Oriole #1010- Hyun Soo Kim-or the Debut that Almost Wasn't

For those of you who follow the Orioles, which I assume is the vast majority of people who visit my little site, then you are familiar with the saga of Hyun Soo Kim' time with the Orioles during this past Spring Training.

The O's signed Kim to a 2 year, $7 million dollar deal back in December 2015. He had played in the Korean Baseball Organization (Korea's version of MLB) for the past decade or so, and he was a star in the league, who hit for power and average and got on base consistently. At the time that he signed, it was widely assumed that he would be the Orioles left fielder in 2016, due at least in part to the lack of organizational outfield depth.

But once Spring Training started, the emergence of Rule 5 pick Joey Rickard and his sensational success quickly eclipsed Kim, who had a polar opposite spring training experience from Joey. Whether it was a culture shock, language barrier, or the adjustment to a new league, Kim struggled from the start. He began the spring 0-23 and finished Grapefruit League action with a paltry .178 average with no extra base hits and a single walk. In fact, it seemed like most of his hits didn't even leave the infield and he was regularly over-matched by average major league fastballs.

Kim's contract stated that he needed to give his approval to be optioned to the minor leagues (a poorly thought out stipulation by the Orioles), and he refused, insisting that his contract be honored. It was a bad situation all around, because he clearly would have benefited by getting regular at bats at AAA, but it's hard to blame him too much since his contract gave him the control to decide and it was always his dream to play in the Major Leagues. I can honestly see both sides of the story.

Due to Hyun Soo's insistence about staying on the Major League roster, he ran down the orange carpet with the rest of the team on Opening Day, but was the only Orioles player to receive any boo's (again in my opinion only partially deserved).

It took him until the fifth game of the season to make his Orioles and MLB debut, when he started in left field against the Rays in the final game of the Orioles first homestand. He went 2-3 with two infield singles in his debut, and appeared in his second game last night against the Red Sox in Boston, where he was 0-4 but did walk twice. Only time will tell how this is going to work out, but right now, he is firmly entrenched on the bench as the team's fifth outfielder.

Finally, I'd be remiss to not mention my autograph experience with Hyun Soo since this is an autograph blog. I flat out had no success with him in Spring. In fact, I don't even know if he ever looked at me or the other fans I was with. At one point, I was with a group of about eight people, including 2-3 attractive Korean girls who were only waiting for him and had signs for him to boot. He was in the car with his translator and blew right past the group of us, with a small wave of his hand and his eyes never leaving his phone. So I'm not a fan of his not because of his contract situation and how he ended up on the 25 man roster, but instead because of how I saw him treat his fans in Sarasota. Bad form Hyun Soo.

As was the case with my Pedro Alvarez autograph, my autographing friend Alan once again was able to help me out. For whatever reason, Hyun Soo seemed to gladly sign for Alan, who got his autograph at least three times while I continued to strike out. So thanks to my dad's Old Man Card, and Alan's help, this autograph will always be in my collection.

Oriole #1007- Pedro Alvarez

As I've mentioned while writing my last two debut posts highlighting Joey Rickard and Mark Trumbo, any time there are multiple debuts in the same game, I use fielding position numbers (1-9) as a tiebreaker. And although Pedro also made his Orioles debut on Opening Day, he served as the designated hitter in that game, so is the last of the three players to have officially made his debut in the O's first game of 2016. 

Pedro didn't officially sign with the Orioles until the day after I came back home from Sarasota, but I actually saw him at the Orioles complex on the last day of my trip; presumably he was there to take his physical. So that makes sense given that the Orioles physical/signing process generally seems to take something like 2-3 days to complete. They are certainly known for their "thorough" process, just ask Grant Balfour or Yovani Gallardo.

Thankfully, I've made a connection with a few fellow Orioles autograph collectors in Sarasota, and Alan was kind enough to help me out with Pedro (and Hyun Soo Kim), neither of whom signed for me on my trip (more about Kim in his post that will be up in a few days). Some of you might remember Alan for his winning a contest and being included in the Topps Heritage Minors set a couple years back. I've heard that Pedro isn't the best signer, so I was extremely happy that Alan was able to not only get my Old Man Card signed, but also personalized for me!

Pedro was the Pirates first round draft pick in the 2008 draft (the Orioles selected Brian Matusz two picks later), and he had a bit of an up and down career during his six seasons in Pittsburgh. He struggled defensively at third and later first base, and while he did make the 2013 All-Star team and hit 131 homeruns, including 30+ two times, he also struck out 813 times and struggled to hit for average.

Between being a Scott Boras client, and some salary demands, it was not too surprising to see that he was still unsigned in early March. After the Orioles deal for Dexter Fowler fell apart, they turned their attention to Pedro and signed him to a one year $5.75 million deal.

He has struggled a bit for the Orioles so far, and has just one hit over fifteen at-bats in five games. He has walked three times and only struck our four times, so it could be worse. But I'm hoping that his power potential shows up sometime soon.

Oriole # 1005- Joey Rickard

I wrote about him last week and I'm already writing about him again, the 2016 Orioles rookie sensation, Joey Rickard.

He was the Orioles' 2015 Rule 5 pick from the Tampa Bay Rays farm system where he spent the 2015 season with the AA Montgomery Biscuits. For the O's, over 63 Spring Training at bats in 28 games, he hit a robust .397 with 6 doubles, a triple, a home run, and five stolen bases, typically batting in the lead-off spot. The Orioles love keeping their Rule 5 picks anyway but that kind of performance would have led to his making the team regardless of the situation. 

Joey was one of three Orioles making his debut for the team on Opening Day, but his was additionally special because it was his MLB debut as well. I use the 1-9 numbered fielding positions on the baseball field as a debut tie-breaker, so Joey, who started in left field (7), narrowly edged out Mark Trumbo in right field (9). and Pedro Alvarez (DH) for the first debut of the 2016 season.  I read somewhere online that according to the Elias Sports Bureau, Joey was the first player to start an Opening Day game for the Orioles in the same year as being selected as a Rule 5 pick.

Rickard wasted no time making noise in the regular season, and singled in his first at-bat, and then doubled in his second AB. Unfortunately, a cycle was not in the works, but going 2-4 with a run scored on your Opening Day MLB debut is flat-out amazing. Joey is living the dream right now.

So, you might have noticed that the only three pictures in this post are three copies on my dad's Old Man Cards. Joey was a great signer for me during my Spring Training trip, but the only issue is how few cards exist of him. As far as I can tell, outside of custom cards like my dad's, he is pictured on just three cards, all minor league issues from his time in the Rays' farm system; he is included in the 2013 Bowling Green Hot Rods, 2014 Montgomery Biscuits, and 2015 Charlotte Stone Crabs sets. And none of those cards are particularly easy to come by, so thanks as always to my dad for making these great cards!

Good luck with your career, Joey! I hope it continues as well as it started!