Yoon Suk-Min

Yoon Suk-Min (Hangul: 윤석민, Hanja: 尹錫珉) (born July 24, 1986 in Seoul, South Korea) is a pitcher who plays for the Kia Tigers in the Korea Baseball Organization. He bats and throws right-handed.

Professional career

Selected by the Kia Tigers with the 1st pick in the 2nd round of the 2005 KBO draft, Yoon made his pro debut with the Tigers on April 2, 2005. In his rookie season, he showed signs of promise, pitching 84 innings in 53 games with a 4.29 ERA as the Tigers' primary setup man.

In 2006, Yoon played as a middle reliever and closer for the Tigers, and collected 9 holds and 19 saves.

In 2007, Yoon join the starting rotation due to Tigers' ace Han Ki-Joo's transition to a closing job. However, Yoon was not so successful, going 7-18 with a 3.78 ERA as a starter. While his ERA was decent, the poor run support he received gave in 18 losses, the most in the 2007 season. This gave him the nickname "The Unfortunate Ace".

In 2008, Yoon emerged as one of the most consistent pitchers in the KBO league, going 14-5 with a 2.33 ERA and 119 strikeouts in 154.2 innings pitched. He won the ERA title and finished runner-up to Kim Kwang-Hyun in wins.

In August 2008, Yoon competed for the South Korea national baseball team in the 2008 Summer Olympics, where they won the gold medal in the baseball tournament. He was 2-0 with a save, a 2.34 ERA and 6 strikeouts, pitching 7.2 innings in 5 games as a utility pitcher.

In March 2009, Yoon competed for the South Korea national baseball team in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, 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 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 6.1 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 Tigers closer, he posted 7 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 just 3.1 innings against the Doosan Bears, 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 119.2 innings pitched which didn't enable him to qualify for the ERA title.

Achievements

• 2008 ERA Title
• 2008 WHIP Leader

Notable international careers

Career Stats

External links

• Profile and stats on the KBO official site