Jung Ho Kang arrived in Pittsburgh like a giant glass of water to the thirsty, third baseman-less baseball organization that was the Pittsburgh Pirates. It’s been quite a long time since the Pirates had any semblance of a consistent corner infielder. Either they couldn’t hit, or they couldn’t field their position. Sometimes they couldn’t do either. I’m looking at you, Andy LaRoche.
But when Kang arrived from the Korean Baseball Organization’s Nexen Heroes in 2015, we saw a player who showed glimpses of brilliance on both sides of the ball. Jung Ho Kang can hit a baseball in the sixth inning that won’t land until after the game is over.