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After three straight years with no Hall of Fame inductees, Chinese League Baseball added three pitchers in 2026 upon their debuts. Yuandong Yang was the headliner at 93.0% and was joined by Wei Huang at 80.1% and Linagyi Shi at 79.4%. Fellow SP Liqiang Yang was the best returner at 55.7% on his fourth ballot. No one else was above 50% with the best position player being SS Jiyu Liu with a 48.4% debut.



Dropped after ten failed ballots was SP Hongtao Chen, who peaked at 40.0% in 2020 and ended with 32.9%. His tallies were somewhat weakened by his final five seasons coming in MLB. Chen pitched 11 years with Harbin and helped them win the China Series in 2003, posting a 136-136 record, 2.28 ERA, 2537.1 innings, 3058 strikeouts, 334 walks, 109 ERA+, 77 FIP-, and 59.4 WAR. Chen had a nice run, but he wasn’t overly dominant and had totals more appropriate for the Hall of Pretty Good.



Yuandong Wang – Starting Pitcher – Zhengzhou Zips – 93.0% First Ballot

Yuandong Wang was a 6’4’’, 195 pound left-handed pitcher from Zhengzhou, China, a prefecture-level city of more than 12.6 million people. Wang had a rare six-pitch arsenal, leading to very effective stuff. He also had rock solid control along with average-to-above average movement. Wang’s fastball peaked in the 96-98 mph range, although his curveball was generally viewed as his most dangerous pitch. He also had reliably nice results from his splitter, forkball, and slider while also having a changeup as a sixth option.

Wang’s stamina was good and his durability was outstanding throughout an 18-year career. His ability to hold runners was rock solid, although his general defense was lackluster. Not many could outwork Wang, whose sparkplug work ethic and adaptability were both top notch. He became one of the most popular pitchers of his era on two different continents.

By the 2007 CLB Draft, Wang was right at the top of the boards for many teams. He’d be picked fifth overall by his hometown Zhengzhou, which is where his entire nine-year run in China took place. Wang was a part-time starter as a rookie with mixed results in the regular season. He did notably throw a two-hit shutout in his one playoff start as the Zips ultimately fell in the semifinal. That effort though earned Wang a full-time spot in the rotation for 2009.

Wang delivered with his first Pitcher of the Year win, leading the Northern League in wins at 21-6. It was his first of seven seasons above 6.5 WAR for Zhengzhou, pushing them to a China Series trip where they lost to Xiamen. Wang tossed 37.1 playoff innings with a 2.17 ERA, 3-2 record, 39 strikeouts, and 115 ERA+. He had similar playoff stats the next year as the Zips took first in the standings but fell in the round robin. Zhengzhou fell off after that and stayed below .500 for the rest of Wang’s tenure.

It certainly wasn’t his fault they couldn’t win, as Wang took Pitcher of the Year again in 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2016. He became the third to win the award 5+ times in CLB history and is one of only four to do so as of 2037. Wang also finished third in 2013’s voting. He had five seasons with 300+ strikeouts and led the league four times. He was the WARlord in both 2011 (9.3) and 2014 (9.6).

The 2014 effort was his best by many metrics with his highest WAR, lone CLB ERA title and lowest ERA (1.25), highest strikeout tally (366), and best WHIP (0.72). In 2010, Wang had a no-hitter on May 16 with 15 strikeouts and four walks versus Shijiazhuang. On September 15, he had a 20 strikeout performance versus Xi’an. Wang tossed his second no-hitter on April 13, 2011 with 14 Ks and one walk facing Jinan.

Wang also got some world attention in the World Baseball Championship, representing China from 2013-18 and in 2020. Over 101 innings, Wang had a 7-5 record, 2.85 ERA, 142 strikeouts, 35 walks, and 2.0 WAR. In 2020, he tossed a n-hitter in an 11 strikeout, four walk effort facing Malaysia.

His best showing was in China’s 2016 world championship win with a 2.20 ERA over 28.2 innings, 40 strikeouts, and 4 quality starts. He notably had a big shutout in their semifinal sweep of Brazil, which put Wang on the radar specifically there. It was known that Wang was entering a contract year and wasn’t likely to return to a struggling Zhengzhou.

After the 2016 season, the now 30-year old Wang left for free agency and declared his willingness to entertain all offers. This ended an impressive CLB career after nine seasons with a 128-71 record, 1.62 ERA, 2100 innings, 2632 strikeouts, 397 walks, 88 complete games, 33 shutouts, 149 ERA+, 64 FIP-, and 62.4 WAR. While Wang was sad to leave his hometown team, everyone understood and cheered him on from afar. Once he returned home after his playing days were done, Zhengzhou quickly retired his #12 uniform and honored him as one of the city’s favorite sons.

The brief CLB career keeps him away from top spots on the accumulation leaderboards, although he is 35^th in pitching WAR, 41^st in strikeouts, and 90^th in wins as of 2037. Among all CLB pitchers with 1000+ innings, Wang ranks 8^th in ERA, 24^th in WHIP (0.81), and 16^th in opponent’s OPS (.493). His triple slash of .180/.223/.271 ranks 18^th/27^th/18^th. Wang also is 37^th in K/9 (11.28) and 17^th in H/9 (5.64).

Very few voters dinged Wang for only pitching nine years in China since his dominance was so absolute. Most also gave him at least some credit for his Beisbol Sudamerica run, although many wonders if he might have made a run as CLB’s greatest-ever pitcher had he stayed. Five Pitcher of the Year awards in nine years might not make you the GOAT, but it makes you a Hall of Fame lock, headlining the 2026 class for Chinese League Baseball at 93.0%.

Wang made the move to Brazil and signed a six-year, $64,800,000 deal with Recife. Skeptics thought he might underwhelm in BSA having to adjust to a much-higher scoring league and a league perceived to have more talent. Wang quickly silenced any skeptics when he debuted with BSA’s first pitching Triple Crown since 2002 and only the 12^th in league history.

With a 20-9 record, 2.26 ERA, 311 strikeouts, and league-best 8.4 WAR, Wang won Southern Cone League Pitcher of the Year. Recife was already a contender at this point, having made seven playoff trips from 2009-16 with three pennants and one Copa Sudamerica win. They got back to the LCS in 2017, but were ousted by Concepcion. Wang did struggle in his first BSA postseason with a 5.06 ERA over 26.2 innings. He also allowed eight runs in only 8.1 innings in the 2018 playoffs as the Retrievers lost in the divisional series.

Wang’s regular season dominance continued, leading again in Ks from 2018-20. In that stretch, he also led twice more in WAR and wins. He was second in 2018’s Pitcher of the Year voting, then won the honor in 2019 and 2020. As of 2037, Wang is one of only nine in all of baseball history to win Pitcher of the Year 8+ times. He and fellow Chinese legend Chuchuan Cao are the only pitchers to win the award thrice in multiple leagues, as Cao had done it in CLB and the Oceania Baseball Association.

In 2019, Wang made up for his initial postseason failings for Recife. He was 3-0 in five starts with a 2.50 ERA over 39.2 innings, 41 strikeouts, and 1.7 WAR, helping the Retrievers to a Copa Sudamerica win over Trujillo. He even had a two-hit shutout in the LCS against Buenos Aires. Wang kept rolling into the Baseball Grand Championship with a 1.82 ERA in 34.2 innings, 3-2 record, 36 strikeouts, 205 ERA+, and 1.3 WAR. Recife finished 14-5 in the BGC, second only to Tabriz’s 15-4.

Wang was respectable in his later playoff trips, although Recife had divisional series losses in both 2020 and 2021. In total, he had a 3.80 ERA over 97 innings, 6-3 record, 107 strikeouts, 93 ERA+, and 2.4 WAR for the Retrievers. His fifth year with Recife did see a noticeable drop in production, going from ERAs in the low twos prior to a 3.22 in 2011. The Retrievers opted to void the team option final year of the deal, sending Wang back to free agency at age 35.

For Recife, Wang posted a 95-33 record, 2.46 ERA, 1290 innings, 1482 strikeouts, 119 walks, 125/162 quality starts, 146 ERA+, and 36.6 WAR. He certainly delivered on that big contract and was remembered fondly by Retrievers fans. Wang stayed in Beisbol Sudamerica and ended up with Maturin on a three-year, $32,700,000 deal.

Wang’s velocity dropped significantly by the end of the Recife run and he peaked in the 89-91 mph range for the Makos. His control was still rock solid and he was passable in two seasons with a 26-18 record, 3.96 ERA, 425 innings, 309 strikeouts, 107 ERA+, and 6.1 WAR. Wang didn’t meet the vesting criteria for the third year of the deal, returning to free agency for 2024 at age 37.

In 2024, Wang signed with Barranquilla and posted a 4.76 ERA over 204 innings and 1.9 WAR. He allowed three runs (two earned) in 4.2 playoff innings as the Blues lost in the Bolivar League Championship Series. Wang joined Barquisimeto in 2025 with similar results on a 4.30 ERA over 142.1 innings and 1.7 WAR. The Black Cats released Wang in the summer and he finished out the 2025 season unemployed. He decided to retire that winter at age 39.

Wang’s BSA tenure had a 141-71 record, 3.12 ERA, 2061.1 innings, 2038 strikeouts, 275 walks, 175/262 quality starts, 73 complete game, 20 shutouts, 124 ERA+, and 46.3 WAR. Once you’re inducted into any league’s Hall of Fame, you’re placed into a “global” hall and removed from ballots of any other leagues you’re eligible for.

Wang probably wouldn’t have made BSA’s between only pitching nine years and being subpar in the back-end. Still, he’s one of the few in world history worthy of genuine consideration for two separate Halls of Fame. Wang had three Pitcher of the Year awards, a Triple Crown, and a Cup win, which was certainly quite the haul.

For his combined pro career, Wang had a 269-142 record, 2.36 ERA, 4161.1 innings, 4670 strikeouts, 654 walks, 395/524 quality starts, 161 complete games, 53 shutouts, 135 ERA+, 73 FIP-, and 108.7 WAR. Despite his accolades, Wang wasn’t quite dominant and/or tenured enough to crack any of the world top 50 leaderboards. That just goes to show how stiff the competition can be though for all of baseball history. With eight POTYs across two leagues, Wang certainly earns a mention among the absolute best aces in the world in the 2010s and early 2020s.