This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Salt Lake's Michael Kohn is one of those offbeat stories that occasionally happens in baseball. The right-handed reliever wasn't supposed to be a pitcher.
His was a roll of the dice by the Los Angeles Angels, taken on pure speculation in the 13th round of the 2008 draft. Yet, there he was, three years later, toiling successfully in the Angels bullpen.
Of course, nothing comes easy, and this season has been one of struggle for the 25-year-old native of Camden, S.C. Kohn pitched a successful ninth inning of Salt Lake's 9-2 victory at Spring Mobile Ballpark, the Bees' (45-58) third straight against Tacoma (51-52).
"This is the first time in my career I've struggled," said Kohn, pronounced Khan, as in the Star Trek film "The Wrath of Khan."
"I'm getting a taste of reality and failure all of a sudden."
In reality, Kohn is just learning how to pitch. He was a shortstop for the College of Charleston when, on a lark in practice, he threw a few pitches off the mound. The radar gun said Kohn was no longer a shortstop.
The Angels drafted Kohn despite a career total of 10 innings pitched.
"I did that in 2008, and in 2010 I look up and I'm the big leagues," Kohn said. "'How did I do that?' I was fortunate enough to get to the big leagues fast. Now it's time to see what I'm made of."
Up and down between Salt Lake City and Anaheim, Kohn was 0-1 with a 7.30 earned-run average in 14 games for the Angels; a far cry from his 2.11 ERA in 24 appearances in 2010. Kohn's performances for the Bees have been just as inconsistent.
"I'm not getting ahead in the counts," he said. "Some days my slider is really good and sometimes it is really bad.
"If I told you it wasn't a confidence killer, I'd be lying to you. You have to look to the next day and [keep] improving."
Twitter: @tribmarty
Orem 8, Great Falls 4 • Former Ute C.J. Cron drove in three of Orem's runs, including two on a sixth-inning home run to give the Owlz the lead for good.
Billings 14, Ogden 2 • The Mustangs rattled the Raptors in Ogden. —
Storylines Bees are on a roll after 9-2 victory
R Salt Lake gets solo homers from Efren Navarro, Cole Armstrong and Hank Conger.
• Salt Lake starter Matt Palmer allows one earned run and four hits in six innings.
• The Bees win their third straight and sixth of their past nine games.