Young-ho Kwon

Young-ho Kwon (권영호)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 178 lb.

• School Yeungnam University
• High School Daegun High School

• Born January 23, 1954 in Sancheong County South Korea

BR register page

Biographical Information

Young-ho Kwon pitched in the Korea Baseball Organization for 8 years. He was one of the first closers in KBO history.

Kwon represented South Korea in the 1978 Amateur World Series, going 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 13 K in 9 IP for the Bronze Medalists. He served in the army from 1980 to 1981. When the KBO was founded in 1982, Kwon joined the Samsung Lions, and he was 15-5 with a 5.37 ERA. He ranked 2nd in wins (tied with Sun-hee Lee and Gyu-bong Hwang) and 3rd in ERA (between Ki-ryong Ha and Hwang). He started the first Korean Series game ever, against the OB Bears. Kwon was 6-10 with a 3.87 ERA and 7 saves in 1983, then he went 6-8 with a 3.28 ERA in 1984. He lost Game 3 of the 1984 Korean Series to the Lotte Giants' great Dong-won Choi. The Lions then named him their closer in 1985, and Kwon notched 26 saves with a 3.50 ERA in 54 games. He led the league in saves and appearances, and he broke Seok-hwan Yoon's KBO single-season saves record (broken by Jin-woo Song in 1990).

The Sancheong native then notched 19 saves with a 2.77 ERA and a 7-7 record in 1986, and he was 2nd in saves (7 behind Yong-soo Kim). He was still a solid closer in 1987, and he recorded a 2.41 ERA in 32 games with 18 saves. He was 2nd in saves, 5 behind Yong-soo Kim. He lost the penultimate game of the 1987 Korean Series as the Lions again fell short, this time against the Haitai Tigers. Kwon collected 7 saves with a 3.73 ERA in 1988, then he got 19 saves with a 3.63 ERA in 42 games in 1989. He was 2nd in appearances (tied with Kug-seong Lee) and 2nd in saves (3 behind Yong-soo Kim). Kwon announced his retirement after the 1989 season, and he became a coach. He was the pitching coach for the Lions from 1990 to 1997, and he coached Yeungnam University from 2000 to 2011. He became the bench coach of the Lotte Giants in 2013, and he managed their minor league team in 2014. Kwon then became the minor league pitching coach for the Hanwha Eagles from 2015 to 2017, and he coached Kyungil University from 2021 to 2022. He also coached South Korea national baseball team in the 2001 Asian Championship, 2006 Intercontinental Cup and 2007 Baseball World Cup.

Overall, Kim was 56-49 with a 3.06 ERA, collected 100 saves in 288 appearances, struck out 422 and pitched 1,020 2/3 innings in 8 seasons in the KBO.

Sources

• Defunct IBAF site
• Namu wiki