Since I’ve been cognizant about the Red Sox, there have been very few baseball players as enigmatic as Byung-hyun Kim.

Judging by the various Red Sox Message boards, to say the fandom is mixed on Kim is an understatement. Over the course of the off-season, other than acquisition talk, I would say that Kim was the primary topic of conversation among Sox fans.

For the life of me, I can’t figure out why. There have been a series of myths propagated about Kim by the baseball media (Thank you, Tim McCarver), and parroted by fans who either don’t know any better, or don’t want to know any better. Among these myths are that Kim has emotional problems, Kim can’t handle the pressure of pitching in Boston, Kim is a choker, and Bronson Arroyo is better suited to start than Kim. I’ll start at the beginning…

Kim has emotional problems

I have an inherent problem with Joe Fan making this kind of exclamation, none of whom actually have met Kim. That’s secondary though. The evidence presented is that he pouts from time to time, he flipped off the fans, and he punched a photographer in Korea.

On the evidence, I doubt these fans have seen Derek Lowe pitch, or remember that Ted Williams flipped off the fans quite a bit, or realize how invasive the Korean tabloid press is. Kim might not be the most mature player on the planet, but I doubt he’s the least. And I think he’s handling himself pretty well considering the culture shock, something that players such as Hideo Nomo mention they still have trouble with.

Kim can’t handle the pressure of pitching in Boston

Wow.

Putting aside that the 2003 Boston Red Sox do not make the playoffs without Kim, and there not being one iota of evidence that he struggled in Boston, this is one of the most repeated criticism of Kim.

Kim had a 0.00 ERA (13.0 ip) in September, as the Red Sox were making a run for the Wacky Card. Detractors mentioned that it wasn’t against the crème of the AL crop, but if the competition was so easy, why is it that relievers thought of as ‘stable’ didn’t post similar numbers? Alan Embree (9.00), Scott Williamson (8.59), and Mike Timlin (6.00) all pitched worse in less innings. But all can pitch in Boston apparently.

Also, keep in mind that Bronson Arroyo posted a 2.45 ERA in September.

Oh yeah, he pitched for the Korean national team before signing with Arizona. The only way the Korean government would release him from his obligation to enlist in the Korean armed forces was to pitch well in the Asian games. If he screwed up, he was in the Army. That is pressure. Not blowing a game after your manager hung you out to dry as a 22-year-old in the World Series. Which brings us too…

Kim is a choker

Well, his team won the World Series (he was lights out in the NLDS, and the NLCS), he averted the Korean military, stabilized the Red Sox bullpen in 2003, pitched two innings with four strikeouts in Yankees Stadium in 2002, and didn’t allow a run in September.

Why are people harping on blowing two saves in the World Series, at 22-years-old, one on over 60 pitches, and the other on the next day? It can’t be because he got saddled with an impossible situation in a game against New York in July (courtesy of Scott Sauerbeck), because he blew two other saves all year can it? It can’t be because Alan Embree couldn’t get Eurbial Durazo out can it?

Also, people claimed the Red Sox gave Kim a phantom shoulder injury in order to keep him off the postseason roster against the Yankees. “No way he was really hurt,” they said. Of course, he started the season in the DL with a shoulder injury.

Bronson Arroyo is better suited to start than Kim

4.91.

That’s Arroyo’s ERA right now, and it’s the best mark he’s posted in his career as a starter.

For Pawtucket last year, Arroyo posted a 3.43 ERA. Kim’s ERA as a starter?

3.10 in Boston. 3.38 overall.

In two hitters parks (Arizona and Boston). Kim was better than Arroyo was in a minor league pitcher’s park. And Kim is 2 years younger.

As you can see, if you want to, Byung-hyun Kim is not only a valuable part of this Red Sox team, but is also been a top notch pitcher for his entire career. It’s a shame a good amount of people don’t notice it.