Dodgers Get a Whiff of Latest Import

The young pitcher from South Korea is having a breakthrough season that many anticipated.

Chan Ho Park?

No, Park’s inconsistency continues to frustrate the Dodgers.

It’s 21-year-old Byung-Hyun Kim who has stepped up to replace injured Matt Mantei as the Arizona Diamondbacks’ closer, with no loss of heat.

Kim has struck out 17 of the last 23 batters he has faced, eight in a row at one point.

He dominated the Dodgers on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, striking out four in 1 2/3 innings of an 11-7 Arizona win in 12 innings and all three batters in a scoreless ninth of the 2-1 victory started by Randy Johnson.

Kim throws in the low 90s, not overpowering in itself, but he comes from varying angles--often with a submarine motion.

“With the angle, movement and velocity, it’s a pretty tough combination,” General Manager Joe Garagiola Jr. said. “He gets so much late break that hitters and umpires have the tendency to give up on his pitches.”

Through 16 2/3 innings, he has 28 strikeouts and has held batters to a .180 average. He was signed in 1999 to a four-year, $2.4-million package and blazed through 21 games in double A and triple A with a 6-0 record and 72 strikeouts in 51 1/3 innings before notching 31 more in 27 1/3 innings with the Diamondbacks.

“We all believed he had major league stuff, you could see that immediately,” Garagiola said. “We didn’t know how quickly he’d assimilate. He didn’t come here until almost the end of spring training last year and he couldn’t say much beyond hello.”

Kim returned to the United States last January for an intensive English program. He still has trouble orally, Garagiola said, but his comprehension is very good, and he is obviously even more comfortable on the mound.

“My mind, my legs and heart feel good,” Kim said. “I’m more relaxed this year than last year. Whenever I pitch, it’s no problem.”

Indeed.

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The Diamondbacks provide a convincing response to teams whining about injuries and dark clouds. They have a nine-game winning streak and a 26-10 record, despite the absence of Mantei and Matt Williams, their leading run producer. Mantei is expected back next weekend, and Williams, who broke his foot in spring training, could return by June 1.

Garagiola said that Manager Buck Showalter had a team meeting after losing Mantei and Williams and said he didn’t want to hear any crying, that they had plenty of guys capable of stepping up.

“Buck told them, ‘I’m not worried and you shouldn’t either,’ ” Garagiola said. “That’s the benefit of a veteran team. Obviously, you don’t replace a Matt Williams or Matt Mantei, but people like Lenny Harris, Danny Klassen, Andy Fox, Mike Morgan and young Mr. Kim have definitely stepped up. Nothing this team does surprises me.”

And the Diamondbacks, having won the West Division title in only their second year, remain motivated, Garagiola said, by the “unfinished business” of last year’s playoffs.

“We have so many guys who have been in the postseason that they understand the only game you want to win is the last game of October.”

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It is only mid-May, but Don Baylor, who has a four-year contract to manage the Chicago Cubs, has come to realize the formidable extent of the Cubs’ rebuilding project.

“I spent six years at Coors Field,” the former manager of the Colorado Rockies said. “I feel like I’ve already spent six years here.”