Yon-kyu Ji

Yon-kyu Ji (지연규)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 185 lb.

• School Dong-A University
• High School Bugil Academy

• Born August 15, 1969 in Taean County South Korea

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yon-kyu Ji pitched in the Korea Baseball Organization for 11 years.

Ji played for South Korea in the 1990 Asian Games, when they finished second; baseball was not yet a medal event in the Asian Games. In the 1990 Baseball World Cup, he was 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA for the Bronze Medalists, but had a tough assignment - both of his starts came against Omar Ajete and Cuba, during a period when Cuba was nearly unbeatable. He won Bronze again in the 1991 Asian Championship. During the 1991 Intercontinental Cup, he lost to Taiwan's Chen-Jung Lo and had a 4.32 ERA.

The Binggrae Eagles drafted him in the first round of the 1992 KBO draft, and he had a 5.97 ERA in 9 games in his first season. Ji's ERA was 3.38 in 6 games in 1993, then he struggled again as he allowed 5 runs in 4 innings in 1994. He recorded a 5.14 ERA in 9 games in 1995, then he announced his retirement after having a 3.38 ERA in 1996. Ji then coached Daejeon High School from 1999 to 2000, and he decided to return to the mound in 2001.

The Taean native surrendered 3 runs in 3 innings in '01, then he pitched 20 games with a 5.35 ERA in 2002. Ji was 2-3 with a 5.20 ERA in 2003, then he went 0-4 with a 5.57 ERA in 2004. The 35-year-old veteran surprisingly had his career year in 2005, and he was named Hanwha's closer. Ji was also selected into the 2005 KBO All-Star Game, but he gave up a homer to Dae-Ho Lee and got the loss. He ended up having a 2.84 ERA in 33 appearances with 20 saves, and he was 3rd in saves (between Yong-joon Cho and Jang-jin No).

Ji suffered from a shoulder injury in 2006, so he only pitched 7 games with a 2.25 ERA. He was still brought into the 2006 Korean Series, and he fanned 5 in 4 shutout innings to hold the 1-1 tie in Game 5. The Samsung Lions still beat the Eagles in the next game. Ji announced his retirement after the series, and he coached the Eagles from 2004 to 2006. He was their minor league pitching coach from 2007 to 2008, then he was the pitching coach of the Bugil Academy from 2009 to 2011. The [[NC Dinos] named Ji their bullpen coach from 2017 to 2018, and he coached there minor league team from 2019 to 2021. He started to coach Gaesung High School in 2022.

Overall, Ji was 10-22 with a 4.88 ERA, notched 23 saves in 132 appearances, struck out 144 and pitched 299 in 11 seasons in the KBO.

Sources

• Namu Wiki
• Old IBAF site