Park Hee-soo (

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 ...

: 박희수,

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 ...

: 朴熙洙; born July 13, 1983 in

Daejeon Daejeon () is South Korea's fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of 1.5 million as of 2019. Located in the central-west region of South Korea alongside forested hills and the Geum River, the city is known both for its technology and ...

) is a South Korean

baseball coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisi ...

who plays for 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 ...

in the

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 ...

. He bats right-handed and throws left-handed as

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 ...

Amateur career

While attending Daejeon High School, Park was selected for the South Korean national baseball team to compete at the 2001

Asian Junior Baseball Championship The U-18 Asian Baseball Championship is an under-18 international baseball tournament sanctioned and created by the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA). The tournament is prior to the 18U Baseball World Cup which is held every other year. Results ...

hosted by

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 ...

. After graduation, Park was drafted by the

SK Wyverns SSG Landers () are a South Korean professional baseball team. The team was originally established as the SK Wyverns but was renamed as the SSG Landers in 2021 after Shinsegae acquired the team from SK Group. They are a member of the KBO League. B ...

in in the 2nd round and as the 43rd pick overall, but decided to play college baseball at

Dongguk University Dongguk University (Korean: 동국대학교, Hanja: 東國大學校) is a private, coeducational university in South Korea, fundamentally based on Buddhism. Established in 1906 as Myeongjin School (명진학교; 明進學校) by Buddhist pioneers ...

Notable international careers

Professional career

After graduation from Dongguk University in 2006 Park started his pro season in the SK Wyverns. In his rookie season Park only appeared in five games 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 ...

. After the 2006 season, Park entered

Sangmu Baseball Team Sangmu Phoenix ( ko, 상무 피닉스 야구단) is a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 2005. The team is part of the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps, and they play in the KBO Futures League. Their home stadium is Sangmu Base ...

to serve two-year military service. Park came back to the Wyverns in 2010 but had a mediocre season posting a 4.58 ERA in 14 games as a relief pitcher. In 2011, Park served primarily as a

setup pitcher 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 ...

for closer

Chong Tae-Hyon Tae-Hyon Chong (Hangul: 정대현, Hanja: 鄭大炫; born November 10, 1978 in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea) is a retired South Korean underhand pitcher who played 17 years Korea Professional Baseball. He bats and throws right-handed. Ch ...

, typically pitching in the seventh and eighth innings of games before Chong pitched in the ninth. In the season, Park finished with a 1.88 ERA and 8

hold Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (ship), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called a Fermat ...

s in 67 innings pitched. Park had a career year in 2012, as he had an 8–1 record with a career-low 1.32 ERA and six saves in 65 games. Park also set a KBO league record with 34 holds, two more than the previous mark equaled by Kwon Oh-Joon with the

in 2006.

Notable international careers

External links

Career statistics and player information
from

{{DEFAULTSORT:Park, Hee-Soo SSG Landers players South Korean baseball players 1983 births Living people 2013 World Baseball Classic players 2017 World Baseball Classic players Sportspeople from Daejeon