Sang-soo Kang

Sang-soo Kang (강상수)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 220 lb.

• School Korea University
• High School Busan High School

• Born June 22, 1971 in Busan South Korea

BR register page

Biographical Information

Sang-soo Kang pitched in the Korea Baseball Organization for 13 years.

Kang played for South Korea in the 1990 Baseball World Cup, hitting .214/.241/.286 and fielding .714 in the outfield. He remained with them for the 1991 Asian Championship and 1993 Asian Championship. The Lotte Giants drafted him in the first round of the 1994 KBO draft as an outfielder, but he was soon turned into a pitcher because the Giants lost many starters due to military service. He was the first rookie to start on Opening Day in KBO history. Kang went 7-6 with a 3.56 ERA in 1994, and he was 7-5 with a 3.35 ERA in 1995. He had a 9-10 record with a 3.97 ERA in 1996, and he was 6th in losses (tied with Pil-jung Jin, Ki-bum Kim and Chang-yang Choi). Kang slumped to 3-11 with a 5.13 ERA in 1997, and he was 6th in losses again (tied with Min-chul Chung).

The Busan native struggled again in 1998 as he went 4-8 with a 4.46 ERA, then the Giants turned him into a closer. Kang collected 19 saves with a 2.78 ERA in 55 appearances, ranking 5th in saves (19 behind Chang-yong Lim) and 9th in appearances (tied with Dae-sung Koo). Kang improved to a 1.77 ERA in 50 games with 23 saves in 2000, and he was 4th in saves this year (between Lim and Koo). However, Kang struggled in 2001 as his ERA rose to 4.75 in 58 relief outings with 10 saves, and he was 10th in saves (tied with Sang-min Oh) and 5th in games (tied with Deuk-yeom Ka).

Kang collected 7 saves with a 4.58 ERA in 39 games in 2002, and he had a 5.50 ERA in 33 games with 6 saves in 2003. He bounced back in 2004 as his ERA was 4.11 in 29 appearances, but he then allowed 27 runs in 29 1/3 innings in 2005. The Giants released him after the 2005 season, and the LG Twins picked him up. Kang's ERA was 7.98 in 16 games in 2006, then he announced his retirement. He later became the bullpen coach of the Twins from 2012 to 2013, their pitching coach from 2014 to 2018 and the pitching coach of the KIA Tigers in 2019.

Overall, Kang was 52-73 with a 4.17 ERA, notched 75 saves in 450 appearances, struck out 705 and pitched 1,010 2/3 in 13 seasons in the KBO. He retired as the career saves leader for Lotte, and he was 3rd as of 2024 (behind Won-jung Kim and Seung-rak Son).

Sources

• Old IBAF site
• Namu Wiki