Kim Gwang-hyun (32, St. Louis Cardinals), who succeeded in soft landing in the American Professional Baseball Major League (MLB), climbed 13th in the 2020 rookie player rankings by MLB.com.
On the 31st (Korean time), MLB.com selected and ranked 25 new players who were active in the 2020 Big League.
Kim Gwang-Hyun was selected in 13th place.
MLB.com said, “32-year-old rookie Kim Kwang-hyun contributed greatly to the completion of the St. Louis starter. Even though he was on the list of injured due to a kidney infarction, he raised the lowest average ERA among rookie pitchers,” Kim Gwang-hyun summarized his performance in 2020.
Kim Gwang-Hyun entered the big leagues in eight games this year and played with an average ERA of 1.62. He posted a surprising performance with a hit average of 0.197 and an on-base allowance of 1.03 per inning.
2020 was the year when all the joys and sorrows of Kim Gwang-hyun’s baseball life melted.
Kim Gwang-hyun succeeded in advancing to the major league of his dreams, but due to the risk of spreading the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19), the spring camp was closed and the opening of the major league was delayed indefinitely.
After twists and turns, the major league started, and Kim Gwang-Hyun started as a finishing pitcher before the opening of the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 25 and scored a save with 1 inning, 2 hits and 2 runs (1 ERA).
However, Corona 19 also caught Kim Gwang-hyun’s ankle. The team was unable to play for a long time from July 31st to August 15th due to a confirmed case in the St. Louis club.
The entire St. Louis squad was given a’restricted movement order’, and Kim Gwang-hyun had to train in a limited environment.
However, Kim Kwang-hyun passed the crisis well.
As the team suffered injuries, Kim Gwang-hyun moved to the familiar position, starting, and then made a good fight day after day. Unexpected kidney infarction was also gently brushed off.
MLB.com picked Kyle Lewis (Seattle Mariners), who won the American League rookie king, as number one.
Seattle outfielder Lewis made 58 appearances this year, hitting a batting average of 0.262, an on-base percentage of 0.364, a slugging percentage of 0.437, 11 homers, and 28 RBIs.
San Diego Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth finished second. Cronenworth is likely to play with Kim Ha-sung in 2021.
National League rookie of the year Devin Williams (Milwaukee Brewers) came in third.
Dane Dunning, a second-generation Korean pitcher, was ranked 18th.
Dunning wore the Chicago White Sox uniform this year and played in 7 games with an average ERA of 2.97. Recently traded, he plays for the Texas Rangers in 2021.