Il-young Ma

From BR Bullpen

Il-young Ma (마일영)

Bats Left, Throws Left
Height 5' 10", Weight 181 lb.

High School Daejeon High School

Born May 28, 1981

Il-young Ma is a knuckleball pitcher in the Korea Baseball Organization. He debuted in 2000 for the Ssangbangwool Raiders, going 5-5 with 2 saves and a 3.38 ERA in 46 games. In 2001, he went 10-5 with a 3.96 ERA. He pitched for South Korea in the 2001 Baseball World Cup, going 1-1 with a 1.35 ERA.

Il-young was 7-4 with a 4.56 ERA in 2002, then fell to 3-6, 5.97 in 2003. He had a 4-4, 4.71 record in 2004. He did not pitch in 2005-2006, presumably completing his military service at this time. In 2007, he returned with the Hyundai Unicorns and only pitched 13 1/3 innings in 23 games as a LOOGY, with a 4.73 ERA.

Ma moved back to the rotation in 2008; his team had now become the Woori Heroes. He posted a 11-11, 3.49 record. He was a late addition to South Korea's provisional roster for the 2009 World Baseball Classic.