The Peaks and Valleys of Byung-Hyun Kim
Baseball, more than any other sport, is a game of ups and downs, hot streaks and slumps, dynasties and droughts. In this regard, few players have experienced a more turbulent career than Byung-Hyun Kim. It wasn’t so much that he had a career of ups and downs; that’s normal for ball players. The sad distinction that separates Byung-Hyun Kim’s career from the “norm” was how dramatic (and public) the lows were.
It was all highs at first. After Chan Ho Park broke the barrier as the first Korean transplant in the majors, Kim followed shortly after. He was signed by the Diamondbacks in 1999. He spent just two months in the minors, achieving an impressive 74 strikes, 2.19 ERA and 0.994 WHIP in 53 innings. When he was called up, he was the youngest MLB player at the time at 20 years old.
Not long after his entry into the MLB did the first valley appear. On June 9, 1999, he was ejected from a game against the Cubs after a bandage fell out of his jersey containing heat balm in the wrap. The pitcher claimed it was leftover from when he pitched in Korea. The poor excuse didn’t help his case. He ended his rookie year with a just-okay 4.61 ERA over 27.1 innings pitched.
Byung-Hyun Kim’s first full season with the Diamondbacks showed real promise. His 14.1 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched showed an adept aptitude for getting hitters to swing and miss. To put it in perspective, the highest K/9 rate in the 2022 season was 11.983. Kim was back on the mountain.
The following year, Byung-Hyun Kim and the Diamondbacks found themselves in the World Series against the New York Yankees. Just by being there, Kim made history as the first Asian-born player to reach the Fall Classic. Sadly, that was a rare bright spot during what should have been a momentous occasion when the D-Backs routed the Yankees in Game 7.
The problem was there never should have been a Game 7. Kim was called upon in Game 4, with his team ahead 3-1 (and leading the series two games to one). After striking out the side in the 8th inning, he quickly lost momentum in the 9th. Paul O’Neil reached on a bloop single and Tino Martinez homered to tie the game.
Kim got out of the inning with a tied score but returned in the 10th inning — an odd managerial decision and worth some of the blame. After retiring Alfonso Soriano and Scott Brosius, the Yankees hit a walk-off home run off the bat of captain Derek Jeter. It was this moment that solidified the Bronx shortstop as Mr. November.
Now, one blown save isn’t enough to qualify as a calamity. In Byung-Hyun Kim’s unfortunate circumstances, he repeated the feat the very next night. Again, the Diamondbacks brought him into a save opportunity in a two-run ballgame. And, again, Kim bungled the task. In two nights, the series shifted from a 2-1 Arizona lead to 2-3, in favor of the Yankees.
Luckily, the Diamondbacks won the final two games and took the Commissioner's Trophy to the desert for the first time in history. Had they not, who knows what epidemic levels of grief and torment young Byung-Hyun Kim would have endured. It was one of the deepest valleys of his career.
Despite the lackluster finish to the year, Byung-Hyun Kim came back in 2002 in grand proportions. He set multiple career highs, pitched MLB’s 49th immaculate inning, and was named to the National League All-Star team (along with five other Diamondbacks teammates). These high points weren’t enough to keep Kim in Arizona. With a new late-reliever in the mix, Arizona no longer needed the Korean star and traded him to the Boston Red Sox.
Kim continued impressive outings in Boston. In his first year with the club, he had a 3.18 ERA and converted 16 out of 19 save opportunities. The 2003 Red Sox managed a post-season berth and Byung-Hyun Kim was in a familiar (and uncomfortable) position.
He pitched just once in the 2003 playoffs, during Game 1 of the ALDS, recording two outs before getting pulled with runners on base. Again, it was an odd managerial decision — pulling your closer with one out to go. Derek Lowe, the replacement, let up a hit and the ballgame was over. Fans ignored the odd choice by Grady Little to pull a closer with one out and further ignored Lowe’s pitching to give up the game-winning hit. Instead, all the blame fell on Kim for putting the runners on the bases.
The fans taunted and booed the next time Kim walked onto the field at Fenway. In response, the frustrated pitcher showed his home crowd the middle finger. It’s uncertain if this was malicious or a moment of lost in translation. He didn’t appear angry or aggressive; he didn’t look like a player lashing out at the fanbase.
It appeared more like the middle finger you give a friend when they rib you too hard with a joke, as if to say, 'Yeah, yeah, f**k you too.'
Of course, no one saw it that way —not in Boston and not after Kim was already on the bad side of the fans. The pitcher later apologized, stating it was essentially a knee-jerk reaction. The damage was already done. When the Red Sox moved on to the 2003 ALCS, Kim was left off the roster and his season was over.
For Boston, the 2003 ALCS became another chapter in a history of catastrophic postseason losses when Aaron Boone of the New York Yankees hit a walk-off home run against Tim Wakefield. In a series where late-game pitching was crucial, Byung-Hyun Kim may have been a difference-maker.
The finger outburst from the young pitcher was enough to permanently sour the relationship with the Red Sox. His own team labeled his contract a “mistake," trading him after 2004. (He was again left off the postseason roster, thereby missing Boston’s historic World Series championship that year).
After leaving Boston, the rollercoaster ride of Byung-Hyun Kim’s MLB career slowly came click-clattering to a halt. He spent two unsuccessful years in Colorado, bouncing to Florida and then back to Arizona.
His last noteworthy mention in the big leagues was serving up home run number 715 to Barry Bonds, giving the slugger the all-time career record over Babe Ruth. Not exactly the swan song a pitcher wants.
Despite a career with more downs than ups, Byung-Hyun Kim is a character in many important baseball stories. He won a championship. He was a pioneer for Korean ballplayers. He gave 38,000 Bostonians the middle finger and lived to tell the tale.
