Pirates General Manager Neal Huntington went on 93.7 “The Fan” on Wednesday to discuss Jung-ho Kang and the Pirates going into the 2015 season.
While Huntington has made it clear that Kang will be with the Pirates when they open the season in Cincinnati, he has also stated that the team won’t rush the former KBO (Korean Baseball Organization) superstar into a starting role with the team.
“We believe he’s going to be a very good big league player. A solid regular,” Huntington told the Starkey and Mueller show. “We just don’t have that spot for him right now and we’re comfortable with that because our focus is on helping him transition.”
The transition Kang is going through is much larger than one would think due to the difference in style between the Major Leagues and the KBO as his former league was more offensive-oriented.
Another transition that Kang has to endure is the change of culture from his home in South Korea to the United States. It takes time for someone who hasn’t experienced another culture before to get comfortable in his surroundings.
“The leagues are different,” said Huntington. “The caliber of baseball is different, but as importantly, just living life is going to be very different for this young man and our goal is to help him make that transition as smoothly as possible.”
Huntington also discussed the situation with Kang and Jordy Mercer saying that it was more of a misunderstanding than anything else.
“Kang was in a situation where he was asked a series of questions.” said Huntington. “Those questions were put together in one quote and it was taken and run with. He’s not proud of the way that’s come together and we’re incredibly proud of the way Jordy handled it. Jordy knows that we signed Kang to make us a better team to add depth and quality to this organization and Kang is very confident.”
Huntington believes that with the addition of Kang, along with Travis Snider, Corey Hart and Sean Rodriguez, gives Manager Clint Hurdle the most talented and versatile bench that he’s had since arriving in Pittsburgh.
Adding a deep bench helps an already solid lineup for what Huntington also believes is the best team he’s had since joining the organization.
“Yes, this is the deepest and most talented, but we still have some flaws,” said Huntington. “We still have work to do. We still need to control what we can control and we need some of the uncontrollables, namely a bizarre injury or two, to stay away. We need to stay healthy. We need to continue to stay focused and work hard to get better every single day and recognize that that Tuesday night game in April, when it’s 37 degrees, means as much on the schedule as that Saturday day game in front of a full house.”
Less than 75 days to Opening Day 2015.
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