Sang-yeul Lee

Sang-yeul Lee (이상열)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 160 lb.

• High School Bugil Academy

• Born April 20, 1977 in Cheonan South Korea

BR register page

Biographical Information

Sang-yeul Lee pitched in the KBO for 17 years.

Lee was drafted by the Hanwha Eagles in the first round of the 1996 KBO draft, and he had a 7.27 ERA in 15 games in his first season. Lee's ERA was 4.18 in 37 games in 1997, but he slumped to a 6.92 ERA in 34 games in 1998. He then went 3-1 with a 6.00 ERA in 53 relief outings in 1999, and he recorded a 5.71 ERA in 32 appearances in 2000. The Eagles then traded him to the Hyundai Unicorns for Young-pil Choi and Hong-jip Kim, and he pitched 25 games with a 3.18 ERA in 2001. Lee pitched 64 games with 10 holds in 2002, and his ERA was 3.93.

The Cheonan native collected 16 holds with a 2.91 ERA in 72 games in 2003, leading the league in holds (tied with Myong-ju Cha) and ranking 6th in appearances (between Taek-hyun Ryu and Yong-woon Shin). He improved to a 2.55 ERA in 81 games with 20 holds in 2004, and he was 2nd in holds (2 behind Gyoung-wan Lim) and 2nd in appearances (4 behind Ryu). Lee then missed the next two seasons due to military service, and he only pitched 11 games combined from 2007 to 2008 due to shoulder injury. Lee struggled in 2009 as his ERA was 7.36 in 26 games, and he was released after that season.

The LG Twins picked him up, and he collected 16 holds with a 3.32 ERA in 76 games in 2010. He led the league in appearances, and he was 5th in holds (7 behind Jae-hun Chung). Lee notched 18 holds with a 3.89 ERA in 77 games in 2011, leading the league in games and ranking 5th in holds again (tied with Lim). He became just the 5th player to pitch 700 games on June 5, 2012, and he ended up having a 3.72 ERA with 15 holds in 73 games. He was 7th in holds (between Dae-sung Choi and Sung-bae Kim) and 2nd in appearances (1 behind Myung-woo Lee). Lee collected 13 holds with a 3.27 ERA in 64 games in 2013, but he only pitched 12 games with a 7.88 ERA in 2014, and the Eagles released him. The SK Wyverns picked him up, but he didn't pitch any games for their big club in 2015 then he retired.

Overall, Lee was 23-34 with a 4.40 ERA, collected 118 holds and 9 saves in 752 appearances, struck out 490 and pitched 664 1/3 innings in 17 seasons in the KBO. As of 2024, he was 9th in appearances (between Chang-yong Lim and Young-sik Kang) and 10th in holds (between Tae-hyon Chong and Kang).

Sources

• Namu wiki bio