Tae-kyun Kim (kimta01)
From BR Bullpen
Tae-kyun Kim also transliterated as Tae-gyun Kim
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 9", Weight 176 lb.
- School Chung-Ang University
- High School Pusan High School
As of 2006, Tae-kyun Kim has played in half of the Korea Baseball Organization seasons since the league was formed in 1982. A light-hitting infielder at shortstop and third base, Kim still made the 2000 Olympics team for South Korea.
Kim debuted in 1994, hitting .245/~.300/.345 for the Samsung Lions. In 1995, he slipped to a .162/~.210/.188 line at the plate. In 1996, the Samsung shortstop batted .226/~.320/.332 in 106 games. He improved in 1997 at age 26 with a .258/~.343/.467 line, the best of his career; he smacked 16 home runs that year.
In 1998, Tae-kyun hit .201/~.286/.307 and followed that up with a .244/~.339/.376 campaign in which he whiffed 107 times. During 2000, the veteran batted .240/~.295/.326; he also played for South Korea in the 2000 Olympics. In his last year with Samsung, he slipped to a .203/~.271/.246 line and only got 118 AB in 61 games.
Moving to the Lotte Giants in 2002, the 30-year-old hit .193/~.264/.303 in part-time duty. In 2003, he batted .216/~.267/.303 in 231 AB over 101 games. In 2004, Tae-kyun only played 40 games for Lotte with a .244/~.263/.385 line.
In 2005, Kim joined the SK Wyverns, where he hit .237/~.292/.358 in 110 games (232 AB). The next year, he batted .224/.295/.279 in 219 AB over 116 contests.
His career batting line through 2006 reads .228/~.299/.338 with 992 hits in 1,211 games. Presumably, his glove has helped save his career.
Sources: KBO page, Korean wikipedia page
