Matthew Taylor: Hyun Soo Kim deserving of Hitting Machine nickname

Hyun Soo Kim stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning on Thursday night with a chance to do something that no Orioles batter has done since ... Sunday.

OK, so Matt Wieters' five-hit game at San Francisco, only the third ever by an Orioles catcher, made the possibility of a five-hit game for Kim seem less important. Regardless, it would have been a unique and fitting accomplishment for the rookie nicknamed Hitting Machine.

Only one O's rookie has totaled a five-hit game in his first 64 outings for the team. That was Al Bumbry, who later won the 1973 American League Rookie of the Year. Overall, Bumbry and fellow Rookie of the Year recipient Cal Ripken Jr. are the only O's rookies to ever have five-hit games.

You already know Kim's redemptive, jeers-to-cheers narrative. If you don't know the backstory that preceded opening day, however, it's worth checking out Joon Lee's Washingon Post article on the transition Korean players face when they compete in the U.S. For Kim, that transition included a shorter training window prior to the season, a daunting language barrier and intense media coverage in his home country. Adam Jones described Kim as "an easy target" and termed his early critics in the crowd "insensitive (expletive)." It seems the target is no longer on Kim's back.

Kim ultimately missed a five-hit day on Thursday when he struck out in that final at-bat. Even that rare strikeout brings attention to Kim's impressive performance at the plate this season. He has struck out only 32 times thus far against 24 walks. That's the fewest strikeouts for an O's rookie after 64 games since 2001. Here's to you, Fernando Lunar.

You have to dig even deeper into O's history to find a rookie who was rung up less often and was issued more free passes than Kim. Rich Coggins had 28 walks and 24 strikeouts in 110 games in 1973. Coggins finished sixth in the Rookie of the Year voting that the aforementioned Bumbry won. With rookies like that, it's no wonder the 1973 team won 97 games and the division.

Then there's on-base percentage. Kim's OBP currently rests at .406. Jim Gentile established the O's rookie record for OBP of .403 in 138 games in 1960. Gentile finished second in the 1960 AL Rookie of the Year vote that consisted of only Orioles players.

Beyond Gentile, the only other O's rookies to have topped .400 in OBP played in 43 or fewer games during their respective rookie seasons. It's worth noting, however, that Bumbry finished with a .398 OBP in 110 games.

Finally, let's revisit the Hitting Machine nickname, of which Kim is still worthy, one more time. Kim has seven games with three or more hits so far this season. The only O's rookie to top that total through 64 games was a memorable face. Billy Ripken had eight such games in 1987.

Having received a less-than-charming welcome to the city of Baltimore, Kim is now enjoying a charmed season. Heck, he's only homered four times, but one of those clouts, on June 30, gave the Orioles the major league record for most home runs in the month of June. If he can help solve the riddle that left-handed pitchers have become for the lineup, it will only add to his legend.

Kim is providing O's fans with one of the best stories of an interesting 2016 Orioles season. When it's all said and done, he deserves to take a bow.

Matthew Taylor blogs about the Orioles at Roar from 34. Follow him on Twitter: @RoarFrom34. His ruminations about the Birds appear as part of MASNsports.com's season-long initiative of welcoming guest bloggers to our site. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.