Lee Yong-kyu (, Hanja: 李容圭, born August 26, 1985) is an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

who plays for the Kiwoom Heroes of the

KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...

. He bats and throws left-handed

Amateur career

Lee attended Duksoo High School in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea. In , he was selected for the South Korea national junior baseball team and competed in the 5th Asian Junior Baseball Championship held in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. Lee led his team to the 14–0 mercy rule victory over China in the round robin phase of the competition, going 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs. South Korea eventually won the Championship for the second time by beating

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

in the final.

Notable international careers

Professional career

Lee debuted with the LG Twins, but after the 2004 season he was traded to the Kia Tigers. In , Lee batted a career-high .318 (third in the KBO league), and was first in hits (154), second in runs (78) and third in stolen bases (38). He also won his first Golden Glove Award. After the 2006 season, he was selected for the South Korea national baseball team and competed in the Asian Games in

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

. In , Lee was converted from right field to center field. However, he stole only 17 bases, and his batting average dipped to .280, showing a weakness against inside breaking balls from lefties. In , Lee had another solid season, batting a respectable .312 with 130 hits and 28 stolen bases, but the team did not reach the postseason. In August 2008, Lee competed for the South Korea national baseball team in the

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 ...

, where they won the gold medal in the baseball tournament. He finished the tournament ranked second in batting average (.481). He was at the plate for 3 of South Korea's 7 runs in their first win against

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, delivering a RBI single and hitting into a 2-base error by Norberto González. Lee was 4-for-4 in a 10–1 victory over the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. In the gold medal game, he hit a double off Pedro Luis Lazo to bring in Park Jin-Man for South Korea's final run in a 3–2 win over Cuba. In March , Lee was called up to the South Korea national baseball team again for the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He went 4-for-18 with one RBI and four runs, sharing the starting center field position with Lee Jong-Wook. After the WBC, Lee was out with an ankle injury for the first three months of the 2009 KBO season, running into the outfield wall during the Tigers' 2009 home opener against the SK Wyverns on April 7. Lee returned from injury in early July, but his batting performance dipped, ending the season with a batting average of .266 and 45 hits. Before the start of the 2019 season, the team was suspended indefinitely for the trade scandal. Lee's nickname is "the National Tablesetter". Lee can balance on his left leg for several minutes if need be while awaiting a pitch, and quite often does

Awards and honors

*2006 Golden Glove Award (Outfielder) *2011 Golden Glove Award (Outfielder) *2012 Golden Glove Award (Outfielder)

Achievements

*2006 Hits Title

Notable international careers

Career statistics

Bold = led KBO

References

Profile and stats on the KBO official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Yong-kyu 2009 World Baseball Classic players Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for South Korea Olympic baseball players for South Korea LG Twins players Kia Tigers players Hanwha Eagles players KBO League center fielders Baseball players from Seoul 1985 births Living people Olympic medalists in baseball 2013 World Baseball Classic players 2017 World Baseball Classic players Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in baseball Baseball players at the 2006 Asian Games Baseball players at the 2010 Asian Games 2015 WBSC Premier12 players 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 World Baseball Classic players of South Korea