Lee Hyun-seung (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

: 이현승,

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

: 李賢承; born October 11, 1983) is a South Korean left-handed

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 plays 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 ...

of 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 ...

Amateur career

As a junior at Dongsan High School in

Incheon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

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 ...

, Lee was selected by the

Hyundai Unicorns The Hyundai Unicorns () were a South Korean professional baseball team based in Suwon. They were a member of the KBO League. The Unicorns won the KBO championship four times (1998, 2000, 2003 and 2004). The Unicorns were dissolved after the 20 ...

with the 26th pick in the 2nd round (34th overall) of the 2002 KBO Draft. Upon graduation from Dongsan High School, however, he chose to enter

Inha University Inha University (인하대학교(仁荷大學校)) is a private research university located in Incheon, South Korea. Known traditionally for research and education in the engineering and physical sciences, the University was established by the ...

instead of turning pro directly. As a freshman at

in , Lee made his first appearance for 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 ...

at the

2002 Intercontinental Cup The 2002 Intercontinental Cup was an association football match played on 3 December 2002, between Real Madrid of Spain, winners of the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League, and Olimpia of Paraguay, winners of the 2002 Copa Libertadores. The match was ...

. Lee, the youngest player on the roster, helped his team to claim the silver medal, coming on in relief as a

left-handed specialist In baseball, a left-handed specialist (also known as lefty specialist) is a relief pitcher who throws left-handed and specializes in pitching to left-handed batters, weak right-handed batters, and switch-hitters who bat poorly right-handed. Bec ...

and pitching four scoreless innings in the tourney. As a junior In , Lee competed for the

in the 2nd World University Baseball Championship in

Tainan City Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" for its over 200 years of hist ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. There he led his team to bronze medal alongside Oh Seung-Hwan and

Jang Won-Sam Jang Won-sam (Hangul: 장원삼, Hanja: 張洹三) (born June 9, 1983 in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea) is a South Korean left-handed starting pitcher who plays for the LG Twins in the KBO League. Amateur career As a junior at Yon ...

Notable international careers

Professional career

Lee was signed by the

in and had a successful rookie 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 ...

and

, appearing in 70 games and being 3rd in the KBO league in

holds A hold (abbreviated HLD, H or HD) is awarded to a relief pitcher who meets the following three conditions: :1. Enters the game in a save (baseball), save situation; that is, when all of the following three conditions apply: :: (a) He appears i ...

with 19. After the season, Lee competed for the

in the

2006 Intercontinental Cup The 2006 IBAF Intercontinental Cup was held in Taichung, Taiwan from November 9 through the 19th. Eight countries contested the tournament, which was played at Taichung Baseball Field and the newly built Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium ...

. In the round-robin, he earned a save, pitching two scoreless innings to close out a 5-1 win over

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. In the 5th-8th classification game, however, he blew a save opportunity, allowing three runs in the 9th inning of an 8-3 loss to Italy. In , Lee suffered a case of the sophomore jinx, slipping to 1-2 with a 7.15 ERA in 22.2 innings pitched and earning only 2 holds in 45 games. He spent most of the season in the reserve team of the Unicorns. Lee earned a spot in the

starting rotation R rabbit ears :Indicates a participant in the game who hears things perhaps too well for their own good. A player who becomes nervous or chokes when opposing players or fans yell at or razz them is said to have rabbit ears. Also, an umpire ...

for the season. In his first year as a full-time starter, he ended the season with a record of 6 wins and 11 losses and a 4.58 ERA in 120 innings pitched. In , Lee had his best pro season. As a full-time starter, he was 4th in wins (13), 5th in

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

(170.0), 10th in

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s (120) and 11th in

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

(4.18), all of which were career bests. However, on December 30, Lee was traded to the Doosan Bears for pitcher Keum Min-Chul and one billion won, involved in the Heroes' postseason blockbuster trades. In Lee started his first season in the Bears as a starter, but was demoted to the bullpen in the middle of the season due to finger injuries and ongoing trouble with his command. He finished the season with a 4.75 ERA in 77.2 innings pitched and a 3-6 record. In the postseason, however, Lee played a major role in the Bears' bullpen, going 1-0 with a 0.96 ERA in 7 games, compiling 11 strikeouts in 9.1 innings pitched. In Lee spent the entire season in relief, compiling a 3–5 record with four saves, six holds and a 4.82 ERA in 74.2 innings of work spread over 50 appearances.

Notable international careers

Nickname

He made the bases loaded and often showed his escape from the crisis, earning him the nickname of a bases-loaded pervert from his fans.

References

External links

* Career statistics and player information fro
KBO
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Hyun-seung 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Incheon Doosan Bears players Kiwoom Heroes players Hyundai Unicorns players KBO League pitchers South Korean baseball players Inha University alumni 2015 WBSC Premier12 players 2017 World Baseball Classic players