Wang Chien-ming (王建民) lost his salary arbitration case against the New York Yankees on Friday and will earn US$4 million instead of his request for US$4.6 million.
Thursday's hearing was the first for the Yankees since Mariano Rivera lost in 2000. The decision left the Yankees' payroll at a major league high of US$206.4 million for 22 signed players.
"He's a special talent. It's just, really, about where he slots in a market of special players as a first-time eligible," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "Based on where the market is ... there was really no room to go any higher than 4 [million dollars]. It would have been out-of-market."
Wang went 19-7 with a 3.70 ERA last year, his second straight season with 19 wins, but lost twice as the Cleveland Indians eliminated the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs. He made US$489,500.
Even with the loss, Wang will earn the second-highest salary for a pitcher eligible for arbitration for the first time, trailing only the US$4.35 million Dontrelle Willis received under an agreement with Florida in 2006.
"The Yankees only go to arbitration when we think the player and agent's demand is over the proper market," team president Randy Levine said in a statement. "This should not be viewed as `a loss' for Wang Chien-ming. He is a valuable member of our team and we felt that we had reflected this in our filing number."
Wang's agent, Alan Nero, said his side tried to impress on the arbitration panel the pitcher's value to the Yankees and Major League Baseball in expanding the market for the team and the sport in Taiwan.
"The case did focus around Willis," Nero said. "The whole case should have not been about Willis because our midpoint was below Willis."
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
FIVE-YEAR WINDOW? A defense institute CEO said a timeline for a potential Chinese invasion was based on expected ‘tough measures’ when Xi Jinping seeks a new term Most Taiwanese are willing to defend the nation against a Chinese attack, but the majority believe Beijing is unlikely to invade within the next five years, a poll showed yesterday. The poll carried out last month was commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a Taipei-based think tank, and released ahead of Double Ten National Day today, when President William Lai (賴清德) is to deliver a speech. China maintains a near-daily military presence around Taiwan and has held three rounds of war games in the past two years. CIA Director William Burns last year said that Chinese President Xi Jinping
MAKING PROGRESS: Officials and industry leaders who participated in a defense forum last month agreed that Taiwan has the capabilities to work with the US, the report said Taiwan’s high-tech defense industry is to enhance collaboration with the US to produce weapons needed for self-defense, the Ministry of National Defense said in a report to the Legislative Yuan. Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞) discussed building regional and global industry alliances with US partners at the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Philadelphia held from Sept. 22 to Tuesday last week, the ministry said in the declassified portion of the report. The visit contributed to maintaining bilateral ties, facilitated Taiwan’s efforts to acquire weapons and equipment, and strengthened the resilience of the two nation’s defense industries, it said. Taiwan-US ties
CONCERNS: Allowing the government, political parties or the military to own up to 10 percent of a large media firm is a risk Taiwan cannot afford to take, a lawyer said A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator has proposed amendments to allow the government, political parties and the military to indirectly invest in broadcast media, prompting concerns of potential political interference. Under Article 1 of the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法), the government and political parties — as well as foundations established with their endowments, and those commissioned by them — cannot directly or indirectly invest in satellite broadcasting businesses. A similar regulation is in the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法). “The purpose of banning the government, political parties and the military from investing in the media is to prevent them from interfering