선동열 宣銅烈
Legendary pitcher of the Haitai Tigers, later manager of Samsung and KIA and of the national baseball team
| Life | 1963 |
| Era | 현대 |
| Clan | 보성 선씨 |
Life & career
Seon Dong-yeol (宣銅烈; birth name Seon Dong-ryeol, born 1963) is a Korean baseball player and coach. Born on 10 January 1963, he is introduced as a 14th-generation descendant of Seon Geo-i of the Boseong Seon. As an amateur he represented Korea at the 1982 Baseball World Cup and the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Playing for the Haitai Tigers from 1985 to 1995 he won seven ERA titles, six Korean Series championships, three regular-season MVP awards and six Golden Gloves for pitchers. In 1986 he went 24 wins with a 0.99 ERA over 262.2 innings. He moved to Japan's Chunichi Dragons in 1996 as a reliever, the first Korean player to go to Japanese pro baseball, and retired in 1999. His number 18 was retired by Haitai (KIA) in 1996.
After retirement he served as Samsung Lions head coach and then manager from 2005 to 2010, winning the Korean Series in 2005 and 2006, was KIA Tigers manager from 2012 to 2014, and manager of the national baseball team in 2017-2018.
Ace of the Tigers
He is counted among the greatest pitchers in Korean pro baseball history. Moving between starter and closer, he had three qualified seasons with an ERA below 1.00 (1986, 1987, 1993). In 1993 he met the qualifying innings as a closer with a 0.78 ERA.
Japan and Coaching
He went to Japan's Chunichi in 1996, tied for the league lead with 38 saves in 1997 and, after the team's 1999 league title, retired. As a manager he won back-to-back Korean Series with Samsung in 2005 and 2006.
Descendant of Seon Geo-i
A Gukbang Ilbo article on the clan lists him as a 14th-generation descendant of Seon Geo-i. It also notes that the Boseong Seon produced many examination passers relative to their numbers, with more military than civil passers. See also Seon Geo-i.