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Gil Kim prepping the next wave of Blue Jays

From Director of Player Development to Dunedin Manager, Kim has lived the highs and lows of a baseball career.
ByMatthew Sookram|
Feb 15, 2020; Dunedin, Florida, USA; Toronto Blue Jays director of player development Gil Kim (16) looks on during spring training at Spectrum Field. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-Imagn Images
Feb 15, 2020; Dunedin, Florida, USA; Toronto Blue Jays director of player development Gil Kim (16) looks on during spring training at Spectrum Field. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-Imagn Images | Douglas DeFelice-Imagn Images

The Toronto Blue Jays Single-A affiliate team, the Dunedin Blue Jays, are where many of the future stars get their start, including both players and coaches. Their current manager Gil Kim recently gave a candid interview to Fox 13 news in Dunedin to talk about his journey from minor league ball player to major league director of player development, then back to the minors as the head honcho.

Gil Kim prepping the next wave of Blue Jays

One of the stories that stood out from that interview was the fact that Kim once lived inside the clubhouse for a team he played for. While playing for a ballclub called Tiburones de La Guaira in Venezuela in 2008, Kim’s housing arrangements consisted of sleeping on a mattress in the clubhouse bathroom.

“The opportunity to play for that team, to play with all those players and experience a pro ball type of schedule and level was something that I never dreamed I'd be able to do," Kim told Fox news. "The opportunity to be there and play baseball there. That was the biggest thing for me, and so, wherever I was sleeping, anything like that was really secondary.”

He also utilized that experience to begin learning Spanish which paid dividends years later when he became the first ever Director of Player Development with the Blue Jays. He says being able to break down that language barrier allowed him to establish relationships with players and their families as they became a part of the Blue Jays organization.

“Whether it's language or just showing that you care and making extra efforts to learn who they are, where they come from, what's important to them, meet them halfway at certain times. I think those things just as much as the language, anything that shows that you care and that you're invested in who they are as people, are things that the players appreciate.”

The front office has shown a lot of faith in Kim over the years and is now entrusting him to instill the values of what life is like in the Blue Jays organization at their very earliest stages.