Gil Kim

Gil Kim

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 6", Weight 150 lb.
• School Middlebury College, Vanderbilt University
• High School Lawrenceville School

• Born December 20, 1981 in Pottsville, PA USA

Biographical Information

Gil Kim played college ball at Vanderbilt University before embarking on a six-year playing career that saw him make stops in the Netherlands, China, Australia, Spain and Venezuela. He hit .271/.327/.313 for FC Barcelona in 2008. He completed his baseball odyssey in 2008 and began his post-playing career as a baseball operations intern with the Pittsburgh Pirates at the beginning of 2009. After a couple of months, Kim jumped to the Texas Rangers as an international scout working in Latin America and the Caribbean. He remained in this role through 2011 before beginning his ascent in the Ranger's scouting hierarchy. He was the co-coordinator of Mexico scouting (2012), assistant director of international scouting (2013), and director of international scouting in 2014-2015.

The Toronto Blue Jays hired Kim in early 2016 for the new position of director of player development which he still held in 2021. To make things a bit more interesting, the Blue Jays in 2020 promoted him to a full-time coaching position with the major league team before the season started. The objective of the move was to add a player development lens to the major league clubhouse, a move that made sense with a very young team essentially composed of players developed within the farm system. In 2021, with teams having fewer coaching positions to give out, he reverted to "just" being the director for player development. In 2023 and 2024, his title was Field Coordinator.

Further Reading

• John Lott: "How Toronto Blue Jays' Gil Kim went from sleeping on a bathroom floor in Venezuela to earning a front-office job", The National Post, January 14, 2016. [1]