Goodbye, Byung Hyun Kim

A sad day yesterday, and the end of an era: Byung Hyun Kim was released by the Arizona Diamondbacks. We wonder if we will see him again.

It's difficult to remember now, but Kim was once one of the top prospects in baseball. And then came that 2001 World Series — you remember that one; the one that completely cured New Yorkers of all their post-September 11 depression — and, well, Kim was never the same after that. It's fitting that his career very well might end in Arizona; we're kind of amazed they ever took him back in the first place.

What's the lasting image of Kim, other than the 2001 World Series homers? We'd have to say it was when he flipped off the Fenway Park fans in the 2003 ALDS, ensuring his being left off the playoff roster for the ALCS. (Otherwise, it might have been him who gave up Aaron Boone's homer.) Yet this guy got a World Series ring in 2004. See ya, Kim.

It's Been A Tough Year For Byung-Hyun Kim [The Angry T]