Jung Ho Kang has had a fair amount of legal trouble in the past year. He was investigated for sexual assault last summer, and in December he was arrested for his third DUI in Korea. And in Korea, your third DUI conviction means your license will be revoked, which has happened to Kang. He was also given a suspended sentence of eight months in jail.
Jung Ho Kang might not play for the Pirates in 2017
Saturday’s Say Hey, Baseball features Jung Ho Kang’s visa problems, the underrated George Springer, and Tommy Joseph’s game of catch.
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
But those aren’t the only problems that are resulting from his legal issues.
The U.S. Embassy has reportedly denied Kang’s application for a work visa to enter the U.S., which puts a kink in his plans to play for the Pirates. Several outlets are reporting that the visa denial was due to that recent DUI conviction. But Kang has played in the United States for two seasons, 2015 and 2016, and had no issues getting a work visa then despite his two previous DUI arrests. Regardless of why his visa application was denied, it happened. Bucs Dugout found an outlet in Korea that said Kang’s visa status could change pending the appeal of his recent sentence, but it doesn’t look like any of that will be progressing anytime soon.
The Pirates did prepare for this as well as they could. They found out back in February that Kang’s trial was going to prevent him from arriving on time for spring training, and they went out and traded for Phil Gosselin. They also have a number of other options they can juggle around the infield, like David Freese and Josh Harrison. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be an impact on the Pirates. Kang’s bat will be missed in their lineup, and it makes things more difficult all around the diamond. But there’s nothing that can be done. Kang is going to be missing from the Pirates for a while, because even when he does make it back into the U.S., he could be subject to a punishment from MLB as well.
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