Lee Yong-kyu (,
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, ...
: 李容圭, born August 26, 1985) is an
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...
who plays 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 Se ...
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 left-handed
Amateur career
Lee attended Duksoo 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 of ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
. In , he was selected for the South Korea national junior baseball team and competed in the 5th Asian Junior Baseball Championship held in
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
,
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
. Lee led his team to the 14-0
mercy rule
A mercy rule, slaughter rule, knockout rule, or skunk rule ends a two-competitor sports competition earlier than the scheduled endpoint if one competitor has a very large and presumably insurmountable scoring lead over the other. It is called th ...
victory over China in the round robin phase of the competition, going 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs.
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
eventually won the Championship for the second time by beating
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 ...
in the final.
Notable international careers
Professional career
Lee debuted with the
LG Twins
LG Corporation (or LG Group) (), formerly Lucky-Goldstar from 1983 to 1995 (Korean: ''Leokki Geumseong''; ), is a South Korean multinational conglomerate founded by Koo In-hwoi and managed by successive generations of his family. It is t ...
, but after the 2004 season he was traded to 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 ...
.
In , Lee batted a career-high .318 (third in the KBO league), and was first in hits (154), second in runs (78) and third in stolen bases (38). He also won his first Golden Glove Award. After the 2006 season, he was selected for the
South Korea national baseball team and competed in the
Asian Games in
Doha
Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the count ...
,
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
.
In , Lee was converted from
right field to
center field
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...
. However, he stole only 17 bases, and his
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
dipped to .280, showing a weakness against inside
breaking ball
In baseball, a breaking ball is a pitch that does not travel straight as it approaches the batter; it will have sideways or downward motion on it, sometimes both (see slider). A breaking ball is not a specific pitch by that name, but is any ...
s from lefties.
In , Lee had another solid season, batting a respectable .312 with 130 hits and 28 stolen bases, but the team did not reach the postseason.
In August 2008, Lee competed for the
South Korea national baseball team in the
2008 Summer Olympics, where they won the gold medal in the baseball tournament. He finished the tournament ranked second in batting average (.481). He was at the plate for 3 of South Korea's 7 runs in their first win against
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 ...
, delivering a RBI single and hitting into a 2-base error by
Norberto González. Lee was 4-for-4 in a 10-1 victory over the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
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, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
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. In the gold medal game, he hit a double off
Pedro Luis Lazo
Pedro Luis Lazo Iglesias (born April 15, 1973 in Pinar del Río Province, Cuba) is a top pitcher in Cuban baseball. He is used predominantly as a reliever in international competition, although he is a starter in the Cuban National Series, wh ...
to bring in
Park Jin-Man
Park Jin-man (born November 30, 1976) is a retired South Korean baseball shortstop. He batted and threw right-handed. He won the KBO League Golden Glove Award five times, and was also the 2006 Korean Series MVP.
He competed for the South Korea ...
for South Korea's final run in a 3-2 win over Cuba.
In March , Lee was called up to the
South Korea national baseball team again 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 tie ...
. He went 4-for-18 with one RBI and four runs, sharing the starting center field position with
Lee Jong-Wook
Lee Jong-wook (12 April 1945 – 22 May 2006) was a South Korean physician. He was the director-general of the World Health Organization for three years. Lee joined the WHO in 1983, working on a variety of projects including the ''Global Prog ...
. After the WBC, Lee was out with an ankle injury for the first three months of the 2009 KBO season, running into the outfield wall during the Tigers' 2009 home opener against the
SK Wyverns on April 7. Lee returned from injury in early July, but his batting performance dipped, ending the season with a batting average of .266 and 45 hits. Before the start of the 2019 season, the team was suspended indefinitely for the trade scandal.
Lee's nickname is "the National Tablesetter". Lee can balance on his left leg for several minutes if need be while awaiting a pitch, and quite often does
Awards and honors
*2006 Golden Glove Award (Outfielder)
*2011 Golden Glove Award (Outfielder)
*2012 Golden Glove Award (Outfielder)
Achievements
*2006 Hits Title
Notable international careers
Career statistics
Bold = led KBO
References
Profile and stats on the KBO official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Yong-kyu
2009 World Baseball Classic players
Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for South Korea
Olympic baseball players of South Korea
LG Twins players
Kia Tigers players
Hanwha Eagles players
KBO League center fielders
South Korean baseball players
Baseball players from Seoul
1985 births
Living people
Olympic medalists in baseball
2013 World Baseball Classic players
2017 World Baseball Classic players
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Asian Games medalists in baseball
Baseball players at the 2006 Asian Games
Baseball players at the 2010 Asian Games
2015 WBSC Premier12 players
Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea
Asian Games bronze medalists for South Korea
Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games
Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games