Jae-gyun Hwang (; born July 28, 1987) is a South Korean professional baseball

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

for the KT Wiz of the KBO League. He previously played for the Hyundai Unicorns,

Nexen Heroes The Kiwoom Heroes () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. They are a member of the KBO League. The Heroes play their home games at Gocheok Sky Dome in Gocheok-dong, a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of Se ...

, and Lotte Giants. Hwang has also played for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Career

Hyundai Unicorns/Nexen Heroes

Hwang made his KBO League debut in Hyundai Unicorns in 2007. The team folded after his rookie season, and became the

, for whom he played from 2008–2010.

Lotte Giants

The Heroes traded Hwang to the Lotte Giants from 2010, and he continued to play for the Giants through the 2016 season. Hwang attracted international attention for a

bat flip In baseball, a bat flip is the throwing of a baseball bat in such a way that it rotates several times before landing. It is typically done by a batter to show off after hitting a home run. This is in contrast to the usual practice of dropping the ...

in July 2015, after he hit a game-tying home run in the ninth inning against the NC Dinos. In October 2015, Hwang announced that he had asked the Giants to post him for transfer to Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States. His teammate,

Ah-seop Son Son Ah-seop (born March 18, 1988, in Busan, South Korea) is a South Korean professional baseball player for the Lotte Giants of the KBO League. An outfielder, he is one of the most consistent hitters in the KBO, having hit above .300 ten years ...

, also asked to be posted. No MLB team placed a bid for Hwang.

San Francisco Giants

After becoming a free agent after the 2016 season, Hwang sought a contract with an MLB franchise. On January 23, 2017, the San Francisco Giants announced they had signed Hwang to a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

contract with an invitation to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

for a chance to make the major league roster. Hwang began the season with the Sacramento River Cats of the Class AAA

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

on April 8, 2017. In late June, Hwang told the Giants that he would use the opt-out clause in his contract and become a free agent if he was not called up to the major leagues by July 1. He had batted .287 with seven home runs and 44 RBIs, splitting his time between third and first base, before the Giants promoted Hwang to the major leagues. Hwang debuted for the Giants at third base on June 28. He picked up his first hit, a solo home run, on the same day. On August 31, 2017 Hwang was designated for assignment by the Giants and was outrighted to the Sacramento River Cats, the Giants AAA affiliate. He elected free agency on November 6, 2017.

KT Wiz

On November 12, 2017, Hwang signed a four-year, $7.9 million contract with the KT Wiz. Cho Moo-geun was named as his reward player. On December 27, 2021, Hwang re-signed with the Wiz on a four-year, $5.1 million contract.

Personal life

On February 10, 2022, Hwang announced in a handwritten letter via personal SNS that he and singer-actress Park Ji-yeon, will get married in the winter of this year. They married in a private ceremony on December 10 at Shilla Hotel. The ceremony was attended by the couple's closest family and friends, and IU sang the congratulatory song.

International career

He represented South Korea at the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games ( ko, 2014년 아시아 경기대회/2014년 아시안 게임, Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 17th Asian Games ( ko, 제17회 아시아 경기대회/제17회 ...

2015 WBSC Premier12 The 2015 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship sponsored by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the inaugural event of the WBSC Premier12. It was held from November 8 to 21 in Taiwan and Japan. The South Korean ...

and

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 A ...

Television appearances

*2021, '' King of Mask Singer'' ( MBC): Contestant as "Mr. Bean" (episode 289)

References

External links

Career statistics and player information
from the KBO League
Hwang Jae-gyun
at Lotte Giants Baseball Club {{DEFAULTSORT:Hwang, Jae-gyun 1987 births Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Asian Games medalists in baseball Baseball players at the 2014 Asian Games Baseball players at the 2018 Asian Games Baseball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Hyundai Unicorns players KBO League third basemen KT Wiz players Kyunggi High School alumni Living people Lotte Giants players Major League Baseball players from South Korea Major League Baseball third basemen Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games Kiwoom Heroes players Sacramento River Cats players San Francisco Giants players South Korean expatriate baseball players in the United States Baseball players from Seoul 2015 WBSC Premier12 players Olympic baseball players of South Korea