Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
March 03, 2003
To Start or Not to Start?

That's the question Ken Rosenthal asks about Byung-Hyun Kim. Kim was promised he would be a starter in Arizona, and this year he's being worked into the rotation. Matt Mantei will be taking over as closer. It seems starting is important culturally to Kim:


Kim's desire to be a starter preceded his difficulties in the 2001 World Series. He was an ace starter in high school, in college and for the Korean national team. His disdain for relieving, Garagiola says, stems in part from the difference in the way relievers are perceived in his native land.

"BK explained that to me one time: In Korea, if you can't make it as a starting pitcher, you go out to the bullpen," Garagiola says. "There is a certain stigma attached to relief pitchers. I explained to him that's not true over here, that relief pitchers are big stars, make lots of money. But he feels the way he feels."


Rosenthal, clearly a STATS guy, offers up a good analysis of what might happen to Kim as a starter:

The question now is whether Kim can adjust to starting. He doesn't like when hitters make contact, and he averaged 16.1 pitches per inning last season, which translates to a 145-pitch pace as a starter. His high pitch counts are not necessarily a physical concern -- Kim is slight at 5-11, 177 pounds, but he is blessed with a rubber arm. But if he repeatedly threw 120 pitches over five innings, he would irk his defense and tax his bullpen.

In general, if you have someone who can be a good starter or a good closer, I'd rather have him as a starter. The move worked well for Derek Lowe, who also wanted to be a starter. We'll see if Kim can make the transition as smoothly and successfully.


Posted by David Pinto at 08:03 PM | Baseball