Sheng-Wei Wang

From BR Bullpen

Sheng-Wei Wang (王勝偉)

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 5' 11", Weight 165 lb.

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Sheng-Wei Wang is an infielder in the CPBL.

Wang was 2 for 13 with 2 walks playing for Taiwan in the 2004 Haarlem Baseball Week. He played for Taiwan in the 2005 Asian Championship and 2005 Baseball World Cup. In the latter event, he performed very well in a part-time role, hitting .417/.462/.833 with 4 runs in 5 games; the big negative was 4 errors and a .692 fielding percentage at third base. He also played in the 2005 Alaska Baseball League. In the 2006 Haarlem Baseball Week, Wang was 4 for 20 with a walk, one run and no RBI in a poor showing. He appeared in the 2006 World University Championship.

The Brother Elephants drafted Wang in the first round of the 2006 CPBL Draft. He hit .379 for the Blue minor league team in 2007, leading the Taiwanese minor league. He was back with the national team for the 2008 Final Olympic Qualification Tournament, going 0 for 2 with a run while backing up Chih-Sheng Lin at shortstop; Taiwan won a spot in the 2008 Olympics with their performance. Promoted to the Elephants for 2008, he hit .257/.344/.339 in his debut, fielding .949. He stole 24 bases in 32 tries, leading the CPBL in swipes, one ahead of teammate Cheng-Min Peng. He also won his first CPBL Gold Glove as a shortstop, and he attended the 2008 CPBL All-Star Game; he was 0-for-2. In the 2008 Taiwan Series, Wang hit .280/.333/.320 but the Elephants were beaten by the Uni-President Lions.

Wang hit into double plays in both of his at-bats in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. On October 11, 2009, he became the fist player to hit a leadoff inside-the-park home run against Ko-Chien Lin. He also attended the 2009 CPBL All-Star Game, and he was 0-for-3. Wang ended up hitting .305/.387/.437 with a league-leading 42 steals. He was 10th in batting (.061 behind Wu-Hsiung Pan), 7th in runs (19 behind Yi-Chuan Lin), 2nd in triples (2 behind Chien-Ming Pan) and 10th in hits (58 behind Wilton Veras). He hit .152/.237/.273 with a homer in the 2009 Taiwan Series, and the Brothers lost to the Lions in 7 games again. That homer was a game-winning solo shot against Chien-San Kao in the 17th inning of Game 6, and it was the first extra-inning home run in Taiwan Series history.

The Taitung native slumped to .241/.289/.329 in 2010 but he still won the Gold Glove again. He attended the 2010 CPBL All-Star Game, and he was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Wang won his first Taiwan Series title as the Brothers swept the Sinon Bulls in the 2010 Taiwan Series, but he was 2-for-16. He bounced back in 2011, batting .281/.341/.342 and won his first Best Ten and third Gold Glove. Wang was 1-for-2 in the 2011 CPBL All-Star Game. He also got the 100,000th hit of the CPBL on May 22 against the Lions.

Wang was still a solid shortstop in 2012, and he hit .285/.350/.390 with 15 steals. He was 3rd in steals (7 behind Cheng-Wei Chang and Chih-Hao Chang), and he also won the Gold Glove again. Wang became the 17th player to have 100 career steals on May 11, and he was the fourth Elephants player to reach this benchmark. Wang then represented Taiwan in the 2012 Asian Championship, and he was 8-for-19 to help Taiwan win Silver. His batting line fell to .249/.298/.319 with 29 steals in 2013, and he led the league in both strikeouts and steals. He also attended the 2013 CPBL All-Star Game, and he was 3-for-4 with 3 RBI. He won his second Best Ten as a shortstop.

In 2014, Wang hit .254/.305/.300 with 21 steals, and he ranked 3rd in steals (10 behind Chih-Ping Lin). He won the Gold Glove again, and he was 0-for-2 in the 2014 CPBL All-Star Game. Wang struggled again in the 2014 Taiwan Series, hitting .167/.286/.333 and the CTBC Brothers (the Elephants had changed their name by now) lost to the Lamigo Monkeys in 5 games. Wang hit for a cycle on July 31, 2015, and he was the first Brothers player and shortstop to do it. He ended up hitting .291/.333/.386 with 16 steals in 2015, and he won his 6th Gold Glove. In the 2015 Taiwan Series, Wang hit .308/.357/.308 but the Brothers were beaten by the Monkeys in 7 games.

Wang won another Gold Glove in 2016, and his batting line was .300/.365/.419. He was 4-for-21 in the 2016 Taiwan Series, and the Brothers lost to the EDA Rhinos in 6 games. He then made it onto Taiwan's roster for the 2017 World Baseball Classic, but he didn't get a single at-bat. Wang slumped to .266/.325/.359 in 2017, but he still led the league with 20 steals and won a Gold Glove. He collected his 1,000 career hit on May 3, and he also became the second player to have 100 career hit-by-pitches, reaching that mark on June 24 (following Jui-Chang Chen).

The veteran shortstop became the fourth player in the CPBL to steal 200 bases, getting his 200th on May 17, 2018. His batting line was .284/.352/.515 in 65 games in 2018, and he missed a month due to right finger injury. Wang then hit .255/.314/.430 in 2019, and he won his 9th Gold Glove as a shortstop. He became the first player to play 1,200 games as a shortstop, on October 12 against the Lamigo Monkeys. In the 2019 Taiwan Series, Wang hit .300/.364/.750 with 2 homers, but the Brothers still lost to the Monkeys in 5 games. Wang then represented Taiwan in the 2019 Premier 12, and he hit .300/.364/.400.

When Kun-Yu Chiang shined in 2020, Wang lost his spot and he only played 35 games combined in the next two seasons. The Brothers then released him, and the Fubon Guardians picked him up. As their starting shortstop, Wang hit .298/.365/.366 in 2022 and he was named Comeback Player of the Year. He also attended the 2022 CPBL All-Star Games, and he was 2-for-6 with a triple. Wang crushed a solo shot against Kuo-Hao Chiang in 2023 CPBL All-Star Game 2, and he was 2-for-3 in the 2 games. He recorded a .244/.311/.353 batting line in 2023.

Sources[edit]

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