When Chien-Ming Wang took the mound for the Yankees in Houston, on June 15, 2008, he was a bona fide ace in pinstripes. After a strong rookie season in 2005, when he pitched to a 105 ERA+ and averaged well over six innings per appearance (116.1 IP over 18 games, with 17 games started), Wang was a workhorse for New York.
In his sophomore season of 2006, he finished second in American League Cy Young Award voting to Johan Santana. Between that year and the next, he won a combined 38 games while throwing 417.