BALTIMORE -- When Hyun Soo Kim first came to Baltimore and trotted out on the orange carpet, the Orioles outfielder was greeted with a smattering of boos. Following a Spring Training in which Kim hit .178 and refused an assignment to the Minor Leagues -- an option within his rights as part of the two-year, $7-million contract -- the first month of his Major League career had been largely forgettable.
At least, until Saturday night. Kim, getting just his fourth start of the season, went 3-for-4 with a run scored and his first career double in the Orioles' 8-7 loss to the White Sox.
"That's very typical of our fans," manager Buck Showalter said of the warm reception that greeted Kim on Saturday. "This guy has been grinding and working and sometimes, I was telling, I forget who it was, it might have been [hitting coach] Scott [Coolbaugh] today, that sometimes it might have been nice for him to take a little breather and kind of step back and get to watch Major League games and kind of step back, because he's a watcher. He watches the game. He likes to see things through, and I think in some ways today it may have kind of helped him to kind of step back and take some of the pressure off for a while. Even his batting practice has been a lot more crisp. He's really worked hard at it."
Batting out of the No. 9 spot, Kim is now 9-for-15 on the season and hitting .600.
The left fielder got things started by connecting for his first career double off White Sox starter Mat Latos in the third inning. It also marked Kim's first career extra-base hit. He followed that up with a pair of singles, scoring on Adam Jones' double in the sixth.