Quick Facts
Biography
Park Yong-taik (Hangul: 박용택, Hanja: 朴龍澤) (born April 21, 1979) is a South Korean outfielder who currently plays for the LG Twins in the Korea Baseball Organization. He bats left-handed and throws right-handed.
Amateur career
Park attended Huimoon High School in Seoul, South Korea. In 1996, he was selected for the South Korea national junior team that finished in 4th place at the World Junior Baseball Championship in Havana, Cuba.
Upon graduation from high school in 1998, Park entered Korea University instead of turning pro directly.
In 1999, his sophomore year at Korea University, he made his first appearance for the South Korea national baseball team in the Intercontinental Cup held in Sydney, Australia.
In 2001, Park competed in the Asian Baseball Championship in Taiwan. South Korea won the silver medal, and Park was selected to the All-Star team as an outfielder.
Notable international careers
| Year | Venue | Competition | Team | Individual Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 |  Cuba | World Junior Baseball Championship | 4th | |
| 1999 |  Australia | Intercontinental Cup | 7th | |
| 2001 |  Chinese Taipei | Asian Baseball Championship |  | All-Star (OF) |
Professional career
Signed by the LG Twins, Park made his KBO league debut on April 2, 2002. In the 2002 KBO season, he batted .288 which was the highest batting average among the rookie players.
In 2004, He had a .300-plus batting average for the first time (.300), amassing 16 home runs and 58 RBIs.
Park is well known for a base-stealing cleanup hitter. While batting 4th in the order of his team since his rookie season, he stole 40-plus bases in his two seasons (2003 and 2005), and won the stolen base title with a career-high 43 in 2005.
In 2006, Park was called up to the South Korea national baseball team for the inaugural World Baseball Classic. He appeared in 4 games as a pinch hitter, going 1-for-4 with one RBI. In Team Korea's second game of Round 1 against China, Park hit a RBI triple to drive in Lee Bum-Ho as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the seventh.
In 2008, Park fell into a horrendous slump. He batted a career-low .257 with a career-low 2 home runs, missing 30 games due to injuries.
In 2009, Park had his best career in batting average. He won the KBO batting title with a career-high .372 average and hit 18 home run. On December 11, 2009, he won the Golden Glove Award in outfielder nomination.
In 2012, Park got a golden glove award.
Awards and honors
- 2009 Golden Glove Award (Outfielder)
- 2012 Golden Glove Award (Outfielder)
- 2013 Golden Glove Award (Outfielder)
Achievements
- 2005 Stolen Base Title
- 2005 Runs Leader Title
- 2009 Batting Champion Title
Notable international careers
| Year | Venue | Competition | Team | Individual Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 |  United States | World Baseball Classic |  | .250 BA (1-for-4), 1 RBI |