Byung-hyun Kim

Byung-hyun Kim ( or ; born January 19, 1979) is a South Korean former professional baseball pitcher.

He had his most successful years with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Boston Red Sox.

Jae Seo and Hee-seop Choi were Kim's teammates in 1996 and they are very close friends.

Named both the Most Valuable Player and Most Valuable Pitcher for the National High School championships in South Korea, Kim was selected to the 1996 National Junior Team, then named to the National Team in both 1997 and 1998.

In that year, he pitched against the US Olympic team, striking out 15 batters in 6 innings.

Later, he helped Korea claim the gold medal in the Asian Games held in Bangkok, Thailand.

Kim is a 1997 graduate of Gwangju Jeil High School.

Kim attended Sungkyunkwan University's Faculty of Law until 1999.

Kim was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks on February 19, 1999.

Kim went 2–0 with 32 strikeouts in 21.1 innings in El Paso (AA) and then went to Tucson Sidewinders (AAA), where he posted 2–0 with 21 strikeouts in 17.1 innings.

His ability to strike out batters caught the attention of Diamondbacks coaching staff.

He was the youngest player in MLB at the time he debuted on May 29 at Shea Stadium.

He came in to pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning, and after retiring Edgardo Alfonzo and John Olerud, struck out Mike Piazza and got the save in the Diamondbacks' 8–7 victory over the New York Mets.

On June 9, 1999, during a game against the Chicago Cubs, a bandage covered in a foreign substance fell from Kim's sleeve after a pitch.

He was immediately ejected by umpire Ed Montague for possessing the illegal item but was not disciplined further.

In the 2000 season, Kim got the closer role when incumbent Matt Mantei opened the season on the disabled list.

For the year, Kim struck out 111 hitters in just 70.2 innings pitched (14.14 per nine innings), including 11 out of 12 batters over five games, and twice struck out eight consecutive batters.

After his 14 saves and a 1.82 ERA over his first 28 appearances, he was demoted to Triple-A Tucson at the end of July.

Mostly used as a starter to restore his confidence, Kim returned to Arizona a month later.

With Mantei reinserted as the closer, Kim pitched as a setup man and also started a game after recording 84 relief appearances.

Kim is remembered for his role in the 2001 World Series, in which he gave up consecutive ninth-inning leads in both Game 4 and Game 5, taking the loss in Game 4, though the Diamondbacks rebounded to win the Championship in 7 games over the New York Yankees.

Arizona turned to Kim again as a closer after Mantei was lost to injury for the remaining 2001 season.

Kim responded with 19 saves, a 2.94 ERA, and 113 strikeouts in 98 innings.

He made his first career postseason appearance in the NLDS Game 3 at Busch Stadium to protect the Diamondbacks’ 5–3 lead against the Cardinals with the go-ahead run at the plate in the 8th inning.

After a walk to Albert Pujols that loaded the bases, Kim ended the inning with a center-field flyout.

In the 9th inning, Kim saved the game with the game-ending double play off Mark McGwire's bat.

In the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves, Kim worked a scoreless inning in Game 2, in which the Diamondbacks lost.

Kim then picked up saves in Games 4 and 5 for the Diamondbacks.

Kim entered Game 4 in the 8th inning with the Diamondbacks leading 7–3.

However, prior to Kim entering the game, The D-backs had worked themselves into a bases loaded jam with no one out.

Kim pitched masterfully in the inning, ending the bases loaded jam with a double play and a lineout.

He then retired the next three batters in the 9th inning and picked up the save.

The next night, Kim pitched another two shut-out innings and earned the two-inning save that clinched the Diamondbacks’ ticket to the World Series.

Kim became the first pitcher since Goose Gossage to earn two-inning saves on back-to-back days in the postseason.

Kim went on to save 36 games for the Diamondbacks in 2002 and 16 for the Red Sox in 2003, and played in the 2002 All Star Game.

He is the first Korean player to win a World Series.

In the 2004 postseason, Houston Astros closer Brad Lidge matched Gossage and Kim's feat.

With the Diamondbacks up two games to one going into Game 4 of the World Series, Kim relieved Curt Schilling in the eighth inning with the Diamondbacks leading 3–1.

Kim struck out Shane Spencer, Scott Brosius, Alfonso Soriano, and Bernie Williams and grounded out Derek Jeter.

But Paul O'Neill hit a single off Kim before Williams' plate appearance and Tino Martinez's two-out, two-run home run tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning.