Wendell Kim

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Wendell Kim
Coach
Born: (1950-03-09)March 9, 1950
Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Died: February 15, 2015(2015-02-15) (aged 64)
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Teams

Wendell Kealohepauloe Kim (March 9, 1950 – February 15, 2015) was an American

Hawaiian
descent.

Early life

Kim was born in Honolulu, one of three children of welterweight boxer Phil "Wildcat" Kim, who compiled a 43-15-3 record as a professional fighter, and his wife Doris Caserman. According to Wendell, his father abused both Doris and their children. Phil Kim retired from boxing in 1956, and was shot to death two years later, when Wendell was eight. The crime remains unsolved.[1]

Playing career

Kim played three years of varsity college baseball at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, where he was selected twice for the All-California Collegiate Athletic Association team.[1] In 1973, he attended an open tryout camp held by the San Francisco Giants, and he impressed the team enough to be signed as a free agent.[1] He reached the Triple-A level in 1978, and had a .303 batting average in the Pacific Coast League. He never played in the major leagues, however, and he was released by the following spring. He played a brief stint in the Miami Amigos of the Inter-American League in 1979, but was out of baseball by the end of the season.

As coach and manager

In 1980 he began his post-playing career, starting out as a coach for the

Clinton Giants, Fresno Giants and Phoenix Firebirds. It wasn't until 1989 that he got his first taste of big league baseball, when he became the first base coach for the Giants under Roger Craig. The Giants won the 1989 National League pennant in Kim's first season, but fell in the 1989 World Series to the cross-bay Oakland Athletics
.

Kim coached for the Giants under Craig and Dusty Baker for eight years (1989–96), switching to the third-base coach's box in 1992. He then left to coach third base for the Boston Red Sox under Jimy Williams. He held that job in Boston for four years, manning the position from 1997 to 2000.

After his replacement by Gene Lamont as Boston's third base coach in October 2000,[2] Kim became manager of the 2001 Indianapolis Indians, the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. That job was short-lived, however, as he left after one season to become Frank Robinson's bench coach for the 2002 Montreal Expos.

Kim returned to coaching third base, taking that position with the

win–loss record
of 669–645 (.509).

In retirement, Kim suffered from short-term memory loss, and was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease.[1] He died on February 15, 2015, in Phoenix at 64.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Rains, Sally Tippett. "Whatever happened to Wendell Kim? The sad story Archived 2014-12-01 at the Wayback Machine", STL Sports Page (RobRains.com), 8/24/14.
  2. ^ "Lamont officially hired by Sox". SouthCoastToday.com. AP. November 7, 2000.
  3. ^ "Ex-Cubs, Giants coach Kim, known for emphatic waves, dead at 64". Fox Sports. February 16, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  4. ISBN 978-0-7432-6752-6
    .

External links
Sporting positions
Preceded by Shreveport Captains manager
1986 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Phoenix Firebirds manager
1987–1988 		Succeeded by
Preceded by San Francisco Giants first base coach
1989–1991 		Succeeded by
Preceded by San Francisco Giants third base coach
1992–1996 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Boston Red Sox third base coach
1997–2000 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Indianapolis Indians manager
2001 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Montreal Expos bench coach
2002 		Succeeded by
Brad Mills
Preceded by Chicago Cubs third base coach
2003–2004 		Succeeded by
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