Kang Bong-kyu
| Kang Bong-Kyu | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Outfielder | |||
| Born: January 12, 1978 | |||
| |||
| Professional debut | |||
| KBO: 2000 for the Doosan Bears | |||
| KBO statistics (through 2011) | |||
| Batting average | .267 | ||
| Home runs | 43 | ||
| RBI | 219 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's baseball | ||
| Asian Games | ||
| Gold | 1998 Bangkok | Team |
Kang Bong-Kyu (Hangul: 강봉규, Hanja: 康奉珪) (born January 12, 1978 in Busan, South Korea) is an outfielder who plays for the former Samsung Lions in the Korea Baseball Organization. He bats and throws right-handed.
Amateur career
While attending Kyungnam High School, Kang was considered one of the best hitting pitchers in the Korean high school baseball league. As an ace pitcher and cleanup hitter in Kyungnam High School, he led his team to runner-ups at the Golden Lion Flag national championship in 1994 and the Hwarang Flag national championship in 1995. In September 1995, Kang was selected for the South Korea national junior baseball team to compete at the 3-Nation Junior Baseball Championship in Seoul, South Korea, along with Kim Sun-Woo, Seo Jae-Weong and Park Jin-Man.
Upon graduation from high school in 1996, Kang chose to play college baseball at Korea University instead of turning pro directly and completely quit pitching to focus on hitting. However, in August 1996 he was called up to the South Korea national junior baseball team again as a pitcher for the World Junior Baseball Championship held in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba.
In July 1997, as a sophomore at Korea University, Kang got his first call-up to the South Korea national baseball team for the team's five annual friendly matches against the USA national baseball team in California, United States.
In July 1998, as a junior, Kang was selected as a member of the South Korea national baseball team and led his team to runner-up at the 1998 Baseball World Cup as a starting third baseman.
In December 1998, as an amateur player, Kang was selected for the South Korea national team that won the gold medal in the baseball tournament of the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand. In the tourney, he served as a backup to KBO star Kim Dong-Joo at third base.
Notable international careers
| Year | Venue | Competition | Team | Individual Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 |  Cuba |
World Junior Baseball Championship | 4th | |
| 1998 |  Italy |
Baseball World Cup |  |
|
| 1998 |  Thailand |
Asian Games |  |
.250 BA (1-for-4) |
Professional career
Kang was signed by the Doosan Bears in 2000, but failed to make an impact with the Bears, playing mostly as a backup outfielder against left-handed pitchers. He was traded to the Samsung Lions in 2006 with Kim Chang-Hee in exchange for Kang Dong-Woo. Over his career in the Bears Kang compiled a .240 batting average and 10 home runs.
2009
In 2009, Kang had the most brilliant season in his pro career. He played in 126 games, batted .310 with 20 home runs, 139 hits and 78 RBI, and posted career-highs in all the offensive categories, finishing in the top 10 of the league in 4 different offensive categories (sixth in runs and tenth in batting, on-base percentage and slugging percentage).
On September 25, Kang stole his 20th bases of the season in the first inning of Lions' final game of the 2009 season against Hanhwa Eagles to become a member of the 20-20 club.
Kang was selected as Samsung Lions' MVP of the year.
On December 11, 2009 at the 2009 Golden Gloves Award Ceremony, Kang was awarded "The Fair Play Trophy" by the KBO.