Kim Agrees to Contract With Angels

Former El Camino Real High catcher Bobby Kim has turned the tide. In an era when many professional baseball players head for the Far East when their stateside careers stall, Kim has pulled an end around.

Kim, who played professionally last season in South Korea, signed a free-agent contract Tuesday with the California Angels. He will report in March to the club’s three-week instructional league at Mesa, Ariz., then will be designated for assignment. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

“This is what I’ve wanted to be,” Kim said. “I didn’t get it the first time (signing out of high school), but I got it now.”

Kim, 19, was signed by area scout Dale Sutherland. Kim (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) is expected to catch but also might play as an outfielder.

“We know he has speed too, which always helps,” said Don Hornback, an associate scout with the Angels and one of Kim’s former American Legion coaches. “He has outfielder’s speed.”

In his first major league game for the Seoul O.B. Bears, Kim hit two home runs.

As a senior at El Camino Real in 1990, Kim batted .373, drove in 26 runs and was selected the co-player of the year in the West Valley League. The Conquistadores finished 21-3 and advanced to the City Section 4-A Division final.

In the summer of 1989, Kim played on the Woodland Hills West team that won the American Legion World Series title.

Mora Kanim, a Cal State Northridge women’s volleyball assistant the past two seasons, has accepted a similar position at the University of Michigan.

Kanim, 26, is a UCLA graduate who played on the Bruins’ 1984 national championship team. She joined the CSUN staff as Coach Walt Ker’s top assistant in 1990.