photo by Gracey Evans
Senior left-handed pitcher Jason Kim pitches during last Friday’s first game of a doubleheader at Point Park Field at Green Tree Park against WVU Tech.

Jason Kim has less than a month left in a Point Park baseball uniform.

“After every game, there is this feeling that there is one less to play for the rest of my life,” Kim said.

However, the end of Kim’s baseball career as a pitcher for Point Park won’t be pulling him away from the sport entirely. This senior wants to pursue a coaching career after graduation.

Sports consumed Kim’s life growing up in La Crascenta, Calif. He played baseball ever since he was seven years old, and has swam competitively since the age of ten.

“I’d say I was better at swimming, but I loved baseball more,” Kim said.

Because of the difficulty of juggling two sports, Kim decided to focus on what he enjoyed. Baseball became his passion in life, and when he played, he pitched.

“I grew up loving to throw a baseball,” Kim said. “I never could really hit, so I just figured I’d do something I was kind of good at.”

After he graduated high school, Kim began attending Biola University, an evangelical Christian school in Southern California. He attended the school and played baseball there from 2012-14. Additionally, Kim also played baseball over the summer in 2014 and 2015 for Southern California FCA Baseball, another Christian-oriented program.

“Being with Division I players who see life the same way I do, with the religious aspect of it, was really nice,” Kim said.

Kim has a strong devotion to his religion, something that he said has helped him through rough patches in his life.

In 2009, Kim’s grandfather passed away.

“After that I was just lost, and that was when I found God,” Kim said. “Being able to incorporate that and baseball was huge for me.”

After talking with Jordan Crowell, a fellow teammate from the summer program who transferred to Point Park, Kim realized coming to Point Park would offer him better opportunities for baseball, and it’s different for him.

“Here, it is a lot harder,” Kim said. “They have a higher standard for everything we do.”

While Point Park does not incorporate religion into its curriculum or mission statement, Kim has not left that aspect of his personality when he transitioned to Point Park.

“Right before every inning, and after I’m done with my warm-up pitches, I look at stuff written in my hat about my grandpa with some little bible verses,” Kim said. “I just kind of kiss it and look up and just say thank you for the opportunities I get every day.”

Despite now playing baseball and learning at a secular school, Kim hasn’t had any trouble making friends.

“I’ve made some of my greatest friendships here,” Kim said. “I don’t know what it is about this school, maybe because it’s so small, but the minute I got here all of the players have been talking about the familial aspect of being a team. That’s what’s going to win games.”

The team is indeed winning games; the team’s record for the season is currently 20-19 and Kim is 3-3 with a 3.77 ERA.

“[Kim]’s a great pitcher; he has great control of pretty much all of his pitches,” Chris Hernandez, a fellow teammate and friend, said via phone interview April 12. “He always has confidence in himself as a pitcher.”

“He’s very competitive,” head baseball coach Loren Torres said via phone interview Monday.

Kim and his teammates had a rough patch during the first of two games against Rio Grande on Friday, April 15. Kim pitched five innings, gave up nine runs and 15 hits. During the first inning alone, Rio Grande racked up seven hits and five runs. Point Park lost 9-2.

“[That game] was pretty tough on my part; I didn’t really do enough to keep my team in the ball game, pitching-wise,” Kim said.

Point Park won the second game 5-4.

“We definitely stepped up the second game and really took care of business, especially in terms of putting that first game behind us,” Kim said.

Kim remains dedicated to moving forward.

“For me, I’m going to keep my routine the same and keep trying to improve on the things I didn’t do so well on this weekend,” Kim said.

It’s Kim’s devotion to the game that fuels his studies as a sports, arts and entertainment management (SAEM) major.

“What I like about the major is that it is very experience-based,” Kim said. “The professors, like Steve Tanzilli, teach very good classes. It’s not like reading out of a textbook; it’s more like their insight about little things that could help you.”

Coaching is what he would particularly like to do.

“I want to stay around the game of baseball any way I can,” Kim said.

Torres thinks Kim has what it takes to be a coach and is considering possibly bringing him into the fold at the university once he graduates.

“He has the right mentality to be a coach,” Torres said.

When Torres was asked if Kim has room to improve as a player, he gave a curt no.

“He is at his best right now,” he said.