Min-jae Kim

Min-Jae Kim (김민재)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 179 lb.

• High School Pusan Technical High School

• Born January 3, 1973 in Busan South Korea

BR register page

Biographical Information

Min-Jae Kim was a shortstop for the Hanwha Eagles.

Kim broke in with the 1991 Lotte Giants and went 2 for 15. In 1992, the teenager batted .177/.202/.219 in limited action. He improved to .261/.320/.348 in regular action in 1993, then followed with a .246/.310/.343 campaign the next year.

In 1995, the 22-year-old produced at a .215/.299/.293 clip only, then hit .242/.310/.388 in '96. In 1997, he hit .235/.278/.315; the light-hitting shortstop only drove in 21 runs and scored 21 in 114 games played. Min-Jae produced at a .238/.306/.347 clip in 1998 and .272/.328/.375 with 23 steals in 1999, arguably his best offensive season.

In 2000, the 27-year-old veteran batted .249/.322/.314 and .301/.352/.367 his last year with Lotte. In 2002, Kim moved to the SK Wyverns and hit .258/.308/.387 with a career-best 12 home runs. He won Gold in the 2002 Asian Games, backing up Jin-man Park at short. He went 4 for 8 to outhit Park, but all four hits came against the Philippines while Park played against the tougher teams. He followed with a .211/.299/.293 season, then .260/.300/.322 in 2004. Kim batted .277/.346/.334 in 2005 for SK.

Kim hit .273/.333/.364 in four games for the South Korean team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He only batted .211/.277/.296 with the Hanwha Eagles. His career line through 2006 is .247/~.302/.332.

Kim was 3 for 3 with a walk, a double and two RBI in the 2007 Asian Championship. Korea's oldest player in the 2008 Olympics, he was 0 for 11 as the backup SS to Jin-man Park but the club still won Gold.

Sources: Page at KBO site, Korean wikipedia page for Kim, IBAF site, 2008 Olympics