Kim Jong-kook (baseball) (original) (raw)

Kim Jong-kook (Hangul: 김종국, Hanja: 金鍾國; born September 14, 1973, in Gwangju, South Korea) is a retired South Korean second baseman who played 14 seasons for the Kia Tigers of the KBO League. He batted and threw right-handed. He joined the Haitai Tigers in 1996. His batting average was not good, but his fielding was excellent. So he was chosen for the South Korea national baseball team a few times, including during the 2006 World Baseball Classic. This characteristic made his nickname "Defender." Kim is currently the operations and first base coach for the Kia Tigers.