Sun Dong-yol (; or ; born January 10, 1963) is a South Korean retired baseball pitcher and former manager. He was a pitcher in the KBO League and Nippon Professional Baseball, and the former manager of the Samsung Lions and the Kia Tigers in the KBO.
Sun is one of the most celebrated pitchers in the history of the KBO League. He was voted Most Valuable Player of the league three times, won the Pitching Triple Crown four times, was awarded six Golden Gloves, and was a nine-time KBO All-Star. Sun holds the record for lowest Korea Professional Baseball career ERA, at 1.20, is third all-time in strikeouts, and recorded the top three lowest single-season ERAs in KBO League history. His teams won six Korean Series titles, and his uniform #18 was retired by the Kia Tigers.
Amateur career
Upon graduation from Gwangju Jeil High School, Sun joined the Korea University baseball team in 1981.
In , Sun competed for the South Korea national junior baseball team in the inaugural World Junior Baseball Championship. He tossed a six-hit complete game with 11 strikeouts in a 3-1 win over United States in Game 1 of the final. South Korea eventually won the inaugural championship by defeating USA 3–2 in Game 2 as well, and Sun shared the MVP Award with Team USA ace Todd Burns.
In , Sun was called up to the South Korea national baseball team for the 1982 Baseball World Cup hosted by South Korea. He led Team Korea to its first champion in the event, posting a 0.31 ERA in 29.0 innings pitched and racking up 3 complete game wins. In South Korea's second game, Sun started against future MLB star Bill Swift in a matchup of pitchers and notched a five-hit complete game victory over Team USA, allowing only one run and posting 15 strikeouts. In South Korea's final game, he threw a complete game once again in a 5–2 win over Japan. He was eventually named the MVP and selected to the All-Star team as the best right-handed pitcher.
In the 1983 Intercontinental Cup, Sun was named Best Pitcher, going 3–0 including two complete game shutout wins.
In August 1984, Sun competed for the South Korea national team in the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, where they finished 4th in the baseball tournament. He was 1–1 with a 0.56 ERA and 10 strikeouts, allowing only one earned run in 16 innings pitched.
In October 1984, Sun competed in the Baseball World Cup again. He was 1–1 with a 0.00 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 17.1 innings pitched, and eventually won the ERA title.
Notable international careers
Professional career
KBO League
Haitai Tigers
Signed by the Haitai Tigers, Sun made his debut in the KBO league against the Samsung Lions in Daegu on July 2, 1985. In his inaugural year, he finished with a 7−4 record, a 1.70 ERA, and 103 strikeouts. That season Sun failed to win the Rookie of the Year award, but won the first of seven consecutive ERA titles as a rookie.
In 1986, Sun dominated the league with a record of 24−6 and an ERA of 0.99 with 214 strikeouts in 262.2 innings pitched, and became the second KBO pitcher to win the Pitching Triple Crown (Park Chul-soon won the first one, in 1983).
In 1987, Sun was 14−2 with a 0.89 ERA and 144 strikeouts, and won the ERA title again and finished 2nd in wins and 3rd in strikeouts. He has pitched one of the finest games of his career in this season: On May 16, in a 2-2 game against the Lotte Giants, Sun completed a game of no-decision through 15 innings – he pitched 232 pitches in total. The opposing pitcher Choi Dong-won, also regarded as one of the finest in the league, also completed the game, ending up pitching 209 pitches. This matchup of the two Korean ace pitchers is often considered as one of the best moments in Korean baseball history.
In 1988, Sun was 16−5, notching 200 strikeouts and a 1.21 ERA, and won the ERA and strikeout titles.
In 1989, Sun finished the year by winning his second Pitching Triple Crown, leading the league in wins (21), ERA (1.17) and strikeouts (198). On July 6, 1989, he recorded the fifth no-hitter in a complete game shut-out in the KBO history against the Samsung Lions.
In 1990, Sun won his third Pitching Triple Crown, going 22−6 with a 1.13 ERA and 189 strikeouts, allowing only one home run in 190.1 innings pitched.
In 1991, Sun grabbed the fourth of Pitching Triple Crowns with a 19−4 record, a 1.55 ERA, and 210 strikeouts.
During the 1992 season, Sun was on the disabled list for several months. Meanwhile, Tigers' manager Kim Eung-ryong intended to use him as a long reliever or closer, and Sun was eventually moved into the closer's role as he came back from injury. In 1992, he saved 8 games and compiled a 0.28 ERA in 32.2 innings pitched.