Sang-mok Lee

Sang-mok Lee (이상목) (Prince of Forkballs)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 176 lb.

• High School Seonggwang High School

• Born April 25, 1971 in Daegu South Korea

BR register page

Biographical Information

Sang-mok Lee pitched in the KBO for 17 years. He was considered the best forkball thrower in KBO history.

Lee signed with the Samsung Lions in 1990, and he pitched 9 games with a 4.70 ERA in his first season. He stayed in the minors in 1991 and 1992, then the Lions traded him to the Binggrae Eagles for Sun-il Park. Lee was 5-8 with a 4.01 ERA in 1994, then he went 7-8 with a 3.75 ERA in 1995. He had a 9-13 record with a 3.97 ERA in 1996, and he led the league in losses and runs allowed. He was also 5th in strikeouts (between Jin-woo Song and Dae-jin Lee) and 10th in innings (between Sang-soo Kang and Dae-jin Lee).

The Daegu native was 6-10 with a 4.30 ERA in 1997, then he went 9-17 with a 4.84 ERA in 1998. He led the league in losses, hits and homers allowed that season, and he ranked 7th in strikeouts (between Hyung-kwang Joo and Chang-yong Lim). Lee went 14-8 with a 4.29 ERA in 1999, and he was 7th in wins (6 behind Min-tae Chung) and 9th in strikeouts (between Dong-hwan Moon and Dae-sung Koo). He allowed 2 runs in 7 1/3 innings in the 1999 Korean Series Game 3, and he won his only title as the Eagles beat the Lotte Giants in 5 games. Lee missed most of the 2000 season due to shoulder injury, and he was 7-8 with a 4.90 ERA in 2001. He struggled again in 2002 as his ERA was 6.10 in 30 games.

Lee bounced back in 2003, and he had his career year. He was 15-7 with a 3.54 ERA, and he led the league in hits allowed. He was also 2nd in wins (2 behind Chung), 5th in ERA (between Jin-woo Kim and Lim) and 6th in strikeouts (39 behind Seung-ho Lee). He then announced that he would became a free agent after that season, and he signed a 4-year, 2.2 billion won contract with the Lotte Giants. However, Lee slumped to 3-9 with a 5.03 ERA in 2004, then he went 6-7 with a 3.02 ERA in 2005. He had a 12-8 record with a 3.25 ERA in 2006, and he was 7th in wins (tied with Tim Harikkala, Danny Rios and [Won-sam Jang]]). He only pitched 11 games with a 6.69 ERA in 2007, and the Giants released him. The Lions signed him again, and he was 6-6 with a 5.34 ERA in 2008. He got his 100th win on August 26, then he announced his retirement.

Overall, Lee was 100-122 with a 4.30 ERA, struck out 1,231 and pitched 1,830 2/3 innings in 17 seasons in the KBO. As of 2024, he was 7th in homers allowed (tied with Yong-deok Han), 31th in wins (tied with Dae-jin Lee and Sang-kun Lee), 20th in strikeouts (between Sang-jin Kim and Koo), 15th in innings (between Chung and Kye-hyun Cho) and 9th in hits allowed (between Seung-hwan Yoon and Han).

Sources

• Namu wiki bio