Career starter has mixed feelings about pitching in relief at WBC

TUCSON, United States, Feb. 14 (Yonhap) -- For most of his professional career, South Korean left-hander Kim Kwang-hyun, now entering his 16th season, has been a starting pitcher. In the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Kim has made 326 appearances, 304 of them in starts. In his two seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, Kim's 35 games included 28 starts.

It is understandable, then, that Kim has some reservations about pitching out of the bullpen for the national team at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) next month.

"I've spent most of my career as a starter. It does put a bit of pressure on me," Kim told reporters Tuesday after arriving at Westward Look Wyndham Grand Resort & Spa in Tucson, Arizona, where the national team will stay during its WBC training camp starting this week. Kim had been in spring training with his KBO club, SSG Landers, in Vero Beach, Florida, before taking his westbound flight.

"We've got a couple of weeks here, so I will be talking to the coaching staff about how I should build up my body for that role," Kim added.

Manager Lee Kang-chul has pegged Kim and Yang Hyeon-jong, the national team's two oldest and most experienced pitchers, as key bullpen pieces at the WBC. There will be pitch count limits on starters, many of whom won't get to pitch past the fifth or sixth innings. Teams must find creative ways to build bridges between starters and closers in the middle innings. Lee wants to lean on Kim and Yang for their international experience and championship-winning pedigrees in the KBO.

Yang has a little bit more experience out of the bullpen than Kim, which explains why Yang has seemed more receptive to his relief role than his teammate.

Kim, on the other hand, has a bit more familiarity with the official WBC ball, which is the same as the ball in play in Major League Baseball (MLB). Yang also pitched in the majors but only in 12 games covering 35 1/3 innings in 2021, compared with 145 2/3 innings for Kim from 2020 to 2021.

The MLB ball is slicker and has lower seams than the KBO ball. The national team staff sent WBC balls to KBO club spring training sites earlier this month, so that WBC-bound pitchers can have a little extra time to familiarize themselves with it.

"I shouldn't have too much trouble with the ball," Kim said. "I did have a little dip in my velocity when I pitched in the majors. So I have to keep that in mind during training camp here. When I threw fastballs with the MLB ball, they moved like cutters. I will try to use that to my advantage at the WBC."

Kim and other KBO players reported to the Tucson camp from all over the place. Some had been training with their KBO clubs elsewhere in Arizona, while others flew in from Guam, Australia and Japan.

The national team will be without its only two major league players in Arizona, with Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres and Tommy Edman of the St. Louis Cardinals spending the rest of this month with their respective clubs.

Edman, born to a Korean mother and an American father, is expected to join South Korea for official exhibition games in Osaka on March 6 and 7. Kim will then be reunited with his former Cardinals teammate of two years.

"I can't wait to see Edman," Kim said of the 2021 National League Gold Glove winner at second base. "He can hit, field and run. He has great fundamentals. He's also a great guy, and he should fit in nicely with the national team."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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