Yang Hyeon-jong (Hangul: 양현종, Hanja: 梁玹種) (born March 1, 1988) is a Korean professional baseball pitcher for the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers. He made his MLB debut with Texas in 2021. He won the Korean Series in 2009 and 2017, and was the Korean Series MVP and KBO MVP in 2017 as well. Amateur career While attending Dongsung High School in Gwangju, South Korea, Yang was considered one of the nation's best high school left-handed pitchers along with Kim Kwang-Hyun. In April 2005, he participated in the 39th President's Cup National High School Baseball Championship and eventually led his school to their first championship since 1988, alongside fellow ace Han Ki-Joo. In April 2006, Yang was 2–1 with a 1.50 ERA at the 40th President's Cup National High School Baseball Championship, leading his team to runner-up as the team's ace. In August 2006, Yang led his team to runner-up at the 36th Phoenix Flag National High School Baseball Championship where he was named best pitcher, going 1–1 with an ERA of 0.90 and leading the tournament with 32 strikeouts. In September 2006, Yang was selected for the South Korea junior national team alongside lefty rival Kim Kwang-Hyun that won the gold medal at the 2006 World Junior Baseball Championship in Cuba. In the round-robin, he pitched four scoreless innings against the Netherlands as a starting pitcher, racking up eight strikeouts. Yang started for South Korea in the semi-final game against Canada, facing future Mariners' pitching prospect Phillippe Aumont, and hurled three innings of two-hit, one-run ball with two strikeouts to help lead South Korea to a 6–1 victory. Yang posted a 1.04 ERA in 17.1 innings pitched in the tournament, and his 18 strikeouts were the second-highest total on the team after fellow left-hander Kim Kwang-Hyun (22 strikeouts). Yang was named to the All-Star team as the best left-handed pitcher. Professional career Kia Tigers Upon graduation from Dongsung High School, Yang was selected by the Kia Tigers in the 2nd round (1st pick, 9th overall) of the 2007 KBO Draft. He made his KBO debut on April 7, 2007, against the LG Twins at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, coming from the bullpen, but allowed a solo home run in one inning pitched. He made his first start on April 12 against the Hyundai