Kim Kyung-Moon

Infobox KBO retired
name = Kim Kyung-Moon


position = Catcher
bats = Right
throws = Right
birthdate = birth date and age|1958|11|1
debutdate = March 28
debutyear = by|1982
debutteam = OB Bears
finaldate = September 29
finalyear = by|1991
finalteam = OB Bears
stat1label = Batting average
stat1value = .220
stat2label = Home runs
stat2value = 6
stat3label = Runs batted in
stat3value = 126
teams = As Player
*OB Bears (by|1982-by|1989)
*Taepyeongyang Dolphins (by|1990)
*OB Bears (by|1991)As Manager
*Doosan Bears (by|2004-present)
highlights = As Manager
*Olympic champion: 2008

Kim Kyung-Moon (Hangul: 김경문, Hanja: 金卿文) (born November 1 1958) is the current manager for the Doosan Bears in Korean professional baseball league.

Playing career

Kim, a former catcher who threw and batted right-handed, attended Korea University in Seoul, South Korea. After graduation, he was signed by the OB Bears, which later became Doosan, and directly took the starting catcher position on the team as a rookie in Korean professional baseball's first year in 1982. Kim eventually led his team to the first Korean Series Championship in the KBO history, along with his battery mate Park Chul-Soon who won 22 consecutive games in the regular season.

In his 10-year major league career in KBO, Kim batted .220 with 6 home runs, 126 runs batted in, 119 runs, 329 hits, 60 doubles, 1 triple, and 17 stolen bases in 700 games. Kim was not a very good hitter, batting around the Mendoza Line during his ten seasons, but is considered one of the best defensive catchers of all time.

Managing career

After retirement as a player in 1991, Kim went to Atlanta, Georgia to study coaching under Bobby Cox in the Atlanta Braves until by|1994 when he was hired as a coach for the Samsung Lions. He was bullpen coach for the 1994 Samsung Lions and remained there until the 1996 season. In 1998, Kim returned to the Bears and worked as bullpen and bench coach until the 2003 season.

On October 10, 2003, Kim was named manager of the Bears, replacing Kim In-Sik, who had won two Korean Series titles with the Bears. He led the Bears to their two-year consecutive postseason appearance (2004 and 2005).

On October 30, 2005, the Doosan Bears extended Kim's contract by three years, through 2008. In the 2006 season, Kim failed to make the 3rd consecutive postseason appearance for the Bears, but in the 2007 season, he led his team to the Korean Series once again since 2005.

Kim was selected as a manage of for the South Korea national baseball team, and participated in the 2008 Olympic Games held in Beijing, China. There he led the South Koreans to the gold medal, beating heavily favored Cuba, which had won the gold medals at the three previous Olympics.