Cha Seung Baek (, , ; born May 29, 1980) is a former

Korean American Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian Americans ...

professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. Baek graduated from Busan High School,

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

in 1998. He was signed by the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on September 25, 1998.

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

He made his professional with the Peoria Mariners in . In his first start he struck out 8 batters over 5.0 innings on July 18. Was 4-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 9 home starts with

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, a town on the outskirts of Appleton, Wisconsin, Appleton in the Fox ...

in . He was placed on the disabled list on June 2 with a right arm flexor strain. Baek went 5-3 after coming off the DL June 15. At the end of the season he was listed among Baseball America's top-20

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

prospects at the end of the season. Spent most season on the San Bernardino Stampede's disabled list. He made 2 starts before being placed on the DL from April 13 to May 14 with soreness in his right elbow. He pitched in 3 games, 2 starts in May before suffering a strained right elbow in his final start of the season in May. Placed on the DL again in June through the end of the season. Baek missed the entire season after undergoing right elbow surgery. He participated in the Mariners Fall Instructional League. He split the season between the

Inland Empire 66ers The Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The 66ers are based in San Bernardino, California, and play at San Manuel Stadium. Franchise ...

and the

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in San Antonio, Texas, and are named for the Spanish missions around which the city was founded. ...

. He started the season with Inland Empire appearing in 13 games, 10 starts. From April 19 to the 24 he pitched 10 scoreless innings in two starts. Baek won three consecutive starts from April 19 to the 30. Placed on the disabled list from May 8 to June 10 with a right elbow inflammation. On July 17 he was transferred to San Antonio. He carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning, retiring 21 of the first 22 batters faced, before allowing a single, on July 23. He made his MLB debut on August 8, against the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home venu ...

. In the 2004 season, he pitched in seven games (starting five),

winning Winning may refer to: * Victory Film * ''Winning'' (film), a 1969 movie starring Paul Newman * '' Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman'', a 2015 documentary by Adam Carolla and Nate Adams Music * ''Winning'', an album by Ten Foot Pole, 2022 ...

two and losing four, and had a 5.52

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

overall. He was one of 15 players to make their Major League debuts for Seattle this season. Baek was non-tendered by the Mariners in December following a disappointing year in Triple-A with the

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960. ...

. Baek returned to the Rainiers for the season. He posted an 11-4 record with a 2.80 ERA, which earned him a recall to the Mariners in August 2006, following their trade of

Jamie Moyer Jamie Moyer (born November 18, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Over his 25-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB), Moyer pitched for the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, Boston R ...

to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. After that, he was moved to being a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

and

spot starter S sabermetrics :Sabermetrics is the analysis of baseball through objective evidence, especially baseball statistics. The term is derived from the SABR – the Society for American Baseball Research. The term was coined by Bill James, an e ...

for the Mariners.

San Diego Padres

In May , Baek was designated for assignment by the Mariners. Later in the month, he was traded to the San Diego Padres for

Jared Wells Jared Linn Wells (born October 31, 1981 in Freeport, Texas) is a professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He appeared briefly in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the San Diego Padres in 2008. Professional career San Diego P ...

. Baek hit his first career

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

on July 20, 2008, off Jaime Garcia. On October 8, , the Padres released Baek.

Orix Buffaloes

On November 14, 2011, he signed with the

Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...

. However, he didn't play any games in 2012. He was released by the Buffaloes on October 5, 2012.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baek, Cha Seung 1980 births Arizona League Mariners players Busan High School alumni Cardenales de Lara players South Korean expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino players Lake Elsinore Storm players Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from South Korea South Korean expatriate baseball players in the United States Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Orix Buffaloes players Orange County Flyers players Peoria Javelinas players Portland Beavers players San Antonio Missions players San Bernardino Stampede players San Diego Padres players Seattle Mariners players South Korean emigrants to the United States Sportspeople from Busan Tacoma Rainiers players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players Yuma Scorpions players