Im Tae-hoon (born September 28, 1988) is a South Korean

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

who played for the

Doosan Bears The Doosan Bears ( ko, 두산 베어스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. Founded in 1982, they are a member of the KBO League. The Bears have won six Korean Series titles (1982, 1995, 2001, 2015, 2016, and 2019) and ...

in the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

.'임태훈 은퇴' 두산, 재현된 투수 유망주 잔혹사
MK Sports. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015. He bats and throws right-handed.

Amateur career

Im attended Seoul High School in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. In 2006, he was selected for the South Korea national junior team that won the gold medal at the 2006 World Junior Baseball Championship in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. Im pitched 5 shutout innings, struck out 9, and allowed only 2 hits to win over

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

in the preliminary round. He started another preliminary match against Australia, and allowed 2 runs over 4.1 innings.

Notable international careers

Professional career

Im debuted with the 2007

. In his first KBO season, he pitched 101.1 innings with 7-3, a save, 20 holds (the league's runner-up), 93 strikeouts and a 2.40 ERA. Im eventually won the Rookie of the Year award. In July 2008, Im was named as a member of the 2008 South Korea Olympic national baseball team together with the fellow 2006 World Junior Baseball champion

Kim Kwang-hyun Kwang-hyun Kim (Hangul: 김광현; born July 22, 1988) is a South Korean left-handed pitcher for the SSG Landers of KBO League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and in KBO for the SK Wyverns. Amateur c ...

. However, Im, who gave up six earned runs in six innings in his last five KBO games, also struggled during an exhibition game against the Netherlands Olympic team in Seoul on August 3, and on the next day he was finally replaced with

Yoon Suk-min Yoon Suk-min (Hangul: 윤석민, Hanja: 尹錫珉; born July 24, 1986) is a South Korean former professional baseball pitcher. He bats and throws right-handed. He played for the Kia Tigers of the KBO League from 2005 to 2013, and 2015 to 2019, ...

of the

Kia Tigers Kia Tigers ( ko, KIA 타이거즈) are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982 and based in the southwestern city of Gwangju. Until 2001, they were known as the Haitai Tigers. The Tigers are a members of the KBO League and are ...

by Team Korea manager Kim Kyung-moon. Im finished the 2008 KBO season as a

setup man In baseball, a setup man (or set-up man, also sometimes referred to as a setup pitcher or setup reliever) is a relief pitcher who regularly pitches before the closer. They commonly pitch the eighth inning, with the closer pitching the ninth. As ...

with a 6-3 record and a 3.41 ERA with 6 saves, 14 holds (5th in the league) and 83 strikeouts (13th in the league) in 83 innings pitched. In March 2009, Im earned a late slot on the

South Korea national baseball team The South Korean national baseball team ( ko, 대한민국 야구 국가대표팀) is the national baseball team of South Korea. It won the Baseball World Cup in 1982, and participated in the Summer Olympic Games of 1984, 1988, 1996, and 2000. At ...

for the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26. Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference ti ...

, replacing Hwang Doo-sung three days before the start of the WBC. Im, the youngest player on the Korean roster, appeared in 2 games against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...

, and pitched 3.1 innings, allowing one run and five hits.

Notable international careers

References

External links

Career statistics and player information
from

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and KBO ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Im, Tae-hoon Doosan Bears players KBO League Rookie of the Year Award winners KBO League pitchers South Korean baseball players 2009 World Baseball Classic players Asian Games medalists in baseball Seoul High School alumni 1988 births Living people Baseball players from Seoul Baseball players at the 2010 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games