Bong-kyu Kang

From BR Bullpen

Bong-kyu Kang (강봉규)

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 6' 0", Weight 194 lb.

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Bong-kyu Kang has played for over a decade in the Korea Baseball Organization. He has spent most of his career as a backup outfielder, used primarily against left-handed pitchers.

Kang was with South Korea's teams in the 1996 Asian Junior Championship, 1998 Baseball World Cup and 1998 Asian Games (winning Gold in the Asian Games). In the World Cup, he hit .219/.342/.281 and fielded .909 as the starting third baseman for South Korea. He turned pro with the Doosan Bears in 2000, going 0 for 1 as a rookie. He batted .236/.286/.404 in 2001 and .250/.324/.394 in 2002 then was 3 for 13 with a home run in 2003. In 2004, he put up a .236/.337/.333 line, followed by .235/.361/.314 in 2005. He was then dealt with a pitcher to the Samsung Lions for Dong-woo Kang.

Kang hit .234/.306/.391 in his first season, 2006, with Samsung and followed with campaigns of .282/.370/.380 (2007) and .276/.376/.403 (2008). Kang got his first chance as a starter in 2009, being used as the Lions' regular right fielder and #3 batter. He did a superb job, hitting .310/.405/.506 with 20 homers, 89 runs, 78 RBI and 20 steals in 23 tries. He was 10th in the league in average (between Joo-chan Kim and Hee-seop Choi), 6th in runs (between Yong-taik Park and the man he was traded for, Dong-woo Kang), 10th in OBP (between Yong-taik Park and Won-seop Kim) and 10th in OPS (between Keun-woo Jeong and Dae-ho Lee).

Back to a part-time role in 2010, the Busan native slumped to .237/.353/.341, followed by .267/.347/.349 in 2011. His solo homer off Brian Gordon in game 5 of the 2011 Korean Series was the only run in a pitching-dominated contest, giving Samsung its 5th title. Closer Seung-hwan Oh was given the Korean Series MVP award instead.

Sources[edit]

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