Kim Hyun-soo (baseball)

This is a Korean name; the family name is Kim.
Kim Hyun-Soo
Doosan Bears – No. 50
Left fielder
Born: January 12, 1988
Bats: Left Throws: Right
Professional debut
KBO: September 2, 2006 for the Doosan Bears
KBO statistics
(through 2011)
Batting average .329
Home runs 66
RBI 352
Teams
Career highlights and awards
  • 2x Golden Glove Award (Outfielder, 2008, 2009)
Kim Hyun-soo
Medal record
Men's baseball
Olympics
Gold 2008 Beijing Team
World Baseball Classic
Silver 2009 Los Angeles Team

Kim Hyun-Soo (Hangul: 김현수, Hanja: 金賢洙) (born January 12, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea) is a South Korean outfielder who plays for the Doosan Bears in the Korea Baseball Organization. He bats left-handed and throws right-handed.

Kim is currently considered to be one of the best hitters for average in the KBO league. Kim's greatest strength is solid contact hitting, and he also has great potential to be a power hitter as well.

Amateur career

Kim attended Shinil High School[1] in Seoul, South Korea. In September 2005, he competed for the South Korea national junior team, that was runner-up at the 6th Asian Junior Baseball Championship in Seoul, South Korea. At the championship, he went 1-for-4 as a backup outfielder in the South Korean roster.

In November 2005, Kim won the Lee Young-Min Award,[2] given annually to the most outstanding high school hitter in South Korea.

Notable international careers

Year Venue Competition Team Individual Note
2005  South Korea Asian Junior Baseball Championship .250 BA (1-for-4)

Professional career

Kim Hyun-Soo in the outfield during the 2009 World Baseball Classic for the South Korea national baseball team.

Upon graduation from high school, Kim made himself eligible for the 2006 KBO Draft, but went undrafted. Instead, he was signed by the Doosan Bears as an undrafted free agent. He spent the whole 2006 season playing for the reserve team of the Bears.

In the 2007 season, Kim took over the starting job after starting outfielder Yoo Jae-Woong was sidelined with a sprained ankle in the beginning of the season. Kim hit .273 with 5 home runs and 32 runs batted in in 99 games, and finished runner-up for Rookie of the Year.

In the 2008 KBO season, Kim won the batting title with an average of .357 and was first in hits with 168. He finished runner-up in MVP voting and won the Golden Glove Award as an outfielder.

In August 2008, Kim competed for the South Korea national baseball team in the 2008 Olympic Games, where they won the gold medal in the baseball tournament. In the preliminary round game against Japan, Kim hit a go-ahead RBI single in the top of the ninth off closer Hitoki Iwase to break a 2-2 tie as a pinch hitter, leading South Korea to a 5-3 win over Japan.

In March 2009, Kim competed for the South Korea national baseball team in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, where they finished runner-up with a 6-3 record. In the tournament, he went 11-for-28 (.393) with 4 RBIs, 6 runs and 7 walks, and was named to the All-Star team at designated hitter.

In the 2009 KBO season, Kim exploded offensively, batting .357 and smacking 23 home runs. He defended his hit title with 172, and was runner-up in RBI (104) and triples (6), third in batting average, runs (97), doubles (31), on-base percentage (.448) and slugging percentage (.589), and eleventh in home runs.

On December 11, 2009, He won the Golden Glove Award in outfielder nomination for two consecutive years.[3]

Awards and honors

Achievements

Notable international careers

Year Venue Competition Team Individual Note
2008  China Olympic Games .370 BA (10-for-27), 4 RBI, 3 R, 2 SB
2009  United States World Baseball Classic .393 BA (11-for-28), 4 RBI, 6 R, 7 BB
All-Star (DH)
2010  China Guangzhou Asian Games

References

  1. ↑ http://www.shin-il.hs.kr/
  2. ↑ http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=200805191755495&code=980101
  3. ↑ (Korean) KIA, GG 수상자 4명 배출…최다득표 김현수(종합)

External links