Kim Byeong-Hyun - 1 Inning, No Loss Point “Good Start”

How would he have felt after receiving a World Series championship ring before the match?

Kim Byeong-Hyun (23. Arizona Diamondbacks) cut a neat start in his season’s first pitching by guarding 1 inning without loss point.

In the home-match with the U.S. Major League Baseball’s San Diego Padres, Kim stepped onto the mound in the 9th inning, as the team was winning by 9-0. Although he allowed 2 hits, he concluded the game without loss point, scoring 2 strikeouts. He did not record a save, because the score gap was too wide.

Although Kim, who handled the first batter Lankford and Sweeney with a ground-hit and strikeout, fell in danger of giving out 1st and 2nd bases in 2 outs by 2 consecutive hits, he managed to get Kent struck out swinging. Arizona once again proved to be No.1, who led the World Series into victory, as the day’s starting pitcher Curt Schilling recorded 6 hits and no loss point during 7 innings, following Randy Johnson’s perfect victory on the previous day.

In the commemoration event that was held before the match began, Kim received the honorable World Series championship ring along with other teammates. This was the first time for an Asian pitcher to wear the ring. The ring is decorated with the team’s emblem made with 36 diamonds in the center, phrase that says `2001 World Champion`, and Kim’s name `KIM` with his back number 49. It is made of diamonds and 18 karat gold, and weighs 56.7 grams with the cost of 9,000 dollars (approximately 12 million won).

As Kim expressed his will to donate the ring for the Korean fans, he will not wear it to keep it at home, and then he is to donate it to either Korea Baseball Organization or the baseball museum in Jeju Isle after returning to Korea.

Meanwhile, Barry Bonds (38. San Francisco Giants), who set the major league-season record of most homeruns last year (73 homeruns), also hit 2 homeruns in the day’s opening match. In the LA Dodgers-game that took place at Dodgers stadium on the 3rd, Bonds stole a 2-point homerun from Kevin Brown in the 2nd inning and a solo-homerun from Omar Daal in the 7th inning. 4 battings, 3 hits, 5 hit-points.

He did not grant much meaning on the two homeruns in the opening match by saying after the game, “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”San Francisco won a big victory of 9-2 with Bonds’ impressing batting. Dodgers’ Kevin Brown, who went on the mound for the first time since his elbow surgery, was quite disappointing to allow 9 hits and 7 points in 4 innings.

Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com