- Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2008 Topps #300.
- Player Name, position, team: Chien-Ming Wang, pitcher, New York Yankees.
- Major League Debut: April 30, 2005.
- Last Line of Statistics: 2007 stats (Yankees): 30 G, 199.1 IP, 19-7, 84 R, 82 H, 104 S0, 59 BB, 30 GS, 1 CG, 0 SHO, 0 SV, 1.29 WHIP, 3.70 ERA.
- Any special information about player: Signed with the Yankees as a Free Agent 05/05/2000. Bats: right. Throws: right.
- Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 8. This is his fifth Topps card.
- Blurb on the back: "Wang is remarkable," Joe Torre says of the sinkerballing '06-07 MLB wins leader (38). "He's sort of like a knuckleball pitcher You know what's coming and there's really nothing you can do about it."
- Commentary: Although the design of the 2008 Topps set has given it the moniker "The Circus Set," you have to admit that after the all-black bordered set the year before, the colorful circles that hold the team name was a welcome sight for those who collect by team. The design was so good that even eponymous football and basketball cards Topps made that year utilized the same design element. The only thing I didn't really like about the design was the fact that the Topps logo is in a dip, taking away space from the picture. I guess that makes it unique. Chien-Ming Wang is one of 8 MLB players who were born in Taiwan. While not the first Taiwanese-born player to play in the majors (that would have been Chin-Feng Chen, Wang was the most successful pitcher to come out of the country. By the time this card came out, Wang was on his way to being one of the best pitchers in baseball. Between 2006-2007, the man went 38-13, with an ERA of 3.67, 180 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.301. He even took second in the 2006 Cy Young voting and was an MVP candidate. He was well on his way in 2008, starting the season 5-0. It was a couple of injury that occurred in Wang's right foot during an interleague game (as he was running the bases no less) that derailed the rest of his season. He finished the year with an 8-2 record, an ERA of 4.07, and struck out 54 batters. The injuries seemed to cause him to alter his pitching delivery, which caused him to struggle. Taken off the rotation in 2009, he was shut down for the year on July 30, missing out on participating in the Yankee's World Series run. He signed on with the Washington Nationals in 2010, spending most of his season in the minors rehabbing. He finally debuted with the team in 2011, but injuries have limited his playing time since. He is presently a free agent coming into the 2013 season, and he was recently named to the Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) team that will compete in the World Baseball Classic.
- Beckett value: $0.30-$0.75.
- How many cards of this player do I own?: 57 cards.
Sincerely,
JayBee Anama
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