Si-jin Kim

From BR Bullpen

Si-jin Kim (김시진)

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Si-jin Kim was a top pitcher in the first decade of the Korea Baseball Organization.

Kim played for the South Korean national team in the 1977 Intercontinental Cup and 1978 Haarlem Baseball Week. He was a workhorse in the 1978 Amateur World Series, appearing in 7 of South Korea's 10 games as they won a Bronze, their first medal ever at an Amateur World Series. He tied Dong-won Choi for the team lead in appearances. Kim was 1-0 with a 3.73 ERA and fanned 29 in 31 1/3 innings. He finished third in the event in Ks behind Choi and Shigekazu Mori.

Kim also pitched in the 1980 Amateur World Series (their first Silver in an Amateur World Series), 1981 World Games (Silver), 1981 Intercontinental Cup and 1982 Amateur World Series, in which South Korea won the Gold Medal for the only time in the event (through 2009). He took Korea's only loss in the 1982 Amateur World Series, a 2-1 defeat to Italy's David Farina.

Si-jin then turned pro. He was 17-12 with a save and a 2.55 ERA as a rookie for the 1983 Samsung Lions. He improved to 19-11 with two saves and a 3.18 ERA in '84. He allowed 178 hits in 215 innings but walked 125. He was 8 wins behind Choi's league-leading total.

Kim went 25-5 with 10 saves in 47 games in 1985, posting a 2.00 ERA. He gave up just 172 hits (and only 8 homers) in a whopping 269 2/3 innings. He walked 136 and fanned 201. He tied Il-young Kim for the win lead and led in strikeouts. He lost a pitching Triple Crown because Dong-yeol Sun had a lower ERA. He won a Gold Glove as the top pitcher in the league. He also won the Korea Baseball Organization All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award.

Si-jin was 16-6 with three saves and a 2.47 ERA in 1986. He allowed 161 hits (6 homers) in 196 2/3 innings but walked 116. In '87, the right-hander had another big year, going 23-6 with a 3.12 ERA. He led the league in wins; while it was the lowest total yet to lead the league, no one has matched it in the 22 years since.

Kim fell to 11-9, 3.49 in 1988, his last winning season. He became the first KBO hurler to reach double-digit wins in six straight years; Sun would become the second (1986-1991) and Kang-chul Lee would be the first to top six straight when he got 10+ from 1989-1995.

In the offseason, Kim was dealt to the Lotte Giants for old rival and national squad teammate Choi. He struggled in his Lotte career, going 4-9 with a 3.87 ERA in 1989, 7-10 with a 4.04 ERA in 1990, 2-4 with a 6.18 ERA in 1991 and 0-1 with a 13.06 ERA in 1992 before he retired.

Kim was 124-73 with 16 saves and a 3.12 ERA in his 10-season career. He allowed 1,302 hits in 1,577 innings with only 82 homers. He walked 838, never developing good control, and fanned 931. Through 2006, he ranked among the KBO's all-time leaders in complete games (67, 5th), ERA (9th), innings pitched (14th), losses (25th), shutouts (16, tied for 7th), strikeouts (23rd) and wins (tied for 7th with Min-tae Jeong).

Kim was pitching coach for the Hyundai Unicorns from 1993 to 2006. He managed the team in 2007, was skipper of the Seoul Heroes in 2009, the Nexen Heroes from 2010-2012 and the Lotte Giants from 2013-2014 KBO.

Sources[edit]

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