Jin Kab-yong (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

: 진갑용; born May 8, 1974 in

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 ...

) is a retired

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

who last played for the

Samsung Lions The Samsung Lions () are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982. They are based in the southeastern city of Daegu and are members of the KBO League. Their home stadium is Daegu Samsung Lions Park. They have won the Korean Champ ...

in the

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and KBO ...

. He batted and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

Amateur career

In February 1993, while attending Busan High School in

, Jin was selected for the

South Korea national baseball team The South Korean national baseball team ( ko, 대한민국 야구 국가대표팀) is the national baseball team of South Korea. It won the Baseball World Cup in 1982, and participated in the Summer Olympic Games of 1984, 1988, 1996, and 2000. At ...

as a high schooler to compete in the 17th Asian Baseball Championship in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. After the competition, he began his collegiate career at

Korea University Korea University (KU, ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea, established in 1905. The university is included as one of the SKY universities, a popular acronym referring to Korea's three most prestigious universities. The ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

. At

, he led his team to numerous national college titles alongside his

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

mates

Son Min-han Son Min-han (; born January 2, 1975, in Busan, South Korea) is a retired South Korean starting pitcher who played 15 seasons in the KBO League. He was a long-time member of the South Korea national baseball team, pitching in the 1994 Asian Gam ...

and

Cho Sung-min Cho Sung-min (; April 5, 1973 – January 6, 2013) was a South Korean professional baseball player with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan and the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO League. He also received media attention for his much-publicized marriage ...

, and did not miss any single international competition that the

participated during his four years at college, garnering national attention as a highly regarded baseball prospect.

Notable international careers

Professional career

Jin was selected by the

OB Bears The Doosan Bears ( ko, 두산 베어스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. Founded in 1982, they are a member of the KBO League. The Bears have won six Korean Series titles (1982, 1995, 2001, 2015, 2016, and 2019) and ...

with the first pick in the 2nd Round of the 1997 KBO Draft. He entered the league with high expectation, but spent his first Bears career as a backup catcher, appearing in 95 games, hardly showing signs of promise as a starting catcher. In 1998, Jin was named to the

that won the gold medal in the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. Jin received a military exemption for winning the gold medal, along with the fellow gold medalists Park Chan-ho,

Seo Jae-weong Jae Weong Seo (; Hanja: 徐在應; ; born May 24, 1977), usually referred to as simply Jae Seo and pronounced "Jay So", is a retired South Korean professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Lo ...

and

Kim Byung-hyun Byung-hyun Kim (; or ; born January 19, 1979) is a South Korean former professional baseball pitcher. He had his most successful years with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Boston Red Sox. Kim is remembered for his role in the 2001 World Ser ...

. In the 1999 season, another catcher prospect

Hong Sung-heon Hong Sung-heon (Hangul: 홍성흔, born October 21st, 1976 in Hoengseong County, Gangwon-do, South Korea) is a former South Korean designated hitter. He batted and threw right-handed. Hong was a catcher, and had been regularly called up to th ...

was signed by the Bears upon graduation from college, and his arrival provided further fierce competition for the starting catcher position. In July 1999, Jin was eventually traded to the

. In the 2000 season, the Lions signed All-Star veteran Kim Dong-soo and made Jin return to the backup catcher. But after Kim was put on the disabled list during the season, Jin was the starting catcher for most of 2000. In 2001, Kim came back from the injury, but Jin shared the starting position behind the plate with Kim without being the backup again. Upon Kim Dong-soo's departure through free agency to the

SK Wyverns SSG Landers () are a South Korean professional baseball team. The team was originally established as the SK Wyverns but was renamed as the SSG Landers in 2021 after Shinsegae acquired the team from SK Group. They are a member of the KBO League. B ...

in the winter of 2001, Jin earned the full-time position behind the plate for the Lions. As the Lions' No. 1 catcher, Jin led his team to the 2002, 2005 and 2006

Korean Series The Korean Series is the final championship series of the KBO League. It has been held since the KBO League's first season in and is the final series of the post-season play-offs. From to 2013, the winner of the Korean Series went on to play in ...

champions. He played for

at the

2006 World Baseball Classic The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums that are in and around Tokyo, Japan; San Juan, Puerto ...

, and led his team to the bronze medal, sharing the starting position behind the plate with

and Cho In-sung. In 2008, Jin was selected for the

to compete in the Beijing Olympic Games. In Beijing, he played in the first five games as a starting catcher. However, after the game against

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...

, he was out of the starting lineup because of a hamstring injury. In the gold medal game against

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, Jin was unexpectedly sent back behind the plate right after his fellow catcher

Kang Min-ho Kang Min-ho (Hangul: 강민호; born August 18, 1985) is a South Korean catcher who plays for the Samsung Lions in the Korea Baseball Organization. He previously played with the Lotte Giants. At the conclusion of the 2017 season, he left the G ...

was ejected by the plate umpire for arguing strikes and balls in the bottom of the ninth inning, and contributed to escaping the one-out bases-loaded jam by inducing a game-ending

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Leag ...

along with closer

Chong Tae-hyon Tae-Hyon Chong (Hangul: 정대현, Hanja: 鄭大炫; born November 10, 1978 in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea) is a retired South Korean underhand pitcher who played 17 years Korea Professional Baseball. He bats and throws right-handed. Ch ...

to edge Cuba 3-2.

Notable international careers

External links

Career statistics and player information
from

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jin, Kab-yong 1974 births Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Asian Games medalists in baseball Asian Games silver medalists for South Korea Baseball players at the 1994 Asian Games Baseball players at the 1998 Asian Games Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Busan High School alumni Doosan Bears players KBO League catchers Korea University alumni Living people Medalists at the 1994 Asian Games Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic baseball players of South Korea Olympic gold medalists for South Korea Olympic medalists in baseball Samsung Lions players South Korean baseball players South Korean expatriate baseball people in Japan Sportspeople from Busan 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players