Lee Jin-young (; born June 15, 1980 in

Gunsan Gunsan (; ), also romanized as Kunsan, is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is on the south bank of the Geum River just upstream from its exit into the Yellow Sea. It has emerged as a high-t ...

North Jeolla Province North Jeolla Province, officially Jeonbuk State (), is a Special Self-governing Province of South Korea in the Honam region in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula. Jeonbuk borders the provinces of South Chungcheong to the north, North Gyeo ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

) is a South Korean former

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

. He batted and threw

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply l ...

. He is now a coach for the

South Korea national baseball team The South Korean national baseball team (), also known as the Blue Wave (), is the national baseball team of South Korea. It has participated in every edition of the World Baseball Classic (WBC), reaching the finals in 2009, and won the WBSC Pre ...

Career

Amateur career

Attending Gunsan Commerce High School in

, Lee was considered the best high school

hitter In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher. The three main goals of batters are to become a baserunner, to dri ...

. He was also a highly regarded

power pitcher who threw in the mid-90s as a starter. In 1997, he was selected for the South Korea national junior team that finished in 5th place at the 1997 World Junior Baseball Championship held in

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. Th ...

, New Brunswick, Canada.

Professional career

SK Wyverns

Upon graduation from Gunsan High School, Lee was drafted by the Ssangbangwool Raiders, which became the

SK Wyverns SSG Landers () are a South Korean professional baseball, professional baseball team. The team was originally established as the SK Wyverns but was renamed as the SSG Landers in 2021 after Shinsegae acquired the team from SK Group. They are a membe ...

after the 1999 season, in the first round of the 1999 KBO Draft. Lee made his debut in the pro league against the

Hanwha Eagles The Hanwha Eagles () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Daejeon that competes in the KBO League. The Eagles' home ballpark is Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark. They have won the Korean Series once, in 1999, and the league penn ...

on May 10, 1999. Appearing in 65 games, he finished his rookie year in 1999 with a .258 batting average, 4 home runs and 13 RBIs. Next season, Lee became a fixture in

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

for the

, appearing in 105 games. However, his batting average dipped to .245, stealing a career-low 2 bases. In 2001, Lee bounced back from the

sophomore slump A sophomore slump (also known as a sophomore jinx or sophomore jitters) is when a sophomore fails to live up to the relatively high standards that occurred during freshman year. It is commonly used to refer to the apathy of students (second year ...

, batting a respectable .280 with 90 hits, 7 home runs, 16 doubles and 9 stolen bases. From 2002 through 2004, he notched three consecutive seasons batting .300+, and won his first

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 i ...

in 2004. Along with his batting accuracy, the strong left-armed Lee, the former power pitcher prospect, is also well known for superb defensive skills in right field, which enable him to collect many outfield assists every season. At the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006, his defensive skills drew international attention, making acrobatic catches and outfield assists in the tournament. In the 2007 KBO season, he missed over 40 regular-season games due to injuries, but batted a career-high .350 with 77 hits in 220 at-bats. In 2008, Lee was placed on the disabled list again and missed 30 games during the season, but batted .300-plus again (.315) with 102 hits in 324 at-bats, compiling 8 home runs, 53 RBIs and a career-high 12 stolen bases.

LG Twins

Lee became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

after the 2008 season and signed a one-year deal with the

LG Twins The LG Twins () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul, South Korea. They are a member of the KBO League. The Twins play their home games at Jamsil Baseball Stadium, which they share with their rivals, the Doosan Bears. ...

on November 20, 2008.

Coaching career

On April 5, 2019, he joined the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) as a trainee coach.

International career

Lee was selected

at the 1998 Asian Junior Baseball Championship, 2002 Intercontinental Cup, 2003 Asian Baseball Championship, 2006 2006 Asian Games,

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

and

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an International Baseball Federation, international baseball competition. It began on March 5 and finished March 23. Unlike in 2006 World Baseball Classic, 2006, when the Round-robin tournament, round- ...

. At the 2009 World Baseball Classic, Lee batted .250 and drove in 7 runs, appearing in all 9 games. In the Team Korea's first game against

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...

, he smacked a grand slam in the first inning off the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

’ prospect Lee Chen-Chang to power Olympic champions Korea to a 9-0 win. In Round 2, Lee smacked a 2-RBI single off

Yu Darvish , more commonly known as Yu Darvish (ダルビッシュ有), is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Lo ...

in the top of the first inning to lead his team to a 4-1 victory over

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, which assured South Korea a spot in the semifinals.

References

External links

Profile and stats on the KBO official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Jin-Young 1980 births Living people Asian Games bronze medalists for South Korea Asian Games medalists in baseball Baseball players at the 2006 Asian Games Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics KBO League first basemen KBO League right fielders KT Wiz players 21st-century South Korean sportsmen LG Twins players Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic baseball players for South Korea Olympic gold medalists for South Korea Olympic medalists in baseball Sportspeople from Gunsan Baseball players from North Jeolla Province SSG Landers players South Korean baseball coaches South Korean baseball players South Korean expatriate baseball people in Japan Ssangbangwool Raiders players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players World Baseball Classic players of South Korea