You could write a whole category full of Jeopardy! questions about the times that “Byung-Hyun Kim” and the word “mistake” have collided in the same sentence. He’s the only person ever to gift wrap back-to-back World Series games that his team should have won, as the submariner served up costly gopher balls to New York Yankees twice at Yankee Stadium in 2001. Today, the Boston Red Sox traded the Korean native, calling the 2 year, $10 million deal they gave him in 2004 “a mistake.” MSNBC reports:
Kim was sent Wednesday to the Rockies for left-handed pitcher Chris Narveson, 23, who was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket, and catcher Charles Johnson, who was immediately designated for assignment and released.
As part of the trade, Colorado sent Boston about $2.6 million to equalize the salaries. Johnson is owed $9 million and Kim $6 million, part of a $10 million, two-year deal he signed before the 2004 season.
“We certainly made a mistake and I take responsibility for that,” Epstein said. “It’s just a mystery what happened to this guy.”
Once American hitters figured out Byung-Hyun Kim’s screwy windup, it was all downhill.
The mystery was never more puzzling than during the 2001 World Series, when a pretty good pitcher became a waffle server. Kim’s career numbers are actually solid: 31-28 with a 3.37 ERA and 86 saves, and opponents have hit just .206 against him. Like Bill Buckner, however, Kim will be remembered for what he couldn’t do in the clutch.
Kim’s career postseason stats are ugly. In 2001, he posted a 13.50 ERA in the World Series, having blown both games in which he appeared on the aforementioned homeruns. In 2002, Kim appeared in just one postseason inning. (He gave up 2 earned runs.) In 2003, the Red Sox dared only put him in one of their 12 postseason games, as he gave up a run in two-thirds of an inning. Had the Diamondbacks not rallied to win the 2001 World Series via a Herculean effort to overcome Kim’s struggles, Kim would probably be ranked just below Buckner in postseason infamy.
Nathan Novak at 8:51 pm
