Tough to tell how Kang’s progressing
BRADENTON, Fla. — It is hard to know exactly how well Jung Ho Kang is progressing.
The Pirates third baseman has been at the Pirates’ training facility since Dec. 1 and continued to rehab Tuesday as position players joined pitchers and catchers for spring training workouts. The 28-year-old sustained a broken left leg and torn knee ligaments last September during a second base collision.
The Pirates haven’t set a timetable for when Kang might be ready to see game action, which is certainly understandable. The last thing the team’s medical staff wants to do is put Kang in a situation where he feels he needs to overextended himself in an effort to be back by a certain target date.
The Pirates have also become a touch tighter with providing injury information this spring.
Under a new policy, manager Clint Hurdle will no longer comment about injuries. In fact, the only injury news will come each Wednesday from general manager Neal Huntington and head athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk.
So, that leaves the only option of finding out information about Kang is asking him himself. His English is much improved in his second year in the United States, but still limited after becoming the first native South Korean position to make the jump from the Korean Baseball Organization to the major leagues last season.
“Good, very good,” Kang said when asked how he was feeling earlier this week.
However, the look on Kang’s face spoke louder than the words. He had a big smile.
“Better than the last time I saw you,” Kang said.
That was last Oct. 7 before the Pirates lost to the Chicago Cubs in the National League wild-card game at PNC Park. Kang received a huge ovation when, while being pushed in a wheelchair, he joined his teammates on the third-base foul line pregame introductions.
Kang smiled again when asked if he might be ready for opening day, which is April 3 at home against the St. Louis Cardinals.
“I’ll play when the doctors tell me I am ready to play,” Kang said.
There is a sense around the Pirates that opening day might not be totally out of the question, though mid-April is more realistic for a return and Kang almost certainly will be in the lineup by May 1. Conversely, it was feared at the time of the injury that the 28-year-old might not be able to play until mid-June.
The Pirates would love to have him back after he hit .287 with 15 home runs and an .816 OPS in 126 games while serving as a utility infielder. Kang started 43 games at third and 30 at shortstop, while finishing third in the NL Rookie of the Year voting to Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant and San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Duffy.
Kang was injured when the Cubs’ Chris Coughlan slid into him while attempting to break up a double play.
Pirates’ fans and even some of the players felt Coughlan went out his way to injure Kang by sliding wide to the bag. However, Kang issued a statement through his agent after the game saying he absolved Coughlan of blame and he still feels that way.
Major League Baseball is likely to institute rules by opening day that require baserunners going into second base to slide directly through the bag.
Kang’s injury is part of the reason why change might be coming, though the higher-profile incident in which New York Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada sustained a broken leg when upended by a hard slide from the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Chase Utley in the National League Division Series last October likely served as a greater impetus.
“It would be a good rule because it would keep players from getting hurt,” Kang said. “It’s not fun getting hurt.”