Kang’s progress turns into remarkable feat
It is one thing for the Pirates to have a legitimate rookie of the year candidate, a man who has saved their season at two positions. It is something much more amazing for that player to be from Seoul, South Korea, a man who has made history by becoming the first position player from the Korean Baseball Organization to make the transition to American baseball.
“I’m trying to picture myself being dropped into a foreign country and being told to go survive for six months,” Pirates general manager
Neal Huntington said this week. “And to then go perform at the highest level against the highest level of competition that you can face … ” It is a remarkable story. The Jung Ho Kang story. A Pirates player hasn’t won the National League rookie of the year award since Jason Bay in 2004. Kang is a long shot behind Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs, Joc Pederson of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Matt Duffy and Chris Heston of the San Francisco Giants. But he has put himself in the conversation with a strong July, hitting .347 with a .420 on-base percentage. He is doing it in pressure games for a club that has the third-best record in baseball.
“One of the things I love is he’s very confident,” Huntington said. “He wants to be great. He’s doing everything in his power to be great.”
That’s true on the field, for sure. Kang believes he can hit any pitcher, even the best.
“The information we had on him was that he was an incredibly prepared hitter,” Huntington said. “But watching tape of a pitcher is one thing. Seeing him live is something different. He’s shown the ability to make some adjustments.
“A lot of it comes down to he’s not afraid to take a bad swing. He’ll get fooled on a pitch, and it’s almost like he aborts the swing. ‘I’m not going to make weak contact. I’m just going to look foolish and I’m going to swing through it, but I’m going to get you on the next pitch.’ That is such a great trait for hitters to have. So many hitters, maybe subconsciously, their ego gets in the way and they need to make contact and they hit a 17-hopper to third base versus looking bad and swinging through it. He’s not afraid. He’s not afraid to throw it out there. He’s not afraid to go compete. He’s not afraid of working to get better. He’s not afraid of making mistakes.”
Kang’s transition has been just as seamless in the field. A shortstop by trade, he took over at third base when Josh Harrison struggled and then was injured. Kang looked as if he played third all of his life. Now, after Jordy Mercer’s injury and with the acquisition of Aramis Ramirez to play third, he is at shortstop. His range isn’t great, but he’s going to make all of the plays on balls hit to him. He has sure hands and a terrific arm.
Huntington is thankful that Kang is willing to play any position
“When we signed him, we believed that he was a regular player. We just weren’t sure where and we weren’t sure when.”
Kang’s adjustment to American culture has enabled him to be the Pirates’ answer at two positions. His management team has been helpful, Huntington said, his interpreter, H.K. Kim, invaluable. But Kang has done most of the work. He has worked hard to fit in with teammates after a rough start. Remember his comments to Korean media before spring training that he would play better than Mercer? That didn’t play well in the clubhouse. Nor did the fact that he had an awful spring, so bad that many on the team believed he belonged in Class AAA. Kang also has worked hard to fit into Pittsburgh. No challenge seems too big for him, whether it involves different foods or complicated driving directions. A lot of us have lived here forever and still get lost.
“He’s incredibly driven. He’s incredibly intelligent. He’s also very humble. He hasn’t been afraid to ask for help,” Huntington said.
“He’s not afraid to say the wrong word. He’s not afraid to try to say a word he’s not familiar with. He’s worked at it. I had a conversation with him the other day. I told him his English is so much better than my Korean and I’m embarrassed. He just smiled.”
Winning is a universal language. Kang has earned his teammates’ respect by playing winning baseball. You can see it in the clubhouse in their interactions with him. You could see it in the dugout during a rain delay earlier this month when he danced to an upbeat song and the other players applauded wildly. He beamed. They beamed. Clearly, he has become one of the boys.
Kang should deliver even more on the field once he gets to know the pitchers. Huntington believes his power will come. Kang has just five home runs after hitting 40 a year ago in Korea.
“We believed in the player,” Huntington said of the Pirates’ patience with Kang in the spring. “We believed he would come through it. He’s rewarded us.”
You’ve heard of a gift that keeps on giving? His name is Kang.