Song Seung-jun (
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 ...
: 송승준,
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, ...
: 宋勝準) (born June 29, 1980 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, ...
,
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 South Korean former
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Modern professional ...
player. A
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 ...
, Song played for the
Lotte Giants
The Lotte Giants ( ko, 롯데 자이언츠) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Busan. They are a member of the KBO League. The Lotte Giants are owned by Lotte Corporation, which also owns the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Pr ...
in the
Korea Baseball Organization. Prior to playing for Lotte, Song played
minor league baseball in the United States from 1999 through 2006. He bats and throws right-handed. Song's bread-and-butter pitch is a
forkball
The forkball is a type of pitch in baseball. Related to the split-finger fastball, the forkball is held between the first two fingers and thrown hard, snapping the wrist.
The forkball differs from the split-fingered fastball, however, in th ...
.
Amateur career
Song attended Kyungnam High School 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, ...
,
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 ...
. In September 1998, he was selected for the South Korean national junior team, and participated in the 3rd Asian Junior Baseball Championship in
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
, Japan, along with
Baek Cha-Seung,
Lee Jong-Wook
Lee Jong-wook (12 April 1945 – 22 May 2006) was a South Korean physician. He was the director-general of the World Health Organization for three years. Lee joined the WHO in 1983, working on a variety of projects including the ''Global Prog ...
and
Lee Jin-Young. He helped lead the baseball team to the Korean national high school championship in 1998.
[
]
Notable international careers
Professional career
Minor League Baseball
Though Song was the first overall selection in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) amateur draft, Song signed with the Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
of Major League Baseball
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), ...
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 ...
in February 1999, receiving a $800,000 signing bonus.[ He started his professional career in the Rookie-level ]Gulf Coast League
The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the l ...
(GCL) with the GCL Red Sox
The Florida Complex League Red Sox are a professional baseball team competing in the rookie-level Florida Complex League (FCL) of Minor League Baseball. The team is owned and operated by the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior ...
that season. He pitched for the Lowell Spinners
The Lowell Spinners were a baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. With Major League ...
of the Class A-Short Season
Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...
New York–Pennsylvania League in 2000.
In 2001, Song began the season with the Augusta GreenJackets
The Augusta GreenJackets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at SRP Park in North Augusta, South Carolina, which opened in April 2018. They previo ...
of the Class A South Atlantic League
The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...
(SAL), earning the victory in the SAL All-Star Game. He received a promotion to the Sarasota Red Sox of the Class A-Advanced
High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...
Florida State League on his 21st birthday. He finished the season with a 1.90 earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
, finishing second in minor league baseball behind Josh Beckett
Joshua Patrick Beckett (born May 15, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). A three-time MLB All-Star, he played for the Florida Marlins, the Boston Red Sox, and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
After ...
, and 135 strikeouts in 138 innings pitched.[ He was named Minor League Player of the Year by '' Baseball America''. He also competed in the 2001 All-Star Futures Game as a member of World Team.][
Prior to the 2002 season, Song was rated as the 60th-best prospect in baseball by ''Baseball America''.] In 2002, he played for the Trenton Thunder
The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark.
From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the ...
of the Class AA
Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...
Eastern League, and competed in the 2002 All-Star Futures Game. That season, the Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
traded Song to the Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...
with Sun-Woo Kim for Cliff Floyd
Cornelius Clifford Floyd Jr. (born December 5, 1972) is a former Major League Baseball left fielder who played for 17 seasons, most notably for the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins and New York Mets. He is currently a baseball analyst who co-hosts ...
.
In April 2003, while pitching for the Harrisburg Senators
The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League, and the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who play their home games at FNB Field on City Island, which opened in 1987 a ...
, the Expos' Class AA affiliate in the Eastern League, Song threw a no-hitter. He was selected again as a member of World Team for the 2003 All-Star Futures Game. This made Song the first three-time participant in the All-Star Futures Game.[ Later that year, the Expos attempted to trade Song and Josh McKinley to the Texas Rangers for Juan González, but Gonzalez used a no-trade clause in his contract to block the deal. In 2004, the Expos optioned Song to the ]Edmonton Trappers
The Edmonton Trappers were a minor league baseball team in Edmonton, Alberta. They were a part of the Triple-A level in the Pacific Coast League, ending with the 2004 season. Their home games were played at Telus Field in downtown Edmonton.
T ...
of the Class AAA
Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...
Pacific Coast League.[
After the 2004 season, the ]Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
claimed Song off of waivers. In 2005, he pitched for the San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
organization. In 2006, he pitched for the Wichita Wranglers
The Wichita Wranglers were a minor league baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team, which played in the Texas League, was the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres from 1987 to 1994 and the Kansas City Royals ...
, the Kansas City Royals' Class AA affiliate, in the Texas League
The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...
. He appeared in the Texas League All-Star Game.
KBO League
Song transferred to the Lotte Giants
The Lotte Giants ( ko, 롯데 자이언츠) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Busan. They are a member of the KBO League. The Lotte Giants are owned by Lotte Corporation, which also owns the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Pr ...
of the KBO, who signed him to one-year contract for $300,000 in March 2007.[ Song led the Giants in wins in 2010, and was selected to start the first game of the playoffs. Between 2008 and 2011, Song won at least 12 games a year for the Giants. In 2012, he was named a starter in the KBO All-Star Game, as the fans voted for ten Giants as starters.
In 2016, he grade down in 1st major in Lotte. Because of his Fascia rupture, his doctor said that he will need to cure of two weeks.
]
International career
Song was named to the preliminary roster for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...
in July 2007, and made the final 24-man roster in July 2008, his first major international competition. Song started two games at the Olympics. On August 14, he pitched six scoreless innings against the Chinese national baseball team, giving up only two hits while striking out nine. On August 19, Song pitched innings against Cuban national baseball team
The Cuba national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Cuba'') represents Cuba at regional and international levels. The team is made up from the most professional players from the Cuban national baseball system. Cuba has been des ...
, allowing three runs and five hits to earn the win for South Korea.
Notable international careers
Filmography
Television show
See also
* List of KBO career win leaders
The following is the current leaderboard for career wins in KBO League Korean baseball.
Players with 100 or more wins
* ''Stats updated as of October 12, 2022.''
{{Clear
See also
* List of KBO career strikeout leaders
* List of KBO career s ...
* List of KBO career strikeout leaders
References
External links
* Career statistics and player information fro
MyKBOStats.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Song, Seung-jun
1980 births
2013 World Baseball Classic players
Augusta GreenJackets players
Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Brevard County Manatees players
Edmonton Trappers players
Fresno Giants players
Gulf Coast Expos players
Gulf Coast Red Sox players
Harrisburg Senators players
Kyungnam High School alumni
Living people
Lotte Giants players
Lowell Spinners players
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Norwich Navigators players
Olympic baseball players of South Korea
Olympic gold medalists for South Korea
Olympic medalists in baseball
San Jose Giants players
Sarasota Red Sox players
South Korean expatriate baseball players in Canada
South Korean expatriate baseball players in the United States
Trenton Thunder players
Wichita Wranglers players
Song clan of Eunjin
South Korean Buddhists
Sportspeople from Busan