 I didn’t expect that. 1108 01:13:23,732 --> 01:13:27,361 Was really expecting 88 to 91 max in his first game, 1109 01:13:27,444 --> 01:13:29,405 with all that training building up to it. 1110 01:13:30,072 --> 01:13:32,241 [male commentator 1] Good to see him back on the mound. 1111 01:13:32,658 --> 01:13:35,577 [male commentator 2] Here’s the next pitch grounded sharply down to third. 1112 01:13:36,286 --> 01:13:39,123 Reymond Fuentes is the new centerfielder 1113 01:13:39,206 --> 01:13:42,084 and Jorge Bonifacio is the right fielder. 1114 01:13:42,167 --> 01:13:46,338 So Wang is getting that sinker to work, he’s retired three in a row on the ground. 1115 01:13:52,803 --> 01:13:54,138 [Jeffrey] They talked about him as a starter, 1116 01:13:54,221 --> 01:13:55,973 they talked about him as a reliever, 1117 01:13:56,056 --> 01:13:58,559 but with his increased velocity in this camp, uh, 1118 01:13:58,642 --> 01:14:00,811 he’s raising some eyebrows for sure. 1119 01:14:02,646 --> 01:14:04,398 -[man] Whoo! -[crowd cheering] 1120 01:14:04,731 --> 01:14:05,941 The cuts they made 1121 01:14:06,024 --> 01:14:08,652 are mostly just Minor League guys who are gonna go there anyway. 1122 01:14:08,735 --> 01:14:10,696 They still got the veteran guys in here, 1123 01:14:10,779 --> 01:14:13,782 we’ll just have to see how it plays out in the next 15 days. 1124 01:14:16,827 --> 01:14:19,037 Chien-Ming has been a very pleasant surprise for us, 1125 01:14:19,121 --> 01:14:22,124 I mean, he’s throwing the ball, it’s coming out of his hand really well. 1126 01:14:23,417 --> 01:14:24,543 [male commentator 1] I had to triple check this, 1127 01:14:24,626 --> 01:14:26,086 is this the same guy? 1128 01:14:26,170 --> 01:14:28,338 But it is. It’s Chien-Ming Wang, 1129 01:14:28,464 --> 01:14:32,676 who ten years ago was a 19 game winner for the Yankees. 1130 01:14:32,759 --> 01:14:35,471 [male commentator 2] He has forced himself in the discussion, 1131 01:14:35,554 --> 01:14:38,807 not only with the way he’s pitched, but the way his velocity has come back. 1132 01:14:39,850 --> 01:14:41,393 Look at the movement on that pitch, wow. 1133 01:14:42,394 --> 01:14:43,604 [man] I’m not saying he’s on the team yet, 1134 01:14:43,687 --> 01:14:45,272 but I’m, you know, I'm pulling for him, 1135 01:14:45,355 --> 01:14:46,482 he’s kind of fun. 1136 01:14:50,527 --> 01:14:51,778 [male commentator] Chien-Ming Wang, 1137 01:14:51,862 --> 01:14:54,031 his sinker ball is going to play well with this defense. 1138 01:14:54,114 --> 01:14:57,409 [Dayton Moore] You know we don’t have a pitcher really with his type of skillset 1139 01:14:57,701 --> 01:14:59,870 in our rotation or in our bullpen. 1140 01:14:59,953 --> 01:15:02,414 He’s still competing, but we like what we’ve seen thus far. 1141 01:15:03,665 --> 01:15:05,584 [Rustin Dodd] He doesn’t have an opt-out until May 1st, 1142 01:15:05,667 --> 01:15:09,213 so he’s almost going to have to perform even better during camp 1143 01:15:09,671 --> 01:15:11,006 to force his way onto the roster, 1144 01:15:11,089 --> 01:15:14,134 because they could’ve easily sent him down to Triple-A 1145 01:15:14,218 --> 01:15:16,678 and... and kind of looked at him for a couple of more weeks. 1146 01:15:24,686 --> 01:15:28,023 Watching him since November when we first saw him, 1147 01:15:28,106 --> 01:15:31,109 just make continual steady progress. 1148 01:15:31,193 --> 01:15:33,278 The... The world out there is a little mystified 1149 01:15:33,362 --> 01:15:34,363 about how he could do it, 1150 01:15:34,446 --> 01:15:37,449 but we saw it happen every day and it was no surprise to us. 1151 01:15:39,618 --> 01:15:40,953 Yes, I’m nervous. 1152 01:15:41,078 --> 01:15:42,204 It’s like watching one of your own kids, 1153 01:15:42,287 --> 01:15:43,830 you know, when they get up, you know how hard they worked, 1154 01:15:43,914 --> 01:15:47,626 you know how much they want it, you just want that satisfaction for them. 1155 01:15:48,919 --> 01:15:51,630 They released Brian Duensing, Peter Moylan, 1156 01:15:51,713 --> 01:15:54,341 I don’t think they had as good a camp as Wang did. 1157 01:15:54,466 --> 01:15:57,511 So, definitely, with those guys leaving, 1158 01:15:57,594 --> 01:16:00,681 it, sort of, opens up a spot at the end of the Royals bullpen. 1159 01:16:00,889 --> 01:16:03,225 The number of the pitchers in camp is dwindling 1160 01:16:03,308 --> 01:16:05,227 and he’s still here, so that’s a good sign for him. 1161 01:16:05,310 --> 01:16:07,980 [male commentator] With that 93 to 95 mph sinker he’s got, 1162 01:16:08,063 --> 01:16:09,940 man I’ll tell you, he’s a groundball machine, 1163 01:16:10,023 --> 01:16:13,610 and that bodes well when you got gold all over that infield for the Royals. 1164 01:16:13,694 --> 01:16:16,280 Look at that sinking action, he’s found his arm slot. 1165 01:16:30,877 --> 01:16:34,214 [Jeffrey] I really think the best team they can put on the field on Opening Night 1166 01:16:34,298 --> 01:16:36,008 would have Wang as the 12th guy... 1167 01:16:36,925 --> 01:16:38,719 it could happen. [chuckles] 1168 01:17:06,747 --> 01:17:09,750 Chien-Ming Wang took the last spot on the pitching staff 1169 01:17:09,833 --> 01:17:12,336 and he did it the right way, he earned it. 1170 01:17:23,347 --> 01:17:25,807 [Charlene] The last day of Spring Training, he got a notice. 1171 01:17:26,016 --> 01:17:27,893 I knew what it meant: 1172 01:17:27,976 --> 01:17:29,144 he made it. 1173 01:17:29,227 --> 01:17:31,813 He’s on the Opening Day roster. 1174 01:17:35,442 --> 01:17:39,946 He was ecstatic, because it’s been such a long time 1175 01:17:40,030 --> 01:17:41,198 since he last saw this. 1176 01:17:41,823 --> 01:17:43,533 I’ll be traveling with the team this morning 1177 01:17:43,617 --> 01:17:46,161 on the first flight to Kansas City. 1178 01:17:46,244 --> 01:17:49,915 Last time I was on the Opening Day roster was seven years ago, 1179 01:17:49,998 --> 01:17:52,000 when I was with the Yankees. 1180 01:17:52,084 --> 01:17:57,839 After all this time, I’ve made it again. 1181 01:17:58,465 --> 01:18:01,968 It is a surreal feeling because it’s been so long, 1182 01:18:02,511 --> 01:18:06,682 all the work I’ve put in, it’s well worth it. 1183 01:18:14,481 --> 01:18:16,441 [Neil] He’s still like a son to me today. 1184 01:18:16,525 --> 01:18:18,527 I’m so happy he’s here with the Royals, 1185 01:18:18,944 --> 01:18:20,570 I’m so happy he’s back in the big leagues, 1186 01:18:20,654 --> 01:18:22,531 I’m very, very happy for him. 1187 01:18:23,865 --> 01:18:27,411 [Brian] He’s given everything he's had to a job he truly loves. 1188 01:18:27,494 --> 01:18:30,205 And the ability to fight back, 1189 01:18:30,288 --> 01:18:32,916 and overcome all that, it’s something to be very proud of. 1190 01:18:33,333 --> 01:18:35,544 He’s a gentle giant, but a fierce competitor, 1191 01:18:35,627 --> 01:18:37,129 and that type of drive 1192 01:18:37,212 --> 01:18:39,715 had him overcome a lot to get back to the big leagues. 1193 01:18:44,219 --> 01:18:47,347 [Chien-Ming] This Spring Training could very well be my last, 1194 01:18:47,431 --> 01:18:51,351 so I’ve given it all, and left nothing behind, 1195 01:18:51,435 --> 01:18:54,813 no matter what, I gave all I had on the mound. 1196 01:19:27,804 --> 01:19:29,264 -Hello. -[Randy] Welcome. 1197 01:19:29,347 --> 01:19:30,891 Welcome to your new training facility. 1198 01:19:31,057 --> 01:19:32,225 [Chien-Ming in English] Wow. 1199 01:19:32,976 --> 01:19:34,144 -You do that? -Yeah. 1200 01:19:35,353 --> 01:19:37,355 I’m going to show your entire workout just like we did at the Ranch. 1201 01:19:37,481 --> 01:19:39,316 -Uh-huh. -You’re gonna do it right in here. 1202 01:19:40,609 --> 01:19:41,568 Go fast. 1203 01:19:43,737 --> 01:19:45,947 [Chien-Ming in Mandarin] I was touched, all by himself, 1204 01:19:46,031 --> 01:19:51,369 he moved the bed aside, lifted up the mattresses, 1205 01:19:51,453 --> 01:19:54,748 and even set a strike zone. 1206 01:19:54,998 --> 01:19:56,583 Never thought you could do that. 1207 01:19:57,209 --> 01:19:58,251 And then step up... 1208 01:19:59,836 --> 01:20:00,712 [grunts] 1209 01:20:04,883 --> 01:20:06,635 -What’s your next goal? -Jian Kang. 1210 01:20:06,718 --> 01:20:07,761 Jin Kong? What is that? 1211 01:20:07,844 --> 01:20:09,429 -Jian Kang. -What is Jin Kong? 1212 01:20:09,513 --> 01:20:10,555 -[in English] Healthy. -Huh? 1213 01:20:10,722 --> 01:20:12,390 -Stay healthy. -Stay healthy, okay. 1214 01:20:12,641 --> 01:20:14,392 If I text you King Kong... 1215 01:20:14,601 --> 01:20:16,311 -Then healthy guy? -Stay healthy. 1216 01:20:16,394 --> 01:20:17,562 -Okay, King Kong. -King Kong. 1217 01:20:17,646 --> 01:20:18,855 Gorilla. 1218 01:20:18,980 --> 01:20:21,733 What an inspiration you’ve been to so many people. 1219 01:20:22,609 --> 01:20:24,236 Every kid who ever gets hurt... 1220 01:20:25,612 --> 01:20:26,863 will be inspired. 1221 01:20:28,156 --> 01:20:30,700 ‘Cause if it can be done... 1222 01:20:30,784 --> 01:20:31,910 [Chien-Ming] Mmm-hmm. 1223 01:20:33,495 --> 01:20:34,329 I can do it. 1224 01:20:34,412 --> 01:20:36,540 If someone else can do it, so can I. 1225 01:20:46,383 --> 01:20:48,677 -[man] Uh, media? -No, player. 1226 01:20:48,760 --> 01:20:49,719 -[man] I’m sorry? -Player. 1227 01:20:49,803 --> 01:20:50,887 -[man] Player. -Yeah. 1228 01:20:51,137 --> 01:20:52,806 -[man] Player. What team? -Royals. 1229 01:20:52,889 --> 01:20:55,851 -[man] Royals? What’s your name? -Wang. Wang. 1230 01:20:55,934 --> 01:20:57,435 [man] Let’s win it, bro. Straight ahead. 1231 01:20:57,519 --> 01:20:59,354 Lot M, that’ll put you straight down. 1232 01:20:59,437 --> 01:21:00,981 Okay, thank you. 1233 01:21:13,952 --> 01:21:15,495 [indistinct chatter on security radio] 1234 01:21:15,871 --> 01:21:18,290 Welcome to Kansas City. 1235 01:21:18,874 --> 01:21:20,000 [elevator dings] 1236 01:21:32,679 --> 01:21:34,347 -Congratulations. -Thank you. 1237 01:21:37,183 --> 01:21:38,894 [crowd cheering] 1238 01:21:43,064 --> 01:21:44,691 [cheers and applause] 1239 01:21:57,787 --> 01:22:01,249 [male commentator] Number 67, pitcher, Chien-Ming Wang. 1240 01:22:13,428 --> 01:22:14,304 [Alan] Just thought about, you know, 1241 01:22:14,387 --> 01:22:18,558 all the valley, um, that we’ve been through, 1242 01:22:18,642 --> 01:22:21,478 and the appreciation, 1243 01:22:21,728 --> 01:22:25,231 and feeling so blessed that, you know, 1244 01:22:25,315 --> 01:22:28,944 um, somebody out there is looking out for Chien-Ming 1245 01:22:29,027 --> 01:22:30,195 every step of the way. 1246 01:22:30,278 --> 01:22:33,365 You know, providing good people, you know, in his life. 1247 01:22:33,990 --> 01:22:37,786 And to help him, and as he continues this mission, 1248 01:22:37,911 --> 01:22:40,121 you know, one guy can’t do it alone. 1249 01:22:40,538 --> 01:22:42,082 Whether it’s coaches... 1250 01:22:45,502 --> 01:22:50,423 his fans that went to see him at those Minor League games, 1251 01:22:51,299 --> 01:22:53,176 they never gave up on him. 1252 01:23:00,183 --> 01:23:02,060 Chi-Hung and his wife... 1253 01:23:03,144 --> 01:23:05,313 Ron, Randy and their team. 1254 01:23:06,398 --> 01:23:08,066 You know, all of Chien-Ming’s friends... 1255 01:23:12,028 --> 01:23:14,322 they are the MVP of this journey. 1256 01:23:16,199 --> 01:23:18,535 It wouldn’t happen without their help. 1257 01:23:19,619 --> 01:23:22,163 You know, we’re all pulling together for him. 1258 01:23:24,624 --> 01:23:27,043 You know, it was just so unbelievable. 1259 01:23:28,003 --> 01:23:31,840 And his... His stubbornness, or determination... 1260 01:23:33,925 --> 01:23:36,511 you know, gave us the story to follow this spring. 1261 01:23:38,096 --> 01:23:40,724 [male announcer] Pitching for the Royals, number 67, 1262 01:23:40,807 --> 01:23:42,225 Chien-Ming Wang. 1263 01:23:42,308 --> 01:23:43,351 [crowd cheering] 1264 01:23:50,525 --> 01:23:55,488 [male commentator] And this is his first big league pitch since 2013. 1265 01:23:56,823 --> 01:23:58,199 August 24th... 1266 01:23:59,075 --> 01:24:01,453 of 2013 with the Blue Jays. 1267 01:24:03,288 --> 01:24:07,417 [male commentator 2] It’s a lot of work, I’m telling you, and he never gave up. 1268 01:24:08,334 --> 01:24:11,046 His shoulder gave him some issues, he had some problems, 1269 01:24:11,129 --> 01:24:13,757 had to find that arm slot again, 1270 01:24:13,840 --> 01:24:15,383 but he won the job out of camp 1271 01:24:15,467 --> 01:24:18,553 by really impressing Dave Eiland and Ned Yost. 1272 01:24:19,846 --> 01:24:22,724 He’s just going to throw one sinker in on his hands after another. 1273 01:24:27,729 --> 01:24:29,689 [male commentator 1] Struck him out to end the game. 1274 01:24:29,773 --> 01:24:31,024 [cheers and applause] 1275 01:24:31,107 --> 01:24:33,902 Welcome back, Chien-Ming Wang. 1276 01:24:33,985 --> 01:24:35,612 Welcome back, Royals. 1277 01:24:35,695 --> 01:24:38,323 Power with three home runs tonight. 1278 01:24:38,406 --> 01:24:42,494 The Royals win their first series of the season. 1279 01:24:45,663 --> 01:24:47,373 [crowd cheering] 1280 01:24:52,754 --> 01:24:54,214 [male commentator] Strike three called. 1281 01:24:54,297 --> 01:24:56,299 It’s in the movement there, 93 mph. 1282 01:25:15,235 --> 01:25:16,986 [low rumble] 1283 01:26:54,709 --> 01:26:56,836 [indistinct chatter] 1284 01:27:02,175 --> 01:27:04,260 [camera clicking] 1285 01:27:22,737 --> 01:27:25,865 [Su-Chen] Today, I made minced pork, 1286 01:27:26,282 --> 01:27:29,118 some Mandarin meatballs, 1287 01:27:29,202 --> 01:27:31,788 turnips, mushroom soup, 1288 01:27:32,372 --> 01:27:35,375 and the Three Cup Chicken. 1289 01:27:42,048 --> 01:27:43,549 [Wellington in Mandarin] Can you carry me over? 1290 01:27:43,675 --> 01:27:45,635 -[Chien-Ming] Sure. -Can you wash me? 1291 01:27:45,843 --> 01:27:46,928 While I carry you? 1292 01:27:47,011 --> 01:27:47,845 -Yes. -No. 1293 01:27:47,929 --> 01:27:48,763 Why not? 1294 01:27:48,846 --> 01:27:50,390 I’ll wash you if you stand. 1295 01:27:51,099 --> 01:27:52,392 I’m getting up. 1296 01:27:54,394 --> 01:27:55,895 Well, you see. 1297 01:27:57,105 --> 01:28:00,525 [Wellington] You want to see I washed my whole foot? 1298 01:28:00,608 --> 01:28:02,694 [Su-Chen] I can’t smell it if you don’t pick it up. 1299 01:28:04,570 --> 01:28:07,573 Smells good. Who washed them for you? 1300 01:28:08,241 --> 01:28:10,118 [indistinct conversations] 1301 01:28:11,911 --> 01:28:13,955 Okay, let’s eat. 1302 01:28:15,123 --> 01:28:18,918 Grandpa, would you dare eat this? 1303 01:28:19,294 --> 01:28:20,962 -Would you? -I would. 1304 01:28:21,087 --> 01:28:23,172 Grandma, would you dare eat this? 1305 01:28:23,298 --> 01:28:24,132 [Su-Chen] Of course. 1306 01:28:24,215 --> 01:28:26,092 Mom, would you dare eat this? 1307 01:28:26,175 --> 01:28:27,010 [Charlene] Yes. 1308 01:28:27,135 --> 01:28:28,761 [Wellington] What is it? 1309 01:28:28,928 --> 01:28:31,264 [Charlene] Chicken wings. 1310 01:28:32,640 --> 01:28:35,310 [Wellington] Chicken wings, so it’s chicken? 1311 01:28:35,393 --> 01:28:36,936 [Charlene] Duck. 1312 01:28:37,020 --> 01:28:38,146 Goose. 1313 01:28:38,354 --> 01:28:39,272 Goose? 1314 01:28:39,439 --> 01:28:40,773 [all chuckling] 1315 01:28:41,691 --> 01:28:43,192 Auntie. 1316 01:28:43,276 --> 01:28:45,069 [indistinct chatter] 1317 01:28:46,654 --> 01:28:47,947 Good morning. 1318 01:28:49,073 --> 01:28:50,408 Good morning first. 1319 01:28:51,034 --> 01:28:53,119 [Justin] You didn’t say good evening to me. 1320 01:29:00,418 --> 01:29:01,919 [Wellington] I shot it. 1321 01:29:02,003 --> 01:29:03,129 It shoots? 1322 01:29:04,505 --> 01:29:06,716 [indistinct conversations] 1323 01:29:15,099 --> 01:29:18,561 [Su-Chen] Because he has proved again 1324 01:29:18,644 --> 01:29:20,772 by making it back, he’s done it. 1325 01:29:20,938 --> 01:29:25,151 All his wishes, his goals, have been fulfilled. 1326 01:29:25,234 --> 01:29:29,739 All the effort he put in, the energy, the concentration, 1327 01:29:29,822 --> 01:29:31,991 have been rewarded. 1328 01:29:32,158 --> 01:29:34,660 So I’ve told him, you’ve made it back and proved 1329 01:29:34,869 --> 01:29:36,829 you still have the ability o pitch in the Majors, 1330 01:29:36,954 --> 01:29:40,500 so I really hope he will retire now. 1331 01:29:48,299 --> 01:29:51,010 I don’t want there to be any more issues 1332 01:29:51,094 --> 01:29:53,221 with his arm again. 1333 01:30:05,525 --> 01:30:07,443 [car indicator ticking] 1334 01:30:23,167 --> 01:30:24,460 [Chien-Ming] Every year around this time, 1335 01:30:24,544 --> 01:30:26,546 you get into shape again 1336 01:30:26,629 --> 01:30:29,132 and get ready for Spring Training. 1337 01:30:29,215 --> 01:30:35,721 No matter if I get a contract or not, for me, this is the time of the year 1338 01:30:35,805 --> 01:30:38,516 I start preparing. 1339 01:30:39,016 --> 01:30:41,727 So if a team comes asking, 1340 01:30:41,936 --> 01:30:44,147 I’ll be in game shape right away. 1341 01:30:48,776 --> 01:30:51,320 He just showed up in November, he just walked in, [chuckles] 1342 01:30:51,404 --> 01:30:52,697 we didn’t even know he was coming. 1343 01:30:52,780 --> 01:30:55,241 He just showed up and said "Hey, I want to try again." 1344 01:30:55,575 --> 01:30:57,034 And I said "Why are you here?" 1345 01:30:57,201 --> 01:30:58,327 And he said, um... 1346 01:30:59,370 --> 01:31:00,538 "I want to throw... 1347 01:31:01,414 --> 01:31:02,957 and I want to see if hurts." 1348 01:31:03,040 --> 01:31:05,293 I said, "Well, what if it hurts?" 1349 01:31:05,877 --> 01:31:09,130 And he said "Then I stop, I’ll retire." 1350 01:31:10,756 --> 01:31:12,675 I said, "Okay, throw." 1351 01:31:12,967 --> 01:31:14,302 He threw, it hurt. 1352 01:31:24,312 --> 01:31:27,523 [Chien-Ming] Your body has to take on what you want it to do. 1353 01:31:27,607 --> 01:31:28,649 But now... 1354 01:31:29,442 --> 01:31:31,319 my body is getting old. 1355 01:31:31,402 --> 01:31:32,862 For now... 1356 01:31:34,071 --> 01:31:36,365 there’s some discomfort when I throw. 1357 01:31:36,490 --> 01:31:38,534 You’d ask yourself, why should I... 1358 01:31:40,077 --> 01:31:42,330 keep throwing with this pain? 1359 01:31:42,872 --> 01:31:43,956 But sometimes... 1360 01:31:45,124 --> 01:31:46,500 it feels fine again. 1361 01:31:46,584 --> 01:31:48,920 So I would say, I can still throw, why stop? 1362 01:32:17,573 --> 01:32:19,784 One more time, really stretch it, 1363 01:32:19,867 --> 01:32:21,577 really stretch it. 1364 01:32:21,661 --> 01:32:22,495 Okay? 1365 01:32:22,995 --> 01:32:26,040 [Randy] He just kept showing up every day. 1366 01:32:26,123 --> 01:32:29,669 We’re just taking a day at a time and see how far we get. 1367 01:32:29,752 --> 01:32:30,711 And maybe... 1368 01:32:31,754 --> 01:32:32,755 Maybe he’ll make it back. 1369 01:32:32,880 --> 01:32:34,340 I wouldn’t be surprised, 1370 01:32:34,924 --> 01:32:36,008 I’d be thrilled, 1371 01:32:36,092 --> 01:32:37,593 wouldn’t be surprised. 1372 01:32:38,219 --> 01:32:39,303 Maybe he won’t. 1373 01:32:43,683 --> 01:32:45,309 [thud] 1374 01:33:00,533 --> 01:33:02,618 [Randy] Since he was a boy, since he was a little boy, 1375 01:33:02,702 --> 01:33:04,453 all he’s ever known was throwing a baseball. 1376 01:33:04,537 --> 01:33:06,163 I don’t think he wants to give that up. 1377 01:33:07,498 --> 01:33:10,001 And I think that it’s hard for him to imagine 1378 01:33:10,084 --> 01:33:13,921 what his life would be like after that if he didn’t have that. 1379 01:33:22,680 --> 01:33:25,099 It will be really hard for me not to throw again. 1380 01:33:30,938 --> 01:33:35,818 Sometimes, I just want to go outside, find a friend and throw around... 1381 01:33:38,571 --> 01:33:41,657 would want to reach for that baseball.