Arizona Diamondbacks: Byung-Hyun Kim announces retirement

Former Arizona Diamondbacks closer Byung-Hyun Kim has announced his retirement from professional baseball.

When one thinks of former Arizona Diamondbacks closer Byung-Hyun Kim, one tends to gravitate towards the 2001 World Series. After a solid regular season as the primary closer, he unraveled during the World Series that season, allowing five earned runs in his 3.1 innings while blowing the save in both games he appeared in.

However, he was more than just that one bad postseason run. Kim rebounded to have an All Star year in 2002, notching 36 saves while posting a 2.04 ERA and a 1.071 WHiP. Yet, after one more year as a closer, he was shifted into the rotation, where he did not have the same level of success. After 2007, he spent time in the independent Golden Baseball League, the Japanese minor leagues, the Korean Baseball Organization, and the Australian Baseball League.

Now, more than a decade after his final major league appearance, the well traveled submariner has called it a career. In an interview with Lee Jae-kook of SPOTV Sports Time, Kim covered a wide range of topics, including his decision to walk away from the game.

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Kim was an oddity even during the height of his career. He was a hard thrower for a submariner, and was known for his frisbee slider. Kim was also known for that disastrous run in the World Series, and for being the pitcher who gave up Barry Bonds‘ 715th home run, as the Giants slugger moved into second on the all time list.

Kim also had his share of controversies. He infamously flipped off Red Sox fans during after being pulled from Game Three of the 2003 ALDS. Kim was known for his love of taking naps, smashing a photographers camera during the offseason, and getting into trouble in Korea.

Yet all of that would have been forgiven had Kim been able to recapture the form he had as one of the better regular season closers at the beginning of the 2000s. Instead, a knee injury and a problem with being able to retain his balance ruined his career, leaving Kim as a marginal major league arm despite his previous success. Even during his time in Korea and Japan, he was unable to return to the glory of his early days.

Byung-Hyun Kim was an excellent closer for the Arizona Diamondbacks at the beginning of his major league career. However, injuries and his issues in the postseason derailed his career, leaving one to wonder what could have been.