Young-soo Bae

Young-soo Bae (백인호)

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

• High School Kyeongbuk High School

• Born May 4, 1981 in Daegu South Korea

BR register page

Biographical Information

Young-soo Bae is a pitcher with the Samsung Lions. He is a former Korea Baseball Organization MVP and represented South Korea in the 2006 World Baseball Classic.

Bae made his debut in the KBO with the Samsung Lions on April 9, 2000 against the LG Twins. He went 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA that season. In 2001, Young-soo was 13-8 with a 3.77 ERA at age 20. One sore spot was control as he walked 89 in 169 2/3 innings. The control issue really flared up when he plunked KBO OPS leader Felix Jose, who charged the mound, leading to a season-ending suspension.

In 2002, the young right-hander had a 6-7, 5.53 mark with 43 BB in 81 1/3 innings. His control improved slightly in 2003 (77 BB in 163 2/3 IP) and he went 13-5 with a 4.51 ERA. He allowed over a hit per inning as well but did finish 7th in the Korea Baseball Organization in strikeouts (99).

Bae became a star in 2004 with a 17-2, 2.61 campaign. He still walked 74 in 189 2/3 innings but struck out 144 and allowed 163 hits and only 6 home runs. He led the KBO in wins (tied with Gary Rath and Danny Rios) and winning percentage, was third in ERA and fourth in Ks. He made his first All-star team, won the KBO Gold Glove at pitcher and was the KBO MVP. At one point, he had a 11-game winning streak going. In the 2004 Korean Series, Bae threw an amazing 10-inning no-hitter but got a no-decision in a 12-inning, 0-0 tie.

In 2005, the pitcher had a 2.86 ERA and his control continued to sharpen (48 BB in 173 IP), but his record fell to 11-11 even as Samsung won the KBO pennant. He tied Rios for the KBO lead in strikeouts (147) and was second in ERA behind teammate Min-han Sohn.

Bae was chosen for South Korea's team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He pitched two games out of the bullpen, allowing 2 hits, a solo homer and a hit batter in 1 2/3 IP, striking out two.

During the regular season, the results were similar to 2005 with a fine ERA (2.92) and a disappointing record (8-9) for a title-winning team. He struck out 133 and walked 38 in 157 1/3 IP. He finished 8th in ERA and sixth in strikeouts. In the 2006 Korean Series, he was 2-0 with a save and a 0.87 ERA. He missed the 2006 Asia Series due to injury and his absence helped the South Korean champs finish a disappointing third behind those from Japan and Taiwan.

Bae did not pitch in 2007. He returned to the diamond in 2008 to go 9-8 with a 4.55 ERA. He declined further in 2009, when he posted a 1-12, 7.26 record and gave up 106 hits (18 homers) in 75 2/3 IP.

Bae's career record through 2009 is 78-64, 3.98.

Primary sources: Korean wikipedia entry, Samsung Lions player page