Former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun had a chance to reconnect with his ex-big league skipper Mike Shildt in Seoul on Sunday.
Kim, currently pitching for the SSG Landers in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), pitched for the Cardinals under Shildt from 2020 to 2021. Shildt became the San Diego Padres’ manager in November last year.
Shildt brought his Padres to South Korea for a two-game Seoul Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the first two Major League Baseball (MLB) games to be played in this country. Kim, after making a preseason outing earlier Sunday, made his way to Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul to catch up with Shildt.
“Shildt took such good care of me during my two years in America, I am really thankful for that,” Kim told reporters after his brief chat with Shildt. “He helped me take the next step as a ball player. I’ve always been appreciative of that.”
Kim went 3-0 with a 1.62 ERA in eight games in 2020, when the 162-game MLB season was cut short to 60 games due to the COVID-19
pandemic. In 2021, Kim had a 7-7 record with a 3.46 ERA in 27 appearances, including 21 starts.
Kim is now entering his third season back in the KBO. And while watching the Padres prepare for an exhibition game against the South Korean national team at Gocheok, Kim took a moment to ponder what might have been.
“It’s been three years, and I wonder how my career would have played out if I’d kept on playing in the U.S.,” Kim said. “Personally, it’s a little disappointing. But I want to do the best I can from my current position and cheer on younger guys coming up.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency