Lee Yong-kyu
{{Short description|South Korean baseball player (born 1985)}}
{{family name hatnote|Lee||lang=Korean}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Lee Yong-kyu
|position=Outfielder
|team=Kiwoom Heroes
|number= 15
|bats=Left
|throws=Left
|birth_place=Kunsan, South Korea
|birth_date={{birth date and age|1985|8|26}}
|debutleague=KBO
|debutyear=2004
|debutdate=April 2
|debutteam=LG Twins
|statyear=May 16, 2024
|statleague=KBO
|stat1label=Batting average
|stat1value=.295
|stat2label=Hits
|stat2value=2,102
|stat3label=Home runs
|stat3value=27
|stat4label=Runs batted in
|stat4value=563
|stat5label=Stolen bases
|stat5value=395
|teams=
- LG Twins ({{baseball year|2004}})
- Kia Tigers ({{baseball year|2005}}–{{baseball year|2013}})
- Hanwha Eagles ({{baseball year|2014}}–{{baseball year|2020}})
- Kiwoom Heroes ({{baseball year|2021}}–present)
|highlights=
- 5× KBO All-Star Game (2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012)
- 3× KBO Golden Glove Award (2006, 2011, 2012)
- Korean Series champion ({{baseball year|2009}})
|medaltemplates=
{{MedalSport | Men's baseball}}
{{MedalCompetition | Olympics}}
{{MedalGold|2008 Beijing|Team}}
{{MedalCompetition | World Baseball Classic}}
{{MedalSilver| 2009 Los Angeles | Team }}
{{MedalCompetition | 2015 WBSC Premier12}}
{{MedalGold| 2015 Tokyo | Team }}
}}
Lee Yong-kyu ({{Langx|ko|이용규}}, Hanja: 李容圭, born August 26, 1985) is an outfielder who plays for the Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO League. He bats and throws left-handed
Amateur career
Lee attended Duksoo High School in Seoul, South Korea. In {{baseball year|2003}}, he was selected for the South Korea national junior baseball team and competed in the 5th Asian Junior Baseball Championship held in Bangkok, Thailand. Lee led his team to the 14–0 mercy rule victory over China in the round robin phase of the competition, going 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs. South Korea eventually won the Championship for the second time by beating Taiwan in the final.
= Notable international careers=
| class="wikitable"
!style="background:#0A6EFF"|Year !style="background:#0A6EFF"|Venue !style="background:#0A6EFF"|Competition !style="background:#0A6EFF"|Team !style="background:#0A6EFF"|Individual Note |
| {{baseball year|2003}}
|{{bb|THA|1939}} |Asian Junior Baseball Championship |style="text-align:center"|File:Gold medal icon.svg | |
Professional career
Lee debuted with the {{baseball year|2004}} LG Twins, but after the 2004 season he was traded to the Kia Tigers.
In {{baseball year|2006}}, Lee batted a career-high .318 (third in the KBO league), and was first in hits (154), second in runs (78) and third in stolen bases (38). He also won his first Golden Glove Award. After the 2006 season, he was selected for the South Korea national baseball team and competed in the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar.
In {{baseball year|2007}}, Lee was converted from right field to center field. However, he stole only 17 bases, and his batting average dipped to .280, showing a weakness against inside breaking balls from lefties.
In {{baseball year|2008}}, Lee had another solid season, batting a respectable .312 with 130 hits and 28 stolen bases, but the team did not reach the postseason.
In August 2008, Lee competed for the South Korea national baseball team in the 2008 Summer Olympics, where they won the gold medal in the baseball tournament. He finished the tournament ranked second in batting average (.481). He was at the plate for 3 of South Korea's 7 runs in their first win against Cuba, delivering a RBI single and hitting into a 2-base error by Norberto González. Lee was 4-for-4 in a 10–1 victory over the Netherlands. In the gold medal game, he hit a double off Pedro Luis Lazo to bring in Park Jin-Man for South Korea's final run in a 3–2 win over Cuba.
In March {{baseball year|2009}}, Lee was called up to the South Korea national baseball team again for the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He went 4-for-18 with one RBI and four runs, sharing the starting center field position with Lee Jong-Wook. After the WBC, Lee was out with an ankle injury for the first three months of the 2009 KBO season, running into the outfield wall during the Tigers' 2009 home opener against the SK Wyverns on April 7. Lee returned from injury in early July, but his batting performance dipped, ending the season with a batting average of .266 and 45 hits. Before the start of the 2019 season, the team was suspended indefinitely for the trade scandal.{{Cite web|date=2019-03-22|title=한화, '트레이드 파문' 이용규에 '무기한 활동 정지' 중징계|url=http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/sports/baseball/887023.html|access-date=2020-06-15|website=The Hankyoreh|language=ko}}
Lee's nickname is "the National Tablesetter". Lee can balance on his left leg for several minutes if need be while awaiting a pitch, and quite often does
=Awards and honors=
- 2006 Golden Glove Award (Outfielder)
- 2011 Golden Glove Award (Outfielder)
- 2012 Golden Glove Award (Outfielder)
=Achievements=
- 2006 Hits Title
= Notable international careers=
| class="wikitable"
!style="background:#0A6EFF"|Year !style="background:#0A6EFF"|Venue !style="background:#0A6EFF"|Competition !style="background:#0A6EFF"|Team !style="background:#0A6EFF"|Individual Note |
| {{baseball year|2006}}
|{{fb|QAT}} |style="text-align:center"|File:Bronze medal icon.svg |.222 BA (4-for-18), 1 RBI, 10 R, 3 BB, 2 SB |
| {{baseball year|2008}}
|{{bb|TPE}} |Final Olympic Qualification Tournament |style="text-align:center"|File:Silver medal icon.svg |.400 BA (10-for-25), 4 RBI, 11 R, 5 BB, 1 SB |
| {{baseball year|2008}}
|{{bb|CHN}} |style="text-align:center"|File:Gold medal icon.svg |.481 BA (13-for-27, 2nd in BA), 4 RBI, 8 R |
| {{baseball year|2009}}
|{{bb|USA}} |style="text-align:center"|File:Silver medal icon.svg |.222 BA (4-for-18), 1 RBI, 4 R, 3 BB, 2 SB |
| {{baseball year|2010}}
|{{Bb|CHN}} |style="text-align:center"| File:Gold medal icon.svg |.143 BA (2-for-14), 2 RBI, 6 R, 1 SB |
| {{baseball year|2013}}
|{{Bb|JPN}} |style="text-align:center"| |.250 BA (2-for-8), 0RBI, 0 R, 0 SB |
Career statistics
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: right;" |
| style="background:red;"
!style="background:#ff0000;" width="40"|Year !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|Age !style="background:#ff0000;" width="45"|Team !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|Lg !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|Pos !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|G !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|AB !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|R !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|H !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|2B !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|3B !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|HR !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|RBI !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|TB !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|SB !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|CS !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|SH !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|BB !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|HBP !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|SO !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|GIDP !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|E !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|AVG !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|OBP !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|SLG !style="background:#ff0000;" width="30"|OPS |
| 2004
|19 |align="center"|LG |rowspan="9" style="text-align:center;"|KBO |align="center"|LF |52 |62 |3 |8 |1 |0 |0 |2 |9 |1 |3 |2 |4 |2 |21 |0 |1 |.129 |.200 |.145 |.345 |
| 2005
|20 |rowspan="8" style="text-align:center;"|KIA |rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|RF |124 |414 |57 |110 |17 |2 |5 |37 |146 |31 |10 |17 |39 |9 |21 |6 |0 |.266 |.330 |.353 |.683 |
| 2006
|21 |125 |485 |78 |154 |25 |9 |1 |39 |200 |38 |11 |8 |50 |9 |48 |6 |1 |.318 |.386 |.412 |.798 |
| 2007
|22 |rowspan="6" style="text-align:center;"|CF |118 |439 |61 |123 |17 |8 |0 |27 |156 |17 |11 |8 |37 |7 |40 |4 |1 |.280 |.340 |.355 |.695 |
| 2008
|23 |106 |417 |62 |130 |24 |6 |0 |38 |166 |28 |9 |6 |47 |3 |37 |4 |2 |.312 |.381 |.398 |.779 |
| 2009
|24 |50 |169 |32 |45 |8 |3 |0 |14 |59 |10 |4 |6 |22 |4 |21 |1 |0 |.266 |.364 |.349 |.713 |
| 2010
|25 |129 |472 |74 |145 |19 |1 |3 |51 |175 |25 |12 |10 |64 |9 |50 |10 |3 |.307 |.398 |.371 |.769 |
| 2011
|26 |111 |421 |84 |140 |16 |2 |3 |33 |169 |30 |6 |7 |63 |9 |33 |5 |1 |.333 |.427 |.401 |.829 |
| 2012
|27 |125 |491 |86 |139 |14 |2 |2 |37 |163 |44 |12 |10 |66 |10 |38 |9 |4 |.283 |.377 |.332 |.709 |
| style="background:#000000;"
!style="background:#000000;" width="42"|Total | | !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|KBO !style="background:#000000;" width="42"|OF !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|940 !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|3370 !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|537 !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|994 !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|141 !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|33 !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|14 !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|278 !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|1243 !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|224 !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|78 !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|74 !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|392 !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|62 !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|352 !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|45 !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|13 !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|.295 !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|.377 !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|.369 !style="background:#000000;" width="30"|.746 |
Bold = led KBO
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Baseballstats|brm=lee---001yon}}
- [http://www.koreabaseball.com/record/player.asp?player_id=74163 Profile and stats on the KBO official site]
{{Kiwoom Heroes roster navbox}}
{{South Korea baseball roster 2008 Summer Olympics}}
{{South Korea roster 2009 World Baseball Classic}}
{{South Korea roster 2013 World Baseball Classic}}
{{South Korea roster 2015 WBSC Premier 12}}
{{South Korea roster 2017 World Baseball Classic}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Yong-kyu}}
Category:2009 World Baseball Classic players
Category:Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Category:Olympic gold medalists for South Korea
Category:Olympic baseball players for South Korea
Category:Hanwha Eagles players
Category:KBO League center fielders
Category:Baseball players from Seoul
Category:Olympic medalists in baseball
Category:2013 World Baseball Classic players
Category:2017 World Baseball Classic players
Category:Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Category:Asian Games medalists in baseball
Category:Baseball players at the 2006 Asian Games
Category:Baseball players at the 2010 Asian Games
Category:2015 WBSC Premier12 players
Category:Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea
Category:Asian Games bronze medalists for South Korea