Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang is in Korea for the first time since January 2015, sharing off-season plans and addressing US assault allegations.
Since the Pittsburgh Pirates season ended last week, players are wrapping up business in their home-away-from-home and heading back to their native shores. For third baseman Jung Ho Kang, this means his first trip back to his native South Korea for the first time in 22-months.
The Pirates signed Kang to a 4-year, $11 million contract in January 2015. He was the first in a recent crop of Korean baseball players to venture into Major League Baseball. Kang initially came to the states on January 14, 201,5 with his former team in the Korean Baseball Organization, Nexen Heroes. According to MLB’s Tom Singer, he spent a month with the team, training at the Rangers facilities in Suprise, Arizona, a common practice for the KBO. He then joined his new team, the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton, Florida in mid-February for his first MLB Spring Training.
After a very successful first season in the bigs, Kang likely would have spent some time between the 2015 and 2016 seasons visiting South Korea. However a horrific season-ending injury he suffered after a take-out slide by the Cubs’ Christ Coghlan on September 17, 2015 changed any plans he had for relaxation at home. After undergoing surgery at Pittsburgh’s Allegheny General Hospital to repair a tibial plateau fracture with a lateral meniscal repair, he elected to stay in the US for rehab. During the off-season, he split time between Pittsburgh and the Pirates’ training facilities in Florida.
Joseph Kim, our source for all things Korean Baseball, reported today that Kang is back on South Korean soil and has plans for his time back home that include relaxation and baseball.
#KingKang in Korea, his first homecoming since 14th January 2015. #Pirates pic.twitter.com/TfJKLTn5RS
— Joseph Kim (@blackwings2011) October 7, 2016
“His plan,” said Kim. “1. Rest in GyangJu; 2. Eating some Korean food, mostly Korean BBQ and meeting friends; 3. Privately training himself; and, 4. If Nexen Heroes get in the Korean Series, he will visit at GoChuck Dome.”
Some of those comments, Kim noted, are from the press conference hastily held upon Kang’s arrival, some come from statements he’s made recently.
Kang found himself in a very serious situation in the US in July when allegations of sexual assault surfaced against him related to an incident during a Pirates road trip to Chicago in June.
Kang fielded two questions related to that incident today, Kim said.
“Time will solve that,” Kim quoted Kang as saying in response to one question about the investigation. As for the Korean superstar’s message to fans who have worried for him regarding the situation, “To play baseball well is the best way for them,” Kim said Kang responded.
No charges have been filed against the infielder related to the case. According to the most recent reports from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Chicago police investigating the incident indicate that the alleged victim has been non-responsive to police requests for additional information related to the case.
Photo credit – Daniel Decker Photography
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