Yoon Suk-min (

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 ...

: 윤석민,

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 ...

: 尹錫珉; born July 24, 1986) is a South Korean former professional baseball

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He bats and throws right-handed. He played for 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 ...

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 ...

from 2005 to 2013, and 2015 to 2019, and also played one season with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

organization in 2014. Yoon is a 6 ft 0 in, 190 lb right-handed pitcher. With a three-quarters delivery Yoon throws a fastball at 90-92 mph (tops out at 96 mph), a change-up, an occasional curveball, and a hard-breaking, mid-80s slider. With a shoulder injury his fastball dipped into high-80s, and he converted to relief during the 2013 season.

Professional career

Kia Tigers (2005–2013)

The

selected Yoon with the first pick in the second round of 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 ...

(KBO)

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

. Yoon made his professional debut with the Tigers on April 2, 2005. In his rookie season, he showed signs of promise, with a 4.29

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in 84

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 ...

across 53 games as the Tigers' primary

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 ...

. In , Yoon played as a

middle reliever In baseball, a middle reliever or middle relief pitcher, is a relief pitcher who typically pitches during the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings of a standard baseball game. In leagues with no designated hitter, such as in the National League pri ...

and closer for the Tigers, and collected nine

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 ...

and 19 saves. In , Yoon joined the starting rotation due to the Tigers' ace Han Ki-joo's transition to a closing pitcher. Yoon had a 7-18

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

with a 3.78 ERA as a starter. While his ERA was decent, he had poor run support in 18 of his losses, the most in the 2007 season. This gave him the nickname "The Unfortunate Ace". In , Yoon emerged as one of the most consistent pitchers in the KBO league, going 14–5 with a 2.33 ERA and 119

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 in innings pitched. He won the ERA title and finished runner-up to

Kim Kwang-hyun Kwang-hyun Kim (Hangul: 김광현; born July 22, 1988) is a South Korean left-handed pitcher for the SSG Landers of KBO League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and in KBO for the SK Wyverns. Amateur c ...

in wins. In August 2008, Yoon competed for the

South Korean 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. ...

in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, where they won the gold medal in the baseball tournament. He was 2–0 with a save, a 2.34 ERA and six strikeouts, pitching innings in five games as a utility pitcher. In March , Yoon competed for the South Korea national baseball team in 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 ti ...

, where he went 2–0 with a 1.13 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 16 innings pitched, appearing in 4 games. He started against

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

in the semifinal game, and led South Korea to a 10–2 victory. Yoon baffled the South American major league all-star squad, allowing only two runs and seven hits in innings pitched. In the beginning of the 2009 KBO season, Yoon became the Tigers' closer again as Han Ki-joo was put on the disabled list. As a closer, he posted seven saves with a 2.45 ERA. Yoon returned to the starting rotation but was put on the disabled list for a month. In July, he returned from the injury and won all of his 7 decisions as a starter. However, he had the worst pitching performance in his pro career on September 5, allowing 10 runs in innings against 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 ...

, and was then sidelined with a shoulder injury for the rest of the season. Yoon finished the season with a record of 9–4 with 7 saves, an ERA of 3.46 and 117 strikeouts in innings pitched which didn't enable him to qualify for the ERA title. Yoon was named

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

(MVP) for the 2011 season. He received the KBO's highest honor for leading the league in four pitching categories, marking a 2.45 ERA, 17 wins, 178 strikeouts, and a .773 winning percentage in innings. He is the first pitcher to stand at top of four categories since Korean pitching legend, Sun Dong-yeol accomplished the feat in 1991.

Baltimore Orioles (2014)

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

after the 2013 season, Yoon announced his intentions to play in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. Yoon reportedly agreed to a three-year contract, worth US$5.75 million, with the

. On February 17, 2014, Yoon passed his physicals and officially signed with the Orioles. Yoon pitched for the

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

International League, where he had a 4–8 record and a 5.74 ERA in 23 appearances. He was outrighted off the Orioles roster on August 30, 2014. The Orioles opted not to invite Yoon to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in 2015. He chose to return to Korea rather than report to the Orioles' minor league camp.Suk-min Yoon returning to South Korea
MASN Sports, March 5, 2015. The Orioles released Yoon, with Yoon agreeing to forego the remainder of his contract.

Yonhap Yonhap News Agency is a major South Korean news agency. It is based in Seoul, South Korea. Yonhap provides news articles, pictures and other information to newspapers, TV networks and other media in South Korea. History Yonhap (, , translit. ' ...

, March 6, 2015.

Kia Tigers (2015–2018)

Yoon signed a four-year contract to return to the Tigers worth ₩9 billion (US$8.2 million), the largest contract signed by a free agent in KBO. In 2015, his role was closer. He had a 2.96 ERA, 2–6 record, and 30 saves.

After Baseball

Yoon retired in 2019 after a shoulder injury derailed his career. He is currently attempting to become a professional golfer.

Achievements

*2008 ERA Title *2008 WHIP Leader *2011 KBO MVP *2011 Golden glove

Notable international careers

References

External links

Career statistics and player information
from

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoon, Suk-min 1986 births Living people South Korean baseball players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Kia Tigers players KBO League pitchers Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic baseball players of South Korea Olympic gold medalists for South Korea Olympic medalists in baseball South Korean expatriates in the United States Norfolk Tides players Asian Games medalists in baseball Baseball players at the 2006 Asian Games Baseball players at the 2010 Asian Games 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 South Korean Buddhists People from Guri Sportspeople from Gyeonggi Province