Lee Ji-young (

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 ...

: 이지영,

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 ...

: 李知栄) (born February 27, 1986 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 ...

) is a South Korean

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

for the

Kiwoom Heroes The Kiwoom Heroes () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. They are a member of the KBO League. The Heroes play their home games at Gocheok Sky Dome in Gocheok-dong, a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of Seou ...

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 ...

. He bats and throws

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

Amateur career

After graduating from Jemulpo High School in

, Lee entered

Kyungsung University Kyungsung University is a private university in Busan, South Korea. It is located in the district of Nam-gu, southwest of the famous Haeundae beach. The campus is located near Kyungsung University-Pukyong National University Station on Line 2 ...

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

. As a sophomore in , Lee led his team to the collegiate championship twice (National Championship and Fall League Championship) alongside

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

mate

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 ...

. In August 2005, Lee was first called up to 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 ...

as an amateur player and participated in the

Baseball World Cup The Baseball World Cup was an international tournament where national baseball teams from around the world competed. It was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). Along with the World Baseball Classic, it was one of two activ ...

held in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

where Team Korea eventually won the silver medal. At the World Cup, he appeared as a starting catcher in the preliminary game against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. As a senior in , Lee helped the team to win two collegiate championships (Fall League Championship and President's Flag Championship) as a captain and starting catcher of the team.

Notable international careers

Professional career

After graduation from college, Lee went undrafted in the KBO Entry Draft and signed as an original free agent with the

Samsung Lions The Samsung Lions () are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982. They are based in the southeastern city of Daegu and are members of the KBO League. Their home stadium is Daegu Samsung Lions Park. They have won the Korean Champ ...

. He played no games his first year but made a positive impact next season, playing in 23 games as a backup catcher and driving in 4 runs out of 6

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...

s. Lee joined the two-year military service after the season and was discharged in September . In October 2011, Lee was selected for the South Korean national baseball team for the

2011 Baseball World Cup The 2011 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 39th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through the ...

. In the tourney, he batted .289 with 13 hits including a solo home run off of Eliecer Navarro of

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 ...

appearing in all 12 games as a fixture at first base for Team Korea. On December 7, 2018, he moved through a triangular trade between Kim Dong-yup, who was a member of the SK Wyverns, and Ko Jong-wook, who was a member of the Nexen Heroes.

Notable international careers

Filmography

Television show

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Ji-Young 1986 births KBO League catchers Kyungsung University alumni Living people Samsung Lions players South Korean baseball players Baseball players from Incheon 2023 World Baseball Classic players