Ko Young-min facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ko Young-min |
|||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ko with the Doosan Bears in 2020
|
|||||||||||||||||
| Lotte Giants – No. 90 | |||||||||||||||||
| Second baseman / Coach | |||||||||||||||||
| Born: February 8, 1984 | |||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
| debut | |||||||||||||||||
| May 4, 2002, for the Doosan Bears | |||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | |||||||||||||||||
| September 2, 2016, for the Doosan Bears | |||||||||||||||||
| KBO statistics | |||||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .252 | ||||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 46 | ||||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 292 | ||||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Medals
|
|||||||||||||||||
Ko Young-min (Korean: 고영민; Hanja: 高永民) is a former professional baseball player from South Korea. He was born on February 8, 1984. Ko played as a second baseman for the Doosan Bears team. He was part of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) league from 2002 to 2016. He batted and threw the ball with his right hand.
Contents
Ko Young-min's Baseball Journey
Starting His Professional Career
After finishing high school, Ko Young-min was chosen by the Doosan Bears in the 2002 KBO Draft. He was the 17th player picked overall. For his first few years, he spent most of his time playing for the Bears' reserve team. He worked hard to improve his skills.
Becoming a Star Player
In 2006, Ko Young-min became a regular player at second base for the Doosan Bears. He had a great season, hitting for a .270 batting average. He also made 85 hits and had 29 RBIs (runs batted in). An RBI means he helped his teammates score runs. He also hit 5 triples and stole 14 bases.
The next year, in 2007, Ko continued to shine. He hit 12 home runs, which was his highest number in one season. He also had 119 hits and 66 RBIs. He played in all 126 regular-season games. Ko led the KBO league in runs scored with 89. He was also third in stolen bases with 36. After this amazing season, he won his first Golden Glove Award for being the best second baseman.
In 2008, Ko Young-min kept up his strong performance. He had 70 RBIs, 114 hits, and 84 runs. He also stole 39 bases. He led the KBO league in walks (74). He was also among the top players for runs, stolen bases, and RBIs.
Playing for His Country
Ko Young-min also played for the South Korea national baseball team on the world stage. In August 2008, he competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. His team won the gold medal in the baseball tournament! A memorable moment was when he hit a three-run home run against Chinese Taipei. This helped South Korea win a close game 8–7.
Before the 2009 KBO season, Ko joined the national team again for the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He played well, hitting for a .308 batting average. He even hit a solo home run against Mexico. This helped his team win 8–2. South Korea earned a silver medal in this competition.
Ko Young-min retired from playing professional baseball in 2016. He is remembered as a key player for the Doosan Bears and for his country.
