Byung-Hyun Kim

From SoSH

Byung-Hyun Kim pitched for the Red Sox from mid-2003 to the end of spring training in 2005. One of the more controversial players in recent memory, Kim still sparks relentless debates, much like Dan Duquette and Roger Clemens.

Contents 1 Arizona Years 2 Boston Era 2.1 Bullpen Contributor 2.2 The Flip and Downfall 2.3 Suckage 3 Post-Boston 4 Awards 5 Transactions 6 External Links

Arizona Years

A highly-regarded Korean pitcher, Kim signed with Arizona in 1999 and quickly moved through the minors, putting up good relief numbers in AA-El Paso and AAA-Tucson before making his major league debut. In his first two years, Kim was a mediocre reliever, putting up fantastic strikeout numbers (10.2 K/9 in 1999, 14.1 in 2000), but struggling with control, so he posted 4.61 and 4.46 ERAs respectively.

In 2001, Byung-Hyun Kim would form his legacy, ironically, for both his supporters and his detractors. He had one of the best relief seasons in the majors, throwing 98 innings with a 2.94 ERA at only 22 years of age. However, he infamously had a disastrous World Series when he allowed a game-tying HR in the 9th inning of game 3 and the winning HR in the 10th. Then, he allowed another 2-out 9th-inning game-tying HR the next night. While a good case can be made that part of his problems were a result of his overuse by manager Bob Brenly, his future experiences with Boston showed that he was clearly not the most normal of players, a factor that may have played into his struggles.

Kim bounced back in 2002, posting an even better relief season as he greatly improved his control and lowered his ERA to 2.04 in 84 innings. The following season, the Diamondbacks attempted to put him in the rotation, where he had decent results: in 7 starts he had a 3.56 ERA in 43 innings, albeit with lesser peripheral numbers than he reliever days. However, he was traded to Boston on May 29 for Shea Hillenbrand, where he pitched primarily in relief, while also making 5 spot starts.

Boston Era

Bullpen Contributor

In Boston, he threw up a 3.18 ERA over 80 innings and was instrumental in solidifying a shaky Red Sox bullpen that had included Todd Jones, Ramiro Mendoza, Chad Fox, Scott Sauerbeck, Robert Person and others who failed to contribute. Kim did not allow an earned run in September and was a key cog in getting the Sox to the playoffs.

The Flip and Downfall

The 2003 playoffs would again not be kind to Kim. Already unpopular in Boston, Kim flipped off fans in Fenway after being booed at the start of Game 3. To make matters worse, after allowing two baserunners and recording two outs in the 9th, Alan Embree came in and allowed a game-tying single to Erubiel Durazo (the run being charged to Kim) and Oakland would go on to win the game.

Suckage

2004 was a completely lost season for Kim as he was injured in spring training and was never the same pitcher. He made a few bad starts for Boston before being sent to Pawtucket and struggled there as well. Eventually, he was diagnosed with the perplexing "muscular imbalance". It was never clear what exactly the problem was, although it seemed that he had become at odds with many of his teammates and that he had fallen out of favor with the front office. Mental or not, he was not the same pitcher, throwing with a noted loss of velocity and control. As his unpopularity reached unpredecedented heights even for Kim, he was shipped to Colorado at the end of spring training in 2005 for Chris Narveson and Charles Johnson (Johnson was promptly released).

Post-Boston

Kim split 2005 between the Rockies rotation and bullpen, throwing 148.0 innings for a mediocre 4.86 ERA. He was better than 2004, but his control badly regressed to his early career levels, but this time without the gaudy strikeout totals. Re-upped for 2006, he started the season on the DL, but quietly has improved his K/BB numbers greatly through early July, although his ERA has stayed the same. Nevertheless, he's unlikely to return to his all-star Arizona form and even more unlikely ever to see the light of a major-market team again.

On May 13, 2007, Kim was traded to the Florida Marlins for Jorge Julio. Although he did well with the Marlins (5-3, 4.16 ERA, 68 SO in 13 Marlins starts), he was DFA'ed and returned to Arizona in August.

Awards

• 2002 National League All-Star.

Transactions

• February 19, 1999: Signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks as an amateur free agent.
• May 29, 2003: Traded by the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Boston Red Sox for Shea Hillenbrand.
• March 30, 2005: Traded by the Boston Red Sox with cash to the Colorado Rockies for Charles Johnson and Chris Narveson.
• October 31, 2005: Granted Free Agency.
• January 7, 2006: Signed as a Free Agent with the Colorado Rockies.
• May 13, 2007: Traded by the Colorado Rockies to the Florida Marlins for Jorge Julio.
• August 3, 2007: Selected off waivers by the Arizona Diamondbacks from the Florida Marlins.
• August 22, 2007: Released by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
• August 25, 2007: Signed as a Free Agent with the Florida Marlins.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis