Jung-ho-Kang, third baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates, is trying to get back in the groove of the MLB.

Kang has not played in a Pirates uniform or any MLB uniform since the 2016 season. This was due to an arrest in his native country on Dec. 2, 2016. He got charged with driving while under the influence. This led the United States to deny him a work visa, leaving him unable to play major league ball.

However, in April of 2018, Kang received a work visa and will be in the black and gold jersey once again. In an interview with Adam Berry from MLB News, President of the Pirates Organization said, “We are encouraged by the steps Jung Ho has taken to date and are hopeful that having the game he loves taken away from him for more than a year has driven home the reality that he must make better life decisions as we move forward together.”

In the 2018 season, Kang went down to Pirate City in Florida to have himself a personalized Spring Training. From there, he was put on the MLB restricted list for nearly the rest of the 2018 season.

Sunday, Feb. 24 was the second game of Spring Training for the Pirates. They were playing the Miami Marlins and it was Kang’s first Spring Training game of the year. He had two plate appearances and they both resulted in solo homeruns.

Kang has always been known as a power hitter, but most people were skeptical with him being out of action for over a year. However, it looks like he is proving all of the doubters wrong and will play a vital role in the Pirates offense in 2019.