Yong-hee Kim

Yong-hee Kim (김용희)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 213 lb.

• School Korea University
• High School Kyungnam High School

• Born October 4, 1955 in Busan South Korea

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yong-hee Kim played in the Korea Baseball Organization for 8 years.

Kim played for the South Korean national team in the 1980 Amateur World Series, 1981 World Games and 1981 Intercontinental Cup. When the KBO was founded in 1982, the Lotte Giants signed Kim, and he hit .285/.357/.457 with 11 homers. He was 7th in homers, tied with Il-kwon Kim, Jeong-soo Kim, Yong-sung Park and Jong-do Lee. He also won the first KBO Gold Glove as a third baseman. In the first KBO All-Star Game - the 1982 KBO All-Star Game - Kim was 1-for-5 in the first game, then he went 4-for-5 with 2 homers in Game 2. Kim crushed the first grand slam in All-Star history in the 7th inning of Game 3, and he beat Young-chul Kim (who blasted 3 homers in Game 2) to win the KBO All-Star Game MVP. The second grand slam in All-Star game was hit by Eun-seong Chae 41 years later.

The Busan native improved to .275/.335/.490 with 18 homers in 1983, ranking 3rd in homers (tied with Hyo-jo Jang) and 9th in RBI (between Dong-kyun Yun and Kyung-sik Shin). He won his second Gold Glove as a third baseman. Kim shined in an All-Star Game again in 1984, and he was 5-for-11 with 5 RBI among the 3 games to win his second KBO All-Star Game MVP. No other player has won more than 2 All-Star MVPs in KBO history, as of 2024. Kim then crushed 14 homers with a .277/.346/.454 batting line in 1985, and he won the Gold Glove as a designated hitter. The Gold Glove was given to the best overall player at each position and was not solely a defensive award the way it is in other countries (it was a defensive award in 1982, though). Kim was the first player to win Gold Glove in two different positions in KBO history (Gwang-eun Lee also did it in the same year). He tied Koo-seon Jeong for 5th in homers in '85 season.

Kim blasted 8 homers with a .293/.356/.435 batting line in 1986, but he slumped to .216/.315/.315 in 1987. He bounced back with a .293/.328/.335 in 1988, then he was 1-for-16 in 1989 and he retired. Kim was the batting coach of the Giants from 1990 to 1992, and he managed them from 1994 to 1998. Kim jumped to the Samsung Lions as their bench coach in 1999, and he managed them in 2000. He returned to the Giants in 2001, and he was their bench coach from 2002 to 2003. Kim then managed them from 2004 to 2005, and he was their minor league manager in 2006. He was the minor league manager of the SK Wyverns from 2012 to 2013, their scout in 2014 and their manager from 2015 to 2016.

Overall, Kim hit .270/.331/.423 with 482 hits and 61 homers in 8 seasons in the KBO.

Sources

• Namu Wiki