On an evening New York Harbor was crowded with ships from around the world, perhaps it was fitting the Staten Island Yankees had Chien-Ming Wang ready to take the mound.
While tall ships slid up the Hudson River as part of today’s Independence Day festivities, the Baby Bombers were set to unleash their own warship from afar against the cross-town rival Queens Kings, during the first-ever series between the NY-Penn League rivals.
But there would be no fireworks, no packed house and no game for the Yanks as rain moved in, putting a damp end to this scaled-down Subway Series.
Wang, from Taiwan, is known to most of his teammates and fans as “Tiger” – as in Woods. Because the famous golfer’s mother is also Taiwanese, when Wang came to the United States the Asian media gave him the nickname so he would be more recognizable.
Tiger Wang came to Staten Island as a free agent in May. He speaks no English and relies on the aid of his interpreter, Dan Mock, to communicate with teammates and coaches.
“He doesn’t get nervous before games,” said Mock, a California native hired by the Yankees to translate for the 21-year-old pitcher.
While Wang is ferocious against opposing batters, off the field he possesses an entirely different demeanor, however, as familiar voices and places are hard to come by.
“He gets homesick,” Mock said. “Not like sad or anything, but he misses home.”
Outside of his translating responsibilities, Mock has befriended Wang, going beyond his job as an interpreter to show him some of the ropes off the diamond.
In their spare time, Mock said he and Wang try to keep busy – without a the luxury of a television in their apartment. Little things, such as yesterday’s errands, which included opening a checking account, would be close to impossible for Wang without assistance.
“He knows very little [English],” Mock said. “He knows ‘Hi,’ and ‘How are you,’ but that’s about it.”
Wang said he likes New York and that the biggest difference between baseball here and Taiwan is in the power of the hitters he faces.
Because of his difficulty communicating verbally, the Yankees have had to rely on human nature in dealing with their Tiger.
“I use a lot of body language,” Jeff Gates, who was slated to catch Wang last night said.
While verbal communication with his new teammates and coaches comes as a great strain for Wang, the language of baseball spills from his right arm like poetry.
“He’s got a great sinker that I love to catch,” Gates said.
In his first professional season in the U.S., Wang is 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA.
“He’s a very intelligent pitcher,” Gates said. “He knows the game of baseball.”
Last night he learned that sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. And sometimes, as they say, it rains.
