Hyun-soo Kim

Hyun-soo Kim (Korean: 김현수; Hanja: 金賢洙; Korean pronunciation: [kim.çjʌn.su]; born January 12, 1988) is a South Korean professional baseball outfielder for the LG Twins of the KBO League. He previously played for the Doosan Bears, and has also played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies.

"Kim Hyun-soo" redirects here. For other uses, see Kim Hyun-soo (disambiguation).

The native form of this personal name is Kim Hyun-soo. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
In this Korean name, the family name is Kim.
Hyun-soo Kim
Kim with the Orioles 2016
LG Twins – No. 22
Left fielder
Born: (1988-01-12) January 12, 1988
Seoul, South Korea
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Professional debut
KBO: September 2, 2006, for the Doosan Bears
MLB: April 10, 2016, for the Baltimore Orioles
KBO statistics
(through 2022)
Batting average.316
Home runs235
Runs batted in1,275
MLB statistics
(through 2022)
Batting average.273
Home runs7
Runs batted in36
Teams
Career highlights and awards
  • 4× KBO Golden Glove Award (2008–2010, 2015)
  • KBO batting champion (2008)
  • Korean Series champion (2015)
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  South Korea
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2008 BeijingTeam
World Baseball Classic
Silver medal – second place 2009 Los Angeles Team
WBSC Premier12
Gold medal – first place 2015 Tokyo Team
Hyun-soo Kim
Hangul
김현수
Hanja
金賢洙
Revised RomanizationGim Hyeon-su
McCune–ReischauerKim Hyŏn-su

Amateur career

Kim attended Shinil High School in Seoul, South Korea. In September 2005, he competed for the South Korea national junior team, that was runner-up at the 6th Asian Junior Baseball Championship in Seoul, South Korea. At the championship, he went 1-for-4 as a backup outfielder in the South Korean roster.

In November 2005, Kim won the Lee Yeong-min Award,[1] given annually to the most outstanding high school hitter in South Korea.

Professional career

Doosan Bears

Upon graduation from high school, Kim made himself eligible for the 2006 KBO First-Year Player Draft, but went undrafted. Instead, he was signed by the Doosan Bears as an undrafted free agent. He spent the whole 2006 season playing for the reserve team of the Bears.

In the 2007 season, Kim took over the starting job after starting outfielder Yoo Jae-woong was sidelined with a sprained ankle in the beginning of the season. Kim hit .273 with 5 home runs and 32 runs batted in in 99 games, and finished runner-up for Rookie of the Year.

In the 2008 KBO season, Kim won the batting title with an average of .357 and was first in hits with 168. He finished runner-up in MVP voting and won the Golden Glove Award as an outfielder.

In the 2009 KBO season, Kim exploded offensively, batting .357 and smacking 23 home runs. He defended his hit title with 172, and was runner-up in RBI (104) and triples (6), third in batting average, runs (97), doubles (31), on-base percentage (.448) and slugging percentage (.589), and eleventh in home runs.

On December 11, 2009, he won the KBO Golden Glove Award for outfielder for two consecutive years.[2]

Baltimore Orioles

On December 23, 2015, Kim signed a two-year, $7 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles.[3]

After struggling in spring training,[4] Kim ultimately made the team after refusing a minor league assignment[5] which led to him being booed on Opening Day.[6] On April 10, 2016, Kim played his first career MLB game versus the Tampa Bay Rays. In that game he had two hits and scored a run.[7] Kim finished his first month of Major League baseball having played in only six games, but making an impact, going 9-for-15 (.600), driving in one run, scoring two runs, and having an on-base percentage of .647. He hit his First Major League Career home run on May 29, against the Cleveland Indians that broke a 4–4 tie in the 7th inning.[8]

On June 30, Kim hit the Orioles' 56th home run in the month of June, setting a new Major League record for the month.[8]

On September 25, Kim hit a 2-run home run in the second inning of a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The O's would win the game 2–1, proving his homer to be the game winner. Three days later, on September 28, Kim hit a 2-run home run in the ninth inning of a game against the Toronto Blue Jays.[8] The Orioles were facing a 2–1 deficit at the time and Kim hit the go ahead, game-winning home run on the ninth pitch of his at-bat. The Orioles would go on to win the game 3–2. Kim ended his 2016 season with a .302 batting average.[8]

Philadelphia Phillies

On July 28, 2017, the Orioles traded Kim and Garrett Cleavinger to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jeremy Hellickson.[9]

LG Twins

On December 19, 2017, Kim signed a four-year, $10.7 million contract with the LG Twins.[10][8] On December 17, 2021, Kim re-signed with the Twins on a six-year, $9.7 million contract.[11]

International career
Kim in the outfield during the 2009 World Baseball Classic for the South Korea national baseball team.

In August 2008, Kim competed for the South Korea national baseball team in the 2008 Olympic Games, where they won the gold medal in the baseball tournament.[12] In the preliminary round game against Japan, Kim hit a go-ahead RBI single in the top of the ninth off closer Iwase Hitoki to break a 2–2 tie as a pinch hitter, leading South Korea to a 5–3 win over Japan.[12]

In March 2009, Kim competed for the South Korea national baseball team in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, where they finished runner-up with a 6–3 record. In the tournament, he went 11-for-28 (.393) with 4 RBIs, 6 runs and 7 walks, and was named to the All-Star team at designated hitter.[12] He played for Korea again in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, going 3 for 12 in Korea's three games.[12]

Kim did not play for South Korea national baseball team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, instead wanting to focus on getting ready for the 2017 MLB season with the Baltimore Orioles.[12]

In 2018, he represented South Korea at the 2018 Asian Games, helping Korea to win Gold.[13]

Year Venue Competition Team Individual Note
2005  South Korea Asian Junior Baseball Championship .250 BA (1-for-4)
2008  China Olympic Games .370 BA (10-for-27), 4 RBI, 3 R, 2 SB
2009  United States World Baseball Classic .393 BA (11-for-28), 4 RBI, 6 R, 7 BB
All-Star (DH)
2010  China Asian Games .556 BA (10-for-18), 5 RBI, 2 BB
2013  Chinese Taipei World Baseball Classic 9th .250 BA (3-for-12), 2 RBI, 1 BB
2014  South Korea Asian Games .421 BA (8-for-19), 4 RBI, 7 R, 4 BB
2015  Japan Premier12 .344 BA (11-for-32), 13 RBI, 4 R, 1 SB
MVP, All-Star (OF)
2018  Indonesia Asian Games .143 BA (3-for-21), 2 RBI, 2 R, 3 BB

Awards and honors
KBO
  • 2008 KBO Golden Glove Award (Outfielder)
  • 2009 KBO Golden Glove Award (Outfielder)
  • 2010 KBO Golden Glove Award (Outfielder)
  • 2015 KBO Golden Glove Award (Outfielder)

Achievements
KBO
  • 2008 Batting Title
  • 2008 On-base Percentage Title
  • 2008 Hit Title
  • 2009 Hit Title

References
  1. 김창영 (May 19, 2008). "타율 1위 맹타, 두산 김현수 '연습생 신화'". Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). Seoul. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  2. 강필주 (December 11, 2009). "KIA, GG 수상자 4명 배출…최다득표 김현수(종합)". OSEN (in Korean). Seoul. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  3. Kruth, Cash (December 16, 2015). "Orioles reportedly sign Korean outfielder Kim". MLB.com. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  4. "Kim's hitless spring should soon be forgotten". March 8, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  5. Encina, Eduardo A. "Orioles' conundrum with Hyun Soo Kim just the latest in a spring training full of messes". Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  6. Walker, Childs (April 4, 2016). "Hyun Soo Kim experiences mixed Opening Day after opting to start season with Orioles". Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  7. jung, seyung (April 11, 2016). "kim hyun soo did multi hit his first match".
  8. "Kim returns to Korea". calltothepen.com. December 12, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  9. Meoli, Jon. "Orioles acquire right-hander Jeremy Hellickson from Phillies for Hyun Soo Kim. In his first ever at bat in a Phillies uniform, he nitched a double against the Anaheim Angels.more". Archived from the original on July 29, 2017. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  10. Adams, Steve (December 25, 2017). "International Notes: Huff, Kim". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
  11. "Kim Hyun-soo signs ￦11.5-billion deal to stay with LG Twins". December 17, 2021.
  12. "Orioles' Hyun Soo Kim on his spring, Korea's WBC disappointment". baltimoresun.com. March 8, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  13. "2018 자카르타-팔렘방 아시안게임 야구 국가대표팀 최종 엔트리 확정" (in Korean). Korea Baseball Organization. June 11, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
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