Young-soo Kim

Young-soo Kim (김영수)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 176 lb.

• School Inha University
• High School Kyunggi High School

• Born January 15, 1975 in Seoul South Korea

BR register page

Biographical Information

Young-soo Kim was an Olympic pitcher, like the similarly-named Yong-soo Kim, but did not have as much pro success as Yong-soo Kim.

Amateur Career

Kim was 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA in the 1995 Intercontinental Cup, striking out 25 in 18 innings. He was second in the event in strikeouts, 10 behind Cuba's Omar Luis. He also tied for the most losses in the Cup. In the 1996 Olympics, he made two appearances and did not allow a run; the next-best Korean hurler (Dong-hwan Moon) had a 5.14 ERA. He worked the final two innings of a 13-11 loss to Cuba, with two strikeouts and two hits allowed. He was the only Korean hurler not to give up a run that game. Against the Netherlands, he worked 2 1/3 hitless innings (2 BB, 1 K) in between Jin-ho Cho and Seung-nam Jeon to get the decision in the lone Korean win in seven games in the '96 Olympics.

Pro Career

Kim was a second-round pick of the OB Bears in the 1997 draft. He went 0-2 with a 5.10 ERA in 1997, walking 40 in 65 1/3 IP. He allowed three hits, two walks and two runs in one inning in 1998. OB became the Doosan Bears in 1999 and Young-soo had a 7.20 ERA in eight games. In 2000, he moved to the Lotte Giants and had nearly half his career pro wins, going 7-4 with a save and a 3.79 ERA in 32 games.

A year later, the Seoul native was 1-6 with 3 saves and a 6.27 ERA in 41 games, walking 74 in 94 2/3 innings. The lefty had a 2-18, 4.79 record for the 2002 Giants, easily leading the loop in losses. In 2003, he joined the SK Wyverns and had a better record (3-3) despite a worse ERA (5.34). He walked 50 in 64 innings that year. He struggled big-time in 2004 (1-3, 7.07, 31 BB in 28 IP over 37 G) then did not pitch in the KBO for a couple years.

Kim tossed 1 1/3 shutout innings for the 2007 Wyverns, then allowed four runs in 2 2/3 IP for the 2008 Giants. He finished up with the 2009 KIA Tigers (0-1, 8.31, 8 2/3 IP in 21 G).

Overall, Kim was 15-37 with four saves and a 5.28 ERA in 270 KBO games, with 513 hits and 313 walks in 496 IP.

Sources

• Defunct IBAF site
• KBO page
• Korean Wikipedia