Park Jae-hong (

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 le ...

: 박재홍,

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...

: 朴栽弘; born September 7, 1973, in Gwangju,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

) is a retired

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

in the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

. Park was considered one of the best five-tool players in the KBO. He was the first player in KBO history to have 30

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 ...

s and 30 stolen bases (in ) and the only player to have more than two seasons of 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases, doing so a record three times: (, and ). He was a 30-30 player in his debut season (1996), the only person to do so until Mike Trout, who did it in 2012. Park competed in the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

, and led his team to the bronze medal in the baseball tournament.

Amateur career

While attending

Gwangju Jeil High School Gwangju Jeil High School ( ko, 광주제일고등학교) is a boys' high school in Gwangju, South Korea. It has 840 students in grades 10, 11, and 12.Keh, Andrew"School Spirit May Be Metaphysical for South Korean Baseball Players,"''New York T ...

, Park was a highly regarded right-handed

power pitcher Power pitcher is a term in baseball for a pitcher who relies on pitch velocity at the expense of accuracy. Power pitchers usually record a high number of strikeouts, and statistics such as strikeouts per 9 innings pitched are common measures of ...

. In , he was selected for the South Korean national junior baseball team as a pitcher to compete against the Japan and

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

national junior teams at the 3-nation friendly baseball series in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States. The Korean team swept all the games with a record of 4-0 and Park drew attention from

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

scouts along with fellow pitchers Park Chan-ho and Lim Sun-dong. In , upon graduation from high school, Park started to play college baseball at

Yonsei University Yonsei University (; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. As a member of the " SKY" universities, Yonsei University is deemed one of the three most prestigious institutions in the country. It is particularly respected in th ...

, converting his position to

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

. While at Yonsei University, Park led his team to five college championships in four years alongside Lim Sun-dong and Cho In-sung. In , as a sophomore Park was selected for the South Korea national baseball team and competed in the

Asian Baseball Championship The Asian Baseball Championship is the main championship tournament between national baseball teams in Asia, governed by the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA). It is held every other year in odd-numbered years and since 1983 it also functions ...

held 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 i ...

, Australia. The South Korean team won silver and Park was named to the All-Star Team as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

. As a senior in , Park helped Yonsei University win the 1995 National College Championship (Spring Season) and was named MVP with Home Run, RBI and Stolen Bases titles. After the 1995 college season, he signed with the Hyundai Phoenix in the Korea Baseball Association amateur league, refusing to join the KBO pro league in order to participate in the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

the following year.

Notable international careers

Professional career

Hyundai Unicorns

After the KBO season, the

Pacific Dolphins The Hyundai Unicorns () were a South Korean professional baseball team based in Suwon. They were a member of the KBO League. The Unicorns won the KBO championship four times (1998, 2000, 2003 and 2004). The Unicorns were dissolved after the 2 ...

based in Incheon was purchased by Hyundai Group due to financial difficulties, and the team was moved before the season to Suwon and renamed the

Hyundai Unicorns The Hyundai Unicorns () were a South Korean professional baseball team based in Suwon. They were a member of the KBO League. The Unicorns won the KBO championship four times (1998, 2000, 2003 and 2004). The Unicorns were dissolved after the 20 ...

. Due to the business relationship between the Phoenix and the Unicorns, five players in the Hyundai Phoenix roster moved to the

and Park eventually decided to join the pro league, signing with the Unicorns in March 1996. In the 1996 KBO season, as a rookie Park become the first player in KBO history to join the 30–30 club. He also won the

and RBI titles and Golden Glove Awards as an

. After the season, Park was named Rookie of the Year in unanimous vote and runner-up behind

Koo Dae-sung Koo Dae-sung (; born August 2, 1969) is a Korean former professional baseball pitcher. A left-handed pitcher, Koo formerly played for the Hanwha Eagles in the KBO League, as well as the New York Mets of Major League Baseball and the Orix BlueW ...

of the

Hanwha Eagles The Hanwha Eagles ( ko, 한화 이글스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Daejeon. They are a member of the KBO League. The Eagles' home ballpark is Daejeon Hanbat Baseball Stadium. The Eagles have won the Korean Series on ...

in the MVP balloting. Park joined his second 30–30 club in when he hit 30 home runs and stole a career-high 43 bases. After the season, Park was selected for the South Korea national baseball team and led his team to their first Asian Games gold medal in the baseball tournament, batting .455 with 3 home runs and 12 RBI. Park joined his third 30–30 club in the KBO season when he hit 32 home runs and stole 30 bases. Park also won his second RBI title, driving in 115 runs. In September 2000, he competed for

in the

where they won the bronze medal in the baseball tournament.

Kia Tigers

Prior to the season, Park was traded to the

Kia Tigers Kia Tigers ( ko, KIA 타이거즈) are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982 and based in the southwestern city of Gwangju. Until 2001, they were known as the Haitai Tigers. The Tigers are a members of the KBO League and are ...

for

Jeong Seong-hoon. In 2003, he had his third .300 plus

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(.301) season, accumulating 19 home runs, 66 RBI and 14 stolen bases. In , Park hit his 200th career home run on May 11 to become the tenth player in 22-year KBO history to reach the milestone. However, he had his worst pro season due to injuries, batting a career-low .253 and hitting only 7 home runs and 47 hits in 73 games played.

SK Wyverns

After the season, Park was traded to the SK Wyverns where he played

center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

and batted cleanup or 5th in the order. On July 23, , Park joined the 200-200 club as its first member in KBO history, getting his 200th stolen base of his career. In the season, Park had 17 home runs, and led the Wyverns to their first

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 ...

championship. On April 23, , Park stole his 250th base of his career, and this made him the first member of KBO's 250-250 club. After the season, Wyverns offered him the coaching job but he wanted to stay as a player. On November 25, 2011, Wyverns confirmed that he would play for the team one more year. On October 3, , Park became the seventh player ever to hit 300 home runs. He also became the oldest player to slug 300 home runs when he accomplished the feat at the age of 39 years and 26 days. On January 23, Park announced his retirement as a pro baseball player. After his retirement he acted as a baseball TV commentator.

Notable international careers

References

External links

*
Career statistics and player information
from Korea Baseball Organization
databaseolympics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Park, Jae-hong 1973 births Asian Games medalists in baseball Baseball players at the 1994 Asian Games Baseball players at the 1998 Asian Games Baseball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 2002 Asian Games Baseball players at the 2006 Asian Games Baseball announcers Hyundai Unicorns players Kia Tigers players KBO League Rookie of the Year Award winners KBO League right fielders Living people Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic baseball players of South Korea Olympic bronze medalists for South Korea Olympic medalists in baseball SSG Landers players South Korean baseball players Sportspeople from Gwangju Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Asian Games silver medalists for South Korea Asian Games bronze medalists for South Korea Medalists at the 1994 Asian Games Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Yonsei University alumni

Amateur career

Notable international careers

Professional career

Hyundai Unicorns

Kia Tigers

SK Wyverns

Notable international careers

See also

References

External links