BK Seeking to Revive Career in Big Leagues
By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
Kim Byung-hyun is still seeking to resurrect his career in Major League Baseball (MLB).
Kim, who spent nine seasons in the majors, hasn't pitched in a big league game since 2007. But he told local media on Monday that he wants to take one more shot.
"I want to wrap up my career with satisfaction. Not to leave any regrets for baseball after my retirement. I plan to tryout to pitch in the big leagues,'' Kim said.
"When I was deciding on if I will continue my career, my father told me to quit baseball at the peak of my career in May. It has motivated me to try again.
"I want to end my career like Samsung Lions manager Sun Dong-yeol did.''
Sun, a former Haitai Tigers pitcher, notched 146 wins, 40 losses and 132 saves with a 1.20 ERA in 11 seasons in Korea and then moved to Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), where the right-hander posted 98 saves for the Chunichi Dragons in four seasons.
"I plan to go to the United States in mid-September and I will start a training program,'' he said.
"Although training by myself will be tough, I will build up my body in areas with hot weather, such as Arizona and Florida.''
The sidearm right-hander was released by the Pittsburgh Pirates during training camp last season and since then, major league clubs have not exactly been rushing to offer him a new job.
"I do want to pitch next year. If I can't pitch like I used to, I might give it up, but to begin with, I will test it.''
The 30-year-old Gwangju native was playing for Sungkyunkwan University when he was picked up by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1999. He notched 70 saves and compiled a record of 21-22 before he was traded to the Boston Red Sox in 2003, where he secured 16 saves.
Kim did not leave Major League Baseball fans with the fondest of memories.
He is remembered for flipping off fans at Fenway Park while a member of the Red Sox and for giving up game-tying home runs in Games 4 and 5 of the 2001 World Series against the New York Yankees. The Diamondbacks did, however, go on to win the World Series in Game 7.
Korean baseball fans also remember him for his physical altercation with a photographer here.
Despite his success as a closer in his first few seasons, Kim stubbornly insisted on being used as a starter later in his career. This led to him bouncing around from the Colorado Rockies to the Florida Marlins and then again to the Diamondbacks between 2005 and 2007 ― during which he compiled a record of 23-32.
He was named to Korea's preliminary roster for the World Baseball Classic but did not play as he could not participate in team training in Hawaii because he lost his passport.
Since being cut by the Pirates last year, the Heroes of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) offered him a lucrative deal in April 2008, but he refused, in the hopes that he can still make it in the majors.
And he reiterated on Monday that he still has no intention of playing in the KBO.
"I just want to finish my career in the United States. There are some who say I cannot revive my career here. So, if I have to go through hardships, I had better do it there,'' he said.