Kim Byung-hyun (44), a former special closer of the Arizona Diamondbacks, visited Dodger Stadium on the 12th.
He visited the stadium to produce promotional materials for the San Diego Padres-LA Dodgers in the Korean opening game of the 2024 season, which is being prepared by MLB Dotcom. He will stay until the 14th to produce interviews with Dodgers and Padres players. Of course, Kim Ha-sung of the Padres is included.
The reporter has known Kim Byung-hyun and his father for 24 years since his Major League debut in 1999.
Through this meeting, Kim Byung-hyun and the accompanying producers talked about this and that. When asked about the fact that he turned into an entertainer even though he was not media-friendly when he was active, and his business skills were excellent, Kim Byung-hyun laughed and said, “I still can’t talk.”메이저사이트
Kim signed an amateur free agent contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1999. In 1999, he played 22 games in the minor leagues and was promoted to the big leagues. Kim Byung-hyun recalled, “After experiencing Double A for one month and Triple A for one month, I immediately went up.”
It was unconventional because he was not from the KBO League and signed an amateur FA contract. There is a reason. This is because minor league hitters failed to properly target Kim Byung-hyun’s ball. In short, it was an undefeatable pitch. The batters were helpless with 155 kilometers of fastball on the pitch of the underhand throw. The club decided to promote Kim Byung-hyun to the big leagues because there was no reason to be in the minor leagues anymore.
Kim Byung-hyun is greeting third base coach Matt Williams of the San Diego Padres. The two were co-workers during the Arizona Diamondbacks. Photo = Reporter Moon Sang-yeol
What I personally regretted while covering him in the U.S. was why he insisted on being selected. The reporter told Kim Byung-hyun, “If I had remained a closer or bullpen pitcher, I would have continued my pitching career for a long time and left a lot of records…”
Kim Byung-hyun is the only Korean pitcher to write “Impulse innings.” This macro inning strikes out three batters with nine strikes. It is a record of 114 times written by 104 pitchers in MLB history.
Kim Byung-hyun explained why he insisted as a starting pitcher in the bullpen. Currently, the importance of the bullpen is highlighted, and pitchers in charge of the seventh to ninth innings are very important. However, I thought it was natural for a good pitcher to start at the time, he said.
Kim Byung-hyun moved to the Colorado Rockies in 2005 and started as a starting pitcher in earnest. He played a total of 394 games in nine years of MLB, starting 87 of them. Major League Baseball is not eligible for full pension. It’s because I didn’t fill 10 full-time years.