Play ball? Nick Kingham is. The ex-Pirates pitcher is playing for SK Wyverns of the Korean Baseball Organization, which has started its season without fans at games.
Former Pirates pitcher continues odd journey
Nick Kingham has enjoyed the consistency.
The success hasn’t been too bad, either. A fourth-round pick by the Pirates in 2010, Kingham’s career as a starting pitcher never materialized in Pittsburgh, the right-hander being designated for assignment — and ultimately traded to Toronto for cash — in June 2019. But after signing with the Korea Baseball Organization’s SK Wyverns in November, Kingham has found success on the other side of the world and was the starting pitcher Tuesday in the KBO season opener
“Pitching on opening day is a huge honor,” Kingham wrote during a recent email exchange with the Pittsburgh PostGazette. “To have the coaches, the front office and the entire organization believe in me, it means a lot.”
That belief has been good for Kingham, 28, who in five spring-training games — plus intrasquad contests — had a 1.96 ERA with 19 strikeouts and just 4 walks in 23 innings, allowing 15 hits and just 1 home run in his introduction to Korean baseball.
Consistently on the roster bubble in Major League Baseball, Kingham has become a much bigger fish with the Wyverns after signing a $500,000 contract that also included a $200,000 signing bonus and a sturdy spot in the team’s rotation.
“Being in the KBO has a bunch of advantages,” Kingham said. “One of them is that I don’t have to worry about getting optioned or sent down. Once I’m here, I’m here to stay. … The stability and consistency of being with one team for an entire season was a huge factor.”
While Kingham definitely has struggled over the past two seasons in MLB, pitching to a 9-9 record with a 6.08 ERA in 43 combined appearances with the Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays, the 6-foot-5, 235pound pitcher actually finds himself with a tremendous opportunity.
The KBO should attract plenty of eyeballs as it and the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) are the only two viewing options for those who love the sport. KBO games are being broadcast live (if not late) on ESPN.
The COVID-19 pandemic that has caused so many problems in the United States has lessened a great deal in Korea. Still Kingham and KBO players are prohibited from spitting or offering highfives to teammates. Temperature checks are required, players, coaches and team staffers are encouraged to wear masks in public, and there are no fans at games — for now.
Kingham started Tuesday against the Hanwha Eagles in the Wyverns’ home ballpark, which is known as SK Happy Dream Park. The Wyverns are one of 10 teams in the KBO and play their home games in Incheon, South Korea, which is about 18 miles west of Seoul. He pitched seven innings in the opener, giving up six hits and three runs, but was the losing pitcher in a 3-0 decision.
Baseball-wise, it hasn’t been a huge adjustment, Kingham said. The biggest has been the amount of intent with which Korean players swing, which is indicative of a league where the strikeout rate was nearly 6 percent lower (23% compared to 17.2%) than Major League Baseball in 2019.
“Korean culture is, ‘If you are going to swing the bat, you better hit the ball,’ ” Kingham said. “So swings and misses are harder to come by than in the States.”
Another thing that has struck Kingham hasn’t happened much yet — the fan interaction. While the KBO, like the CPBL, will be playing games in empty ballparks, Kingham seems eager to soak in the entire Korean baseball experience.
“Here, the fans have a huge impact on the game. They’re constant contributors and can definitely have an influence. We have cheerleaders and a cheer master to pump up the crowd. If a player hits a home run, the bigger the bat flip, and the more the fans love it,” he said.
“Fans are encouraged to submit videos, and they get shown on the scoreboard during the game. It’s a cool connection that the fans are able to have with the players.”
Kingham’s story with the Pirates is similar to that of Tyler Glasnow — a talented pitcher the former regime could never quite figure out, though injuries certainly didn’t help.
Baseball Prospectus ranked Kingham as the game’s 67th-best prospect entering
the 2015 season, but a couple of months later, he had Tommy John surgery. After working back from that and an ankle injury in 2017, Kingham made his MLB debut April 29, 2018 at PNC Park against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Kingham dazzled in that game and was perfect through 6⅔ inning before Paul DeJong’s ground-ball single ended the rookie’s bid at history. The rest of the year wasn’t quite as magical, as he had a 5.21 ERA over 18 games, including 15 starts.
The results definitely weren’t there for Kingham in 2019, when he had a 9.87 ERA in 34⅔ innings before the Pirates finally pulled the plug. But Kingham, to his credit, feels like he has learned a lot about himself and has seemingly matured as a pitcher.
“I’m perfectly equipped, with the weapons that I have, to get hitters out,” he said.
“I’ve learned that is all I need: trust myself and trust my abilities.”
While many other American players — KBO teams are each allowed three — were sent home or chose to leave during the initial COVID-19 outbreak, Kingham and his wife, Logan, stayed. The move allowed him to continue working out while other American players had to re-quarantine upon returning to South Korea.
“I think if most people had to go back and do it over, they would have elected to take the route that I did,” Kingham said.
Most certainly wouldn’t choose to go the route Kingham has gone with his career.
“It’s not the path I saw myself going through, but, if I would have stayed in the U.S., the start of my season would still be unknown. I’m perfectly happy with how things have played out.”