"Kim Heechul at Heechul Kim Stadium?" Looking like Taiwan upside down, happening → turned out to be 'MLB Legend' Wang Chenming

*This content was translated by AI.

"Why is Super Junior Heechul Kim (43) at a baseball stadium?"

Ahead of the opening of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March, the Taiwanese baseball community has heated up with an unexpected "lookalike" controversy. This is because Wang Chen-ming (46), the national team's bullpen coach who is a symbol of Taiwanese baseball and a "MLB legend," has become an issue with his appearance similar to that of the "Korean idol" Heechul Kim.

According to a report by Taiwanese media FTV on the 23rd, a video of the training of the Taiwanese national team, which was recently released on the official social media channel of the Taiwan Professional Baseball (CPBL), was the beginning. Coach Wang Chenming, who came to the stadium last in the video, passed in front of the camera with a long wavy hairstyle and a calm expression.

The video was overturned by various Taiwanese communities, including SNS. Many netizens saw coach Wang Chen-ming and responded, "I thought it was Kim Hee-chul." Taiwanese fans are responding cheerfully, saying, "Isn't the space star a full-time pitcher?" "It's like a swollen Heechul Kim," and "It feels like an unmanaged (?) version of a Heechul Kim."

In fact, Wang Chenming is a national hero of Taiwanese baseball. He was a right-hander who played in the major leagues from 2005 to 2016. In particular, he is Taiwan's national hero who won 19 games for two consecutive years as a member of the New York Yankees in the 2006 and 2007 seasons. After a total of 174 games (126 starts) in the major leagues with 68 wins, 34 losses and a 4.36 ERA, he returned to Taiwan and spent the last years of his career. After retiring, he began his leadership career in earnest from the 2019 season after serving as a guest coach in the 2018 season. Currently, he is a pitching coach at the Jungshin Brothers and is in charge of the national team's bullpen coach at 2026 WBC following 2023 WBC.

Taiwan's national team is aiming to recover its pride at the 2026 WBC. The coaching staff, led by Wang Chenming, is said to be making all-out efforts to strengthen the mound as they were eliminated at the bottom of Group A at the 2023 WBC by Cuba, Italy, the Netherlands and Panama. In particular, Coach Wang is focusing on instilling game management know-how and psychological stability in junior pitchers based on his abundant major league experience. In particular, at the 2026 WBC, South Korea and Taiwan are fiercely competing for second place in Group C.

Baseball fans around the world are paying attention to how the Taiwanese national team, which includes Wang Chenming, who has become the center of attention not only for his career but also for his unexpected "lookalike" issue, will perform at the tournament.

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*This content was translated by AI.