Lee Hyun-Gon - Amateur Career

Amateur Career

Lee attended Gwangju Jaeil High School in Gwangju, South Korea. In 1997, he was selected for the South Korea national junior team that finished 5th in the 1997 World Junior Baseball Championship in Canada. Lee led the attack alongside Bong Jung-Keun (the eventual MVP of this event), Choi Hee-Seop and Lee Jin-Young, by hitting .480 with 3 home runs.

Upon graduation from high school, Lee was selected by the Haitai Tigers in the first round of the 1998 KBO Draft. However, he entered Yonsei University instead of turning pro directly. In 1998, he was selected for the South Korea national junior team once again and participated in the 1998 Asian Junior Baseball Championship.

As a sophomore at Yonsei University, Lee made his first appearance with the South Korea national baseball team in November 1999, at the 1999 Intercontinental Cup held in Sydney, Australia.

As a junior in 2000, Lee was named to South Korea national team's final 5-man reserve roster for the 2000 Summer Olympics.

As a senior in 2001, he was selected for the South Korean national team, and competed in the 2001 Asian Baseball Championship in Taiwan. The team eventually earned the silver medal, and Lee won home run and batting average titles including All-Star selection. In November, Lee was called up to the South Korean national team as an amateur player again, and competed in the 2001 Baseball World Cup. In the tournament, he hit .292 as a utility infielder, playing at second base, third base and shortstop.