Hyeseong Kim tried to be specific about the feeling.
“I wouldn’t say I was disappointed,” the Dodgers infielder said through his interpreter, Dean Kim, earlier this week.
“But,” he acknowledged in an interview with The California Post, “I was a little down.”
That was four weeks ago, when the Dodgers informed Kim that –– for the second straight season since joining the team –– he was beingdemoted to Triple-Ato begin the year.
At the time, the move was somewhat of a surprise, with the Dodgers picking prospect Alex Freeland for a part-time second base job over their $12.5 million signing out of South Korea.
All spring, Kim had repeatedly stated his goal of making the Opening Day roster, encouraged by an offseason in which he and the Dodgers felt he hadmade strides with his revamped swing.
But then came the World Baseball Classic, when Kim left camp and reverted back to bad, old habits at the plate during his time with Team South Korea.
It led to a conversation with Dodgers coaches and front office staff in the days leading up to the start of the season, in which Kim was informed he was going to Triple-A Oklahoma City to get consistent at-bats amid his ongoing swing change.
“Obviously, it’s everyone’s dream to play in the major leagues,” said Kim, whose demotion was such big news among Korean baseball fans thathe apologized to them in an interviewafter arriving in OKC for the start of the year.
Still, he reiterated this week, the news left him feeling more motivation than disappointment.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
