Korean player finds black pitcher to be a bit too black

Saw this via Baseball Think Factory. On the one hand, oh my stars and garters that anyone would say something like this. But really, this makes me laugh out loud more than anything because it’s so damn matter-of-fact that finding actual racism in it as opposed to just cringingly-bad social awkwardness is a real stretch.

First baseman Kim Tae Kyun of the KBO’s Hanwa Eagles was asked which pitcher he had the hardest time against. He said Shane Youman, who is an American playing for the Lotte Giants. Youman is black, you see, and that creates some issues according to Kim:

“The Lotte Giants’ Youman is the most difficult player to play against. His face is too black, so it is hard to bat because his white teeth and the ball confuses me when he smiles on the mound. So, I suffered a lot.”

I figure there are a lot of ways to go with that translation. But I can’t think of any of them that really salvage the idea Kim was trying to express.

For what it’s worth Youman’s response was more bemused than anything else and Kim did apologize. And I presume that the Hanwa Eagles’ media relations people have Kim Tae Kyun locked in a room somewhere right now giving him intensive lessons from the Crash Davis School of Baseball Player Cliches.