A Taiwanese American woman named Cyndi has come forward to tell her side of the affair with Washington Nationals pitcher Chien-ming Wang after Wang revealed his side to Taiwanese reporters at a press conference Monday.
Intimate photos of Wang and Cyndi, along with news of the affair, were fed to Taiwan’s Next magazine, according to an interview with the 29-year-old Taiwanese American that appears in its current issue. Chien-ming Wang has been one of Taiwan’s biggest celebrities since his three years as the Yankees’ ace starting pitcher.
She ended the affair last October because she felt sorry for Wang’s family, Cyndi revealed in the interview.
She said the affair began in the summer of 2010 after she had suffered a difficult breakup in New York where she had been living. She and a friend went to Florida on vacation and met Wang at a karaoke bar. She didn’t recognize Wang as the former Yankees pitcher and he told her that he was a car dealer named Jia En. Wang admitted to having a girlfriend of five to six years but continued to text and email Cyndi on a daily basis, she said.
It was only after she fell in love with him that Wang confessed his true identity, she said. She was shocked to discover that he ahd been married for several years and a had a child. Their affair became more discrete even as it became more intense.
They called each other “Mock” and “Koala”. While in training with the Naitonals at Viera, Florida Wang regularly took Cyndi out to breakfast or meet her after practice. They went to beaches together and traveled to Las Vegas, Arizona and Alabama. They texted each other frequently while they were apart.
Wang wanted Cyndi to “work” for him by “getting enough sleep and shopping happily.” Cyndi said she insisted on paying her own way and returned designer bags Wang would send her.
The person who fed the story to the media had sought a $10,000 fee, reported Apple Daily, a Hong Kong-based newspaper. Wang’s agent said that his representatives had been in touch with Cyndi about a potential blackmail case but didn’t indicate whether she had any part in breaking the news of their relationship.
“Two years ago I made a very serious mistake,” said Wang, 32, speaking in Mandarin to Taiwanese media during a news conference Monday at the Nationals’ training facility in Viera, Florida. “I will not and cannot excuse myself for this mistake. To my family and friends who love and support me, I will not even dare to ask for your forgiveness but I want to express my most deep apology.”
Wang has been married since 2003 and has a three-year-old son.
In trying to explain how he fell into the relationship with the Taiwanese American woman, Wang spoke of the growing pressure he had been experiencing, especially after his foot surgery in 2009.
“I was so depressed at the time,” he said. “Besides the long road to rehabilitation, the only thing I could do is wait.”
He began frequenting a bar in Viera in 2009 after losing his contract with the New York Yankees. He was soon signed by the Washington Nationals but said he remained uncertain about his future because he had not yet recovered from surgery. He met a Taiwanese-American woman working at the bar and entered into a relationship with her.
He dated the woman for some months before feeling burdened by a sense of guilt. He decided to end the relationship but his girlfriend and two of her friends told Wang that they would publicize the affair and release lewd photos to the public if he broke off the relationship. Wang said he felt he had no choice but to continue the relationship until the beginning of 2011.
“I didn’t want to hurt this woman, but after weighing the situation, I decided it is even more important not to hurt my family,” he said. “That is why I decided to come forward today and face my own mistake.
“Because of my lack of will, I have hurt my wife, my family and this woman. There are no words to describe how deeply sorry I am to have hurt you all.”
“I am willing to pay for my misconduct, but I cannot let my family be hurt again,” said Wang, breaking into tears during the press conference. He asked the media to leave his innocent family out of the incident.
Wang became one of Taiwan’s top celebrities after a series of impressive starts that effectively made him the New York Yankees ace pitcher for three seasons. Through the 2008 season Wang compiled a 46-15 record over the past three season, the third-highest winning percentage of all starting pitchers. But on June 15 he was pulled from a game against the Houston Astros after injuring his right foot while running bases, something he rarely did as an American League pitcher.
The injury was later diagnosed as a torn Lisfranc ligament of the right foot and a partial tear of the peroneus longus of the right foot. It didn’t require surgery but Wang was forced to use crutches and wear a protective boot. He was out for the rest of the season.
After struggling with control during the first part of the 2009 season Wang was placed on the DL on July 15. On July 30 he had season-ending shoulder surgery necessitated by his effort at compensating for his foot injury by raising his release point five inches. On December 12, 2009 Wang became a free agent when he didn’t receive an offer from the Yankees.
On February 19, 2010 Wang was signed to a $2 million deal (which included up to $3 million in performance bonuses) by the Washington Nationals. But his rehabilitation wasn’t progressing well and Wang was unable to play that season.
On December 16, 2010 the Nationals re-signed Wang to a a one-year, $1 million contract with $4 million worth of performance bonuses. On June 27 he was assigned to the Nationals farm team, the Hagerstown Suns. Wang finally made his Nationals debut on July 29 and managed to rack up 11 starts for a 4–3 record with a decent 4.04 ERA.
On November 4, 2011 the Nationals re-signed Wang to a one-year, $4 million contract. But the injury-prone Wang was placed on the DL again on March 15 after suffering a tear to his left hamstring. Wang made his first rehab appearance on April 23, allowing one run on five hits and no walks while striking out three against the Tigers’ spring training team. Wang appeared to have regained his velocity and was throwing well during spring training. He has been called one of the Nationals’ top-three starting pitchers but may have trouble finding a starter slot. Ross Detwiler, the number five starter who was to have been bumped to make room for Wang, has posted a 0.56 ERA during his first three starts, the 2nd best in the majors.
