Suk-min Yoon

From BR Bullpen

Suk-min Yoon (윤석민)

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 0", Weight 181 lb.

Born July 24, 1986

Suk-min Yoon has been a reliever and starter for the KIA Tigers and has pitched for the South Korean national team, including in the Olympics.

Yoon signed with the KIA Tigers after high school. He debuted in 2005, going 3-4 with 7 saves and a 4.29 ERA in 53 games. In 2006, he pitched in 63 contests, going 5-6 with 19 saves and an ERA of 2.28. He was with South Korea for the 2006 Asian Games. He fell to 7-18, 3.78 in 2007 after becoming a starting pitcher. Yoon began 2008 with a blast, going 12-4 with a 2.47 ERA through July 31, leading the league in wins at that point. That earned him a late slot on the Korean team for the 2008 Olympics, replacing Tae-hoon Lim. Yoon won the opening game for South Korea, relieving Ki-joo Han with a 6-5 lead in the 9th, two on and none out. He retired John Gall and Jayson Nix. Matthew Brown hit a 2-run single at that point and it looked as if Yoon would have both a blown save and the loss. South Korea rallied to win and Yoon got the win over Team USA. He gave up a 2-run homer to Takahiro Arai but got the decision in a 5-3 win against the Japanese national team. He then got a save against Taiwan in a 9-8 victory and pitched okay in no-decision relief in wins over Japan and Cuba. Overall, Yoon was 2-0 with a save and a 2.35 ERA in 5 games and had a win or save in more games than any other Korean hurler as the team won Gold. He tied Hyun-jin Ryu, Norge Vera, Hideaki Wakui and Jonder Martínez for the most wins in Beijing.

Yoon led the 2008 KBO with a 2.33 ERA to deprive Kwang-hyun Kim of a pitching Triple Crown; Kim was .06 behind in ERA while leading in wins and strikeouts. 3 of 94 voters picked for Yoon as the KBO MVP, placing him 5th.

Yoon went 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, with only one walk and 13 strikeouts in 16 innings. He tied Jung-keun Bong, Yu Darvish, Félix Hernández, Javier Vázquez and Norge Vera for second in wins, one behind Daisuke Matsuzaka. He tied Hyun-wook Jong and Matsuzaka for third in strikeouts behind Darvish and Hisashi Iwakuma. He tossed a 2-hit shutout of the Chinese national team in South Korea's first game. He provided solid relief in wins over Mexico and Japan. In the semifinals, he got the start against Venezuela and allowe3d 2 runs in 7 1/3 IP in the win.