| Byung-hyun Kim | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kim with the Florida Marlins in 2007 | |||||||||||||||
| Pitcher | |||||||||||||||
| Born: (1979-01-19)January 19, 1979 (age 46) Gwangju, South Korea | |||||||||||||||
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |||||||||||||||
| Professional debut | |||||||||||||||
| MLB: May 29, 1999, for the Arizona Diamondbacks | |||||||||||||||
| NPB: 2011, for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | |||||||||||||||
| KBO: May 8, 2012, for the Nexen Heroes | |||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | |||||||||||||||
| MLB: September 28, 2007, for the Florida Marlins | |||||||||||||||
| NPB: 2011, for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | |||||||||||||||
| KBO: October 6, 2015, for the Kia Tigers | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 54–60 | ||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 4.42 | ||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 806 | ||||||||||||||
| Saves | 86 | ||||||||||||||
| NPB statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 0–1 | ||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 2.66 | ||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 18 | ||||||||||||||
| KBO statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 11–23 | ||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 6.19 | ||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 190 | ||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Byung-hyun Kim (Korean: 김병현;Hanja: 金炳賢;Korean pronunciation:[kimbjʌŋçʌn] or[kim][pjʌŋçʌn]; born January 19, 1979), also known as BK Kim,[1] is a South Korean former professionalbaseballpitcher. He had his most successful years with theArizona Diamondbacks and theBoston Red Sox.
Kim is best remembered for his role in the2001 World Series, in which hegave up consecutive ninth-inning leads in both Game 4 and Game 5, taking theloss in Game 4. He went on tosave 36 games for the Diamondbacks in 2002 and 16 for the Red Sox in 2003, and played in the 2002All Star Game. He is the first Korean player to win aWorld Series.[2]
Kim is a 1997 graduate ofGwangju Jeil High School.Jae Seo andHee-seop Choi were Kim's teammates in 1996 and they are very close friends.[3] Named both theMost Valuable Player and Most Valuable Pitcher for the National High School championships inSouth Korea, Kim was selected to the 1996 National Junior Team, then named to the National Team in both 1997 and 1998. In that year, he pitched against theUS Olympic team,striking out 15 batters in 62⁄3 innings. Later, he helped Korea claim the gold medal in theAsian Games held inBangkok, Thailand. Kim attendedSungkyunkwan University's Faculty of Law until 1999.[citation needed]
Kim was signed by theArizona Diamondbacks on February 19, 1999. Kim went 2–0 with 32 strikeouts in 21.1 innings in El Paso (AA) and then went toTucson Sidewinders (AAA), where he posted 2–0 with 21 strikeouts in 17.1 innings. His ability to strike out batters caught the attention of Diamondbacks coaching staff. He was the youngest player in MLB at the time he debuted on May 29 atShea Stadium. He came in to pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning, and after retiringEdgardo Alfonzo andJohn Olerud, struck outMike Piazza and got thesave in the Diamondbacks' 8–7 victory over theNew York Mets.
On June 9, 1999, during a game against theChicago Cubs, a bandage covered in a foreign substance fell from Kim's sleeve after a pitch. He was immediately ejected by umpireEd Montague for possessing the illegal item but was not disciplined further.[4]
In the2000 season, Kim got thecloser role when incumbentMatt Mantei opened the season on thedisabled list. For the year, Kim struck out 111 hitters in just 70.2innings pitched (14.14per nine innings), including 11 out of 12 batters over five games, and twice struck out eight consecutive batters. After his 14 saves and a 1.82ERA over his first 28 appearances, he was demoted to Triple-ATucson at the end of July. Mostly used as astarter to restore his confidence, Kim returned to Arizona a month later. With Mantei reinserted as the closer, Kim pitched as asetup man and also started a game after recording 84relief appearances.
Arizona turned to Kim again as a closer after Mantei was lost to injury for the remaining2001 season. Kim responded with 19 saves, a 2.94 ERA, and 113 strikeouts in 98 innings.
He made his first career postseason appearance in theNLDS Game 3 atBusch Stadium to protect the Diamondbacks' 5–3 lead against theCardinals with the go-ahead run at the plate in the 8th inning. After awalk toAlbert Pujols that loaded the bases, Kim ended the inning with a center-field flyout. In the 9th inning, Kim saved the game with the game-endingdouble play offMark McGwire's bat.
In theNLCS against the Atlanta Braves, Kim worked a scoreless inning in Game 2, in which the Diamondbacks lost. Kim then picked up saves in Games 4 and 5 for the Diamondbacks. Kim entered Game 4 in the 8th inning with the Diamondbacks leading 7–3. However, prior to Kim entering the game, The D-backs had worked themselves into a bases loaded jam with no one out. Kim pitched masterfully in the inning, ending the bases loaded jam with a double play and a lineout. He then retired the next three batters in the 9th inning and picked up the save. The next night, Kim pitched another two shut-out innings and earned the two-inning save that clinched the Diamondbacks' ticket to theWorld Series. Kim became the first pitcher sinceGoose Gossage to earn two-inning saves on back-to-back days in the postseason. In the 2004 postseason,Houston Astros closerBrad Lidge matched Gossage and Kim's feat.[5]
With the Diamondbacks up two games to one going into Game 4 of the World Series, Kim relievedCurt Schilling in the eighth inning with the Diamondbacks leading 3–1. Kim struck outShane Spencer,Scott Brosius,Alfonso Soriano, andBernie Williams and grounded outDerek Jeter. ButPaul O'Neill hit asingle off Kim before Williams' plate appearance andTino Martinez's two-out, two-runhome run tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. With another home run hit off Kim by Jeter in the bottom of the tenth, the Yankees won the game and tied the Series. Kim threw more than 60 pitches and was charged with the loss. The night after, in Game 5, Diamondbacks managerBob Brenly sent Kim again to the mound to protect the Diamondbacks' 2–0 lead.Jorge Posada hit a leadoffdouble off Kim, and after retiring Spencer andChuck Knoblauch on a groundout and strikeout, Brosius then hit a two-run home run to tie the score. Later, Soriano hit asingle in the bottom of the 12th to win the game.
Despite Kim's performances in Games 4 and 5, the Diamondbacks clinched the World Series Championship in Game 7 atBank One Ballpark. He became the first Asian-born and Korean-born baseball player to appear and win a World Series title.
Kim later revealed in an interview how he felt during the 2001 World Series. "We went through the whole season, approximately 25 guys and then the coaching staff. That time it was like old people. They said, 'OK, we got last chance.' Some people said if we don't win, next year everybody's gone." Kim continued, "Then I gave up a home run. I didn't feel good. But we won."[6]
In2002, Kim set a single-season franchise record for saves (36), breaking the old mark set byGregg Olson in1998 (30). Kim finished the season with an 8–3 record, 92 strikeouts, and a career-best 2.04 ERA in a team-high 72 appearances. On May 11, 2002, Kim struck out all three batters on nine total pitches in the eighth inning of a 10-inning 6–5 win over thePhiladelphia Phillies;[7] he became the 23rd National League pitcher and the 32nd pitcher in major-league history to pitch animmaculate inning.[8]
On June 12, Kim pitched two shut-out innings with four strikeouts and saved the Diamondbacks' 9–5 win over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.[9]
In 2002, Kim converted 36 of 42 save opportunities,[10] eighth-best in the NL. Kim was selected for theAll-Star Game.
WhenMatt Mantei returned from the disabled list and became the Arizona Diamondbacks' closer, Kim joined the starting rotation. As a Diamondbacks starter, he compiled a record of 1–5 with a 3.56 ERA. On May 29, Kim was traded to Boston forShea Hillenbrand. Kim remained as a starter through June, but the Red Sox made him as their closer after the Red Sox's closer-by-committee approach, implemented following the advice of adviserBill James, led to several blown saves.[11] On June 27, Kim made his final start for the 2003 season in Boston's 25–8 win against the Florida Marlins atFenway Park.
Kim became the Red Sox closer in July, converting 16 out of 19 save opportunities despite pitching through lingering ankle and shoulder pain caused by the injury he sustained in April. Although he did not give up an earned run in September, by the time the postseason started Kim was not healthy enough to be effective on the pitching mound.
Kim was pulled in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs in his onlyALDS appearance in Game 1 against theOakland Athletics. During the lineup announcement in Game 3 at Fenway Park, Red Sox fans intensely booed him. Thinking that he did not deserve the booing after he pitched despite being in pain to advance the Red Sox to the postseason, Kim gave them the middle finger, but later issued an apology. Because of shoulder stiffness, Kim was left off the ALCS roster.
As a starter, Kim went 3–6 with a 3.38 ERA in 12 appearances in2003. In the beginning of 2004, however, problems with his balance—a lingering effect of the 2003 ankle injury—made him ineffective and cost him a spot in the starting rotation after going 1–1 with a 6.17 ERA in three starts.Bronson Arroyo took Kim's starting rotation spot and Kim was optioned to Triple-APawtucket in May. Kim rejoined the Red Sox in September. He was assigned to the bullpen and won one game in5+2⁄3 innings of work. Despite not being on the Red Sox roster for their2004 World Series championship run, he was awarded his second World Series ring by the team.[12]
Kim briefly became a subject of talks between high-ranking U.S. and South Korean diplomats in August 2004. Upon his arrival inSeoul as the new U.S. Ambassador toKorea in August 2004,Christopher R. Hill spoke with his Korean diplomatic counterparts about Kim and the Red Sox, along with the U.S.–Korea relationship and other diplomatic and geopolitical issues surrounding the Korean peninsula.[13]
Before the 2005 season, the Red Sox sent Kim to theColorado Rockies, with general managerTheo Epstein calling the two-year deal given to Kim in 2004 a mistake. The Red Sox received left-handed pitcherChris Narveson,catcherCharles Johnson (who was immediately released), and $2.6 million.[14]
Rockies managerClint Hurdle gave Kim the choice of taking a spot in the bullpen (Kim posted 0–3 with 7.84 ERA as a middle reliever for the Rockies that season) or a starter position in the Rockies' Triple-A teamColorado Springs Sky Sox. Just 20 minutes later, Hurdle was told that Rockies starterShawn Chacón was injured and had to go to the disabled list,[15] opening a spot in the Rockies starting rotation for Kim.
On August 8,Sunny Kim, another South Korean starting pitcher who had just joined the Rockies from theWashington Nationals, and Kim started doubleheader games atCoors Field against the Florida Marlins. They became the first two pitchers with same last name to start both ends of doubleheader sinceGaylord andJim Perry for theCleveland Indians in 1974.[16] The Rockies won both games and Kim collected a win.[17][18]
Kim finished the season 5–9 with a 4.37 ERA as a starter. He filed for free agency on November 1, 2005, and re-signed with the Rockies. He earned $1.25 million in 2006 with a club option worth $2.5 million in 2007 (with a $250,000 buyout).
Kim representedKorea in theWorld Baseball Classic, held before the 2006 season. Kim had solid shutout middle relief performances during the tournament in Korea's wins againstTaiwan in the first round andJapan[19] and theUnited States[20] in the second round. Kim collected a relief-win against Japan in the second round. In the semifinal game against Japan, Kim relievedJun Byung-doo in the 7th inning and then allowed a two-run home run toKosuke Fukudome. Kim intentionally hit the next batterMichihiro Ogasawara. Korea lost the semifinal game[21] and finished third in the tournament.
Kim began the 2006 campaign with Colorado on the disabled list. He made his season debut on April 30, 2006, against theFlorida Marlins in Miami. Kim pitched impressively, giving up only one run on five hits while striking out nine batters. Kim established himself in the Rockies starting rotation for the season.
On May 22, Kim andLos Angeles Dodgers starterJae Seo, two former high school teammates, started against each other. This game was the first game in which two Korean pitchers started against each other in the major league history. Both pitchers hadquality starts, with Seo getting the win.[22][23]
On May 28,Barry Bonds hit his 715th home run off Kim atSBC Park and surpassedBabe Ruth's 714 career home runs and put himself in sole possession of second place on theall-time career home runs list. After a three-minute delay, Kim struck out the next two batters and pitched 51⁄3 innings to collect a win.[24][25]
On July 28, Kim had five consecutive strikeouts against theSan Diego Padres, tying the Rockies record for consecutive strikeouts. In four different starts, he recorded nine strikeouts each against the Florida Marlins, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals. Kim became the first pitcher in major league history to pitch shutout wins in consecutive starts at hitter-friendlyCoors Field, beating theOakland Athletics on June 19 and theTexas Rangers on June 25.[26]
Kim began the2007 season with the Colorado Rockies as a reliever after he lost his starting rotation spot toJosh Fogg. The Rockies' decision to move Kim to the bullpen was controversial. Kim contended that he was not given a fair opportunity duringspring training to compete for a starting spot and asked to be traded.[27]
After a spot start on April 15, Kim was placed on the disabled list with an injured thumb. He was assigned to the Rockies' Triple-A team, theColorado Springs Sky Sox, for a rehab assignment. Kim was concerned that his rehab assignment was longer than necessary and changed his agent toScott Boras in an effort to get a quicker trade.[28]
On May 13, 2007, the Rockies traded Kim to the Florida Marlins forJorge Julio.[29] Kim proved himself as a dependable starter in Florida.[30] On August 1, he collected his 50th career win with a career-high ten strikeouts over his former team, the Colorado Rockies.[31] Two days later, Kim was claimed off waivers by theArizona Diamondbacks. Kim's return to Arizona lasted two starts; the Diamondbacks designated him andJoe Kennedy for assignment on August 14.[32] Shortly after Kim left the team, Diamondbacks closerJosé Valverde broke Kim's franchise single-season save record.
On August 25, the Florida Marlins re-signed Kim as a free agent.[33] On September 28, Kim collected his tenth win of the season, besting the Mets at Shea Stadium.[34] He was the second South Korean pitcher afterChan Ho Park to win 10 games in a major league season.[35][36]
On February 24, 2008, Kim signed with thePittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates had planned to use Kim exclusively in the bullpen.[37][38] Kim made his first spring training appearance on March 10, 2008.[39] After a disappointing spring training performance, Kim was released by the Pirates on March 25.[40]
On February 1, 2010, Kim agreed to a minor league contract with theSan Francisco Giants.[41] On March 20, 2010, the Giants granted him his release after he appeared in just one minor league game.[42]Kim later played with theOrange County Flyers of theGolden Baseball League in 2010.
On January 25, 2011, Kim signed a one-year deal with theTohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of theNippon Professional Baseball (NPB).[43] That year in the NPB, Kim went 0–1 with a 2.66 ERA in 18 games. On November 21, he became free agent.[44]
On January 18, 2012, it was announced that Kim signed a one-year deal with theNexen Heroes of theKBO League.[45] After being used primarily in relief in the MLB and NPB, Kim was often used as a starting pitcher in the KBO.
On April 10, 2014, he was traded to theKia Tigers.
He retired from the KBO in 2015 with a career record of 11–23, an ERA of 6.19, and 190 strikeouts.
Kim returned to professional baseball at age 39 in 2018, making nine relief appearances for theMelbourne Aces of theAustralian Baseball League, compiling a 1–0 record with an ERA of 0.93 and nine strikeouts in9+2⁄3 innings.
Usually described as asubmarine pitcher, Kim was a side-arm and under-arm hard thrower who uses a great variety of deliveries. Kim possesses afour-seam fastball with tailing movement frequently hitting the low 90s, a Frisbeeslider with sweeping motion across the plate, an up-shootslider with a rising motion, and acircle-changeup which he usually uses to strike out left-handed hitters. Nevertheless, during the three seasons between2004 and2006, his main problem had been the loss of right pitching balance which caused difficulty in control and reduced velocity. During that time, he also struggled against left-handed batters, allowing them to hit over .300.[46] In 2014, Hall of FamerAdrián Beltré called Kim the toughest pitcher he had ever faced, due in large part to his pitching motion.[47]
Kim owns a Japanese restaurant named Umi Sushi in San Diego.[49]
In August 2021, Kim signed with General Entertainment.[50]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | The Penthouse: War in Life | Ju Dan-tae's best friend pitcher | Cameo (Episode 12) | [51] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–2021 | Let's Play Soccer | Cast Member | Episode 1–82 | |
| 2019 | Law of the Jungle in Sunda Islands | Cast Member | Episode 383–387 | [52][53] |
| 2020 | King of Mask Singer | Contestant | "Cherry Blossom Ending" (Episode 247) | [54] |
| 2021 | Lets's Play Basketball | Cast Member | ||
| Tomorrow's Baseball King | Coach | [55] | ||
| 2022 | Can't Cheat Blood | Main Host | [56] | |
| legendfestival | Participant | [57] | ||
| Youth Baseball Team | Baseball manager | [58] | ||
| Sports Golden Bell | contestant | Chuseok Special | [59] |
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee / Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KBS Entertainment Awards | 2021 | Rookie Award in Reality Category | Boss in the Mirror | Nominated | [60] |
| Best Entertainer Award | Won | [61] | |||
| 2022 | Excellence Award in Show and Variety Category | Won | [62] | ||
| MBC Entertainment Awards | 2021 | Best Couple Award | Kim Byung-hyun(withHur Jae) It's Good If We Don't Fight | Nominated | [63] |
· Baseball Almanac
