Jones: Booing Kim at home 'very disrespectful'

Hyun Soo Kim didn't receive any love from Baltimore Orioles fans on Opening Day, but his teammates still have his back.

On Monday, the Korean import was booed by fans at Camden Yards after using a provision in his contract to refuse an assignment to the minor leagues.

The team's star center fielder, Adam Jones, believed Kim had already gotten his share of criticism in both spring and leading into the opener, but he really didn't expect such a response from the hometown Orioles.

"I think it was very, very, very disrespectful for a man who is just going out there trying to make a name for himself, coming over from Korea," Jones told Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com. "For him to get booed, I think that was very, very disrespectful and distasteful and I know that's not who the Orioles fans are, especially to their own kind."

"You might as well have just kicked him in the nuts," Jones said.

Kim was appreciative of the support from Jones.

"I also heard the boos. And I really appreciate Adam's comments about that," Kim said. "Now what I feel like is I will try my best to get back to how I was before and actually contribute to the team so there are no boos for me, and actually only cheers for me. So I am going to make sure I prepare myself to be a good player."

Kim struggled to a .178/.224/.178 slash line during spring, which included an 0-for-21 stretch, after a successful 10-year career in Korea where he slashed 318/.406/.488 with 142 home runs and 771 RBIs.