Quartet of left-handed legends named to KBO anniversary team

4 of South Korean baseball’s best left-handed hitters had been unveiled as the newest members of the commemorative workforce marking the fortieth anniversary {of professional} baseball within the nation Monday.

The Korea Baseball Group (KBO) has been saying 4 new members every week to its “40 Legends” workforce. The brand new entries are former outfielders Yang Joon-hyuk, Park Yong-taik and Lee Byung-kyu, and ex-first baseman Kim Ki-tai.

Yang, seventh within the voting by specialists and followers, is among the many profession leaders in a number of main offensive classes. In 2007, the Samsung Lions icon turned the primary KBO participant to succeed in the two,000-hit mark and is No. 2 all time with 2,318 hits.

He set the league on hearth as a rookie in 1993, main the KBO in batting common, on-base share and slugging share whereas ending second in dwelling runs. The 1993 Rookie of the 12 months went on to gather at the very least 100 hits in 16 consecutive seasons, a file that also stands.

In 1996, Yang turned the primary Samsung participant to affix a 20-20 membership, thanks to twenty-eight dwelling runs and 23 steals. He had three extra 20-20 campaigns, together with in 2007 at age 38.

When Yang retired in 2010, the eight-time Golden Glove winner and four-time batting champion owned all-time data in 9 classes. He has mentioned he’s particularly pleased with his 1,278 walks, and no lively participant is even inside 200 of that mark.

Yang remained the hits chief till June 2018, when former LG Twins star Park Yong-taik surpassed the file as soon as thought unbreakable. Park, who retired in 2020 with 2,504 hits, completed fifteenth within the voting for the anniversary workforce.

Park additionally lived as much as the mantra, “The perfect skill is availability.” He performed whole seasons in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007, and holds the all-time file with 2,237 video games performed.

Park batted at the very least .300 in 10 straight seasons, and his lone batting title in 2009 began that stretch. The versatile participant is the one one in league historical past with at the very least 200 profession dwelling runs and 300 steals.

Park spent his whole 19-year profession with the Twins. One other ex-Twins star, Lee Byung-kyu, made the anniversary workforce at No. 19.

Lee had a memorable rookie season in 1997, taking part in in all 126 video games whereas snatching each the Rookie of the 12 months award and a Golden Glove as an outfielder. The hitting machine led the KBO in hits 4 occasions and received two batting titles over his 19-year profession. The latter of these two titles got here in 2013, when he was 38, making Park the oldest batting champion in league historical past.

Checking in at No. 22 within the anniversary workforce voting is Kim Ki-tai, who turned the primary left-handed hitter within the KBO to win the house run crown in 1994. Three years later, Kim led the league in batting common (.344), on-base share (.460) and slugging share (.636).

In 1991, Kim turned the primary KBO rookie to smack greater than 20 homers, when he completed with 27, together with 92 RBIs, for the now-defunct Ssangbangwool Raiders.

Kim additionally served as captain for 3 totally different golf equipment over his 15-year profession: the Raiders, the Lions and the SK Wyverns. (Yonhap)