Pirates' Kang says he's stopped drinking
Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang said Wednesday he has stopped drinking since his December 2016 arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence in South Korea, his third such arrest.
"Obviously, I'm not touching a drop of alcohol moving forward," Kang told reporters through his interpreter, Mark Kim, who is also Kang's personal driver.
Kang, 31, was granted a work visa to re-enter the United States in April and started a rehab assignment with high Class-A Bradenton last week. He hit his third homer in five games for Bradenton on Wednesday night, and he is expected to be promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis soon.
He sat out the entire 2017 season following his arrest, for which he received an eight-month suspended prison sentence. The infielder told reporters Wednesday that he did not disclose his previous DUI arrests to the Pirates or the Nexen Heroes, the team he last played for in South Korea.
"Looking back at it, it was an ill-informed decision and I'm very regretful for doing that," he said of not telling his teams.
Kang also said he previously drank mostly in the offseason "to kind of let the steam out," but added he now doesn't have problems being around alcohol and not drinking.
When asked about teammates who said they went with Kang to a rum factory during the Dominican Winter League last fall, Kang said, "I think anyone who was there can testify, but when I was in that rum factory, I didn't touch alcohol. I'm completely fine with there being alcohol around me, but obviously I'm trying to stay away from that, too."
Kang hit .273 with 36 home runs and 120 RBIs across two seasons with Pittsburgh from 2015-16. He is due a pro-rated $3 million this season, and the Pirates hold a $5.5 million club option for his services in 2019.
--Field Level Media
