Hyun Soo Kim appreciation thread

[ThomasTomasz]

7 hours ago, Roy Firestone said:

Loved him as a guy who usually put the ball in play and used the whole field. Knew the strike zone and could work a count.Seemed like a beloved guy in the clubhouse, but we had Mancini(better) in LF and Smith in RF and was better too. I think Kim still needed to hit more, and I think he was a better hitter than Rickard but for some reason Buck didn't seem to like him. Dont know why. Ill miss Hyun Soo. He was a good Oriole.

 

Kim's WAR in 2016, in around 100 less ABs, was .4 higher than Seth Smith.  His offensive and defensive ratings graded higher than Smith, and his OBP was .4 higher than Smith as well.  So we rewarded Kim's recovery and resurgence from his spring struggles and becoming a fan favorite by acquiring a guy who has similar skill sets, and when Mancini took over in LF (not arguing the point) we never let Kim have a shot at proving he could outplay Seth Smith. 

[ScGO's]

Buck hates him? I figured he didn't play simply bc he was the odd man out. No arm, eh glove, obp but lack of slg pct. That's a rough defense with Kim on one side of an aging Jones, and Trumbo/Mancini/Smith on the other. This is why Rickard plays so much. I say trade Smith now and go with a Rickard/Jones/Mancini OF the rest of the way. 

Although, as a manager, I can see how Buck could have been frustrated by Kim's refusal to take a AAA assignment after ST of '16. Not a "team first" mentality in his eyes maybe?

[sportsfan8703]

Didn't teams try to shift Kim like a normal LH at first?

[notyourbuddy]

7 minutes ago, ScGO's said:

Buck hates him? I figured he didn't play simply bc he was the odd man out. 

Buck benched him in Spring Training then started a smear campaign against him through the media. Resulted in the poor guy getting booed on Opening Day.

 

[SteveA]

4 minutes ago, notyourbuddy said:

Buck benched him in Spring Training then started a smear campaign against him through the media. Resulted in the poor guy getting booed on Opening Day.

 

Actually the smear campaign started before that.  Was it the January minicamp or was it in spring training before any games had been played that Buck intimated that Kim was overweight and out of shape?  He doesn't do that with most of his players, not in front of the media.

[Tx Oriole]

10 hours ago, SteveA said:

First off, he seemed like a great guy.  He seemed to genuinely enjoy being in the majors and being an Oriole.

He had good at bats most of the time and had a skillset we don't have enough of.

From day 1, he got kind of a raw deal here, except when he got playing time due to the Rickard injury and - to me at least if not to the Os braintrust - really proved his worth.

I'll miss him and will be rooting for him in Philly.  I hope he does well and gets a nice contract somewhere in the off season.

I am glad he is getting another shot. I hope he is successful in Philly. 

[Tx Oriole]

9 hours ago, eddie83 said:

Blame Mancini. 

I know Mancini is the better player. But not using Kim at all is or was rather ridiculous of Buck. 

[Tx Oriole]

48 minutes ago, yujinishuge said:

I'm so angry at how he was treated by the team and I hope he gets revenge and this trade in hindsight looks as bad as the Arrietta trade. 

 

I love this team but I can't help but feel they didn't know what they had here. 

I don't blame the team. I blame Buck for not using Kim more. 

[backwardsk]

13 minutes ago, Tx Oriole said:

I don't blame the team. I blame Buck for not using Kim more. 

Who should have lost ABs to give him more playing time.

[Luke-OH]

10 minutes ago, backwardsk said:

Who should have lost ABs to give him more playing time.

Trumbo shouldn't have been resigned and Kim should have gotten his playing time. They were very similar with the bat last year (Trumbo hit 23% better than league average, Kim was 19% better than league average in 2016). Would Kim have played better this year with consistent playing time, I don't know, but it's a pretty low bar to be better than Trumbo this year who is getting paid 13 million to be worse the a replacement level player.

[weams]

2 hours ago, Mayor McCheese said:

Well at least he did not end up in Toronto......

Yes.

[weams]

59 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Didn't teams try to shift Kim like a normal LH at first?

Yes, as a power hitter too.

[eddie83]

1 hour ago, Tx Oriole said:

I know Mancini is the better player. But not using Kim at all is or was rather ridiculous of Buck. 

Buck never seemed to be a big fan. That said Smith was making good money and thru mid May was on fire. Buck saw something in Mancini that he liked. He kept playing and producing. You could argue that he could have found a way here and there to play Kim more but not consistent at bats. 

Kim's chance came when Davis was out. He never picked it up.  I still wonder if the Orioles would not have been facing so many LHP early on and all those off days if Mancini makes the team. 

[eddie83]

27 minutes ago, phillyOs119 said:

Trumbo shouldn't have been resigned and Kim should have gotten his playing time. They were very similar with the bat last year (Trumbo hit 23% better than league average, Kim was 19% better than league average in 2016). Would Kim have played better this year with consistent playing time, I don't know, but it's a pretty low bar to be better than Trumbo this year who is getting paid 13 million to be worse the a replacement level player.

Once he is brought back he is going to play though. You don't pay someone that much to sit. 

[24fps]

One of my favorite Orioles too...

I'm sad to see him go, but happy with the opportunity for more playing that might be awaiting him. 

Never have liked the way he was marginalized from the beginning and still don't, but good luck Mr. Kim.