Yang Eui-ji (; born June 5, 1987) is a South Korean

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

currently playing 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 ...

. He has won the

KBO League Golden Glove Award The KBO League Golden Glove Award is an award given out annually by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to the best overall player at each position in the KBO League. It is also commonly known as the KBO Golden Gloves. The award was established ...

at catcher five times; three consecutive years from 2014 to 2016, and again back-to-back in 2018 and 2019. Yang won the

Korean Series Most Valuable Player Award The Korean Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given to the player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the Korean Series, which is the final round of the KBO League postseason. The award was first presented in 1982. ...

in 2016 and 2020.

Professional career

He graduated from Gwangju Jinheung High School and joined the

in the second draft in 2006 (59th in the 8th round). He joined the Police Baseball Team immediately after the 2007 season and was discharged from the Police Baseball Team in 2009. Yang won the

KBO League Rookie of the Year Award The KBO League Rookie of the Year Award is given to the player judged the best first-year player in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League. The most recent winner is Lee Jung-hoo of the Nexen Heroes The Kiwoom Heroes () are a South Korea ...

in 2010 on the strength of his 20 home runs and 68 RBI. Yang left the Bears after the 2018 season, signing as a free agent with the

NC Dinos The NC Dinos ( ko, NC 다이노스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Changwon. They are a member of the KBO League. Since 2019, their home stadium is Changwon NC Park. NC Dinos are owned by video game developer NCSoft Corp ...

. He led the league in hitting in 2019 with a .354 batting average. After the 2022 season, Yang returned to the Bears as a free agent on a four-year contract.

International career

Yang represented

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 ...

at the

2015 WBSC Premier12 The 2015 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship sponsored by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the inaugural event of the WBSC Premier12. It was held from November 8 to 21 in Taiwan and Japan. The South Korean ...

, 2017 World Baseball Classic, and

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 Augus ...

. He also represented the team at the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), an international professional baseball tournament, is set to be the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It was originally set for 2021 (as per tradition to hold the event every four years), but wa ...

References

External links

Career statistics and player information
from the

1987 births Living people Sportspeople from Gwangju Baseball players at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in baseball Baseball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Doosan Bears players NC Dinos players KBO League catchers KBO League Rookie of the Year Award winners Korean Series MVPs Olympic baseball players of South Korea South Korean baseball players 2015 WBSC Premier12 players 2017 World Baseball Classic players 2023 World Baseball Classic players {{SouthKorea-baseball-bio-stub