Former Pirate Nick Kingham Pitches Well, Gets No Run Support in KBO Debut

Overnight, the Korean Baseball Organization became just the second professional team to start their season since the Coronavirus pandemic began in March. The SK Wyverns threw a familiar name on the mound as they opened their season against the Hanwha Eagles early Tuesday morning in what would be a 3-0 loss.

With many of us longing for the Major League Baseball season to return, there was some hope provided early this morning as the Korean Baseball Organization became the second professional league to start their season since the Coronavirus pandemic began in mid-March. At 1:05 am eastern time, the SK Wyverns opened up their 2020 season against the Hanwha Eagles in a game that was televised on ESPN. While you may not know anything about either the Eagles or the Wyverns, one name you may recognize is the guy who got the nod as the Opening Day starter for the SK Wyverns.

Nick Kingham pitched for the Pirates in 2018 and parts of 2019 and was once a top farmhand for the organization. While people we're excited to see Kingham ascend to the Major Leagues, his results were not nearly indicative of the hype that he brought with him. In 32 games, 19 starts, for the Pirates he would go 6-8 with a 6.67 ERA in 110.2 innings of work while striking out 101 batters and walking 43. The Pirates would designate Kingham for assignment on June 8th, before trading him to the Toronto Blue Jays for cash on June 13th.

His career with the Blue Jays would get a little bit better as he made the transition from starter to reliever. In 11 relief appearances with the Jays, Kingham went 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA striking out 14 and walking eight in 21 innings of work. He would be released by the Blue Jays after the season and was left with nowhere to go in the MLB. With seemingly no team's interested, Kingham decided to continue his baseball career overseas signing a one-year deal with SK Wyvern as he tried to turn his career around. He worked hard throughout spring training and the off-season workout camps as he tweaked his mechanics. He worked with Wyverns manager Youm Kyoung-youb and made some adjustments to his delivery and arm angle that made him a more effective pitcher.

Because of this hard work over the off-season, Kingham was given the honor of being the Opening Day starter for the Wyverns. Kyoung-youb noted that Kingham's off-speed stuff was very impressive and would help him in the KBO telling reporters "He throws many different types of breaking balls, and I would say that is one of his biggest strengths, " said Kyoung-youb. "Though he is still a relatively young pitcher, he has shown a lot of maturity in how he manages his game." With the season just beginning, Kingham was on a pitch count and was going to last either six innings or 90 pitches.

Kingham went beyond the innings mark in his debut, but couldn't get any run support as the Wyverns fell to the Eagles 3-0. Kingham threw seven innings giving up three runs on six hits while walking two and striking out four in his KBO debut. After getting through the first inning unscathed, Kingham was tagged for a run in the top of the second inning when Hanwha's Kim Tae-kyun lined an RBI single to left to get the Eagles out to a 1-0 lead. Kingham would settle in after that throwing up four straight zeroes as the game entered the seventh inning with the Eagles still leading 1-0.

While Kingham was pitching well, his opposition was pitching just a little bit better. Warwick Saupold got the nod for Hanwha and shut out SK Wyvern over nine innings of work while allowing just two hits, striking out two and walking one. The Wyverns could not figure Saupold out and Kingham was left with no run support. He would be tagged for two more runs in the top of the seventh on a two-run single by Ha Ju-suk leading to the end of Kingham's day. He exceeded both the innings count and the pitch limit throwing 93 pitches over seven innings of work before being lifted.

Despite the outcome not going the way he would have liked it, Kingham (0-1, 3.85 ERA) showed promise on the mound. He had decent strikeout numbers, posting four in seven innings of work, with a majority of them coming from his devastating curveball that drops right out of the zone. This is one of the pitches that Kyoung-youb talked so highly about and it's one of the things Kingham is looking to develop in the KBO. Many players have revitalized their careers overseas before coming back to Major League Baseball and Kingham is looking to add on to the list of success stories.

SK Wyvern continues their three-game series with Hanwha tomorrow and Thursday as they look to rebound from an Opening Day loss. Looking ahead on the calendar, Kingham's next start with the KBO, if he is going on the traditional five-game rest would come on Sunday when the Wyverns are on the road against the Lotte Giants. Kingham just looks to keep improving on the mound while giving his team a chance to win as he tries to find his way back to an MLB club.