Ben Jukich (born October 17, 1982) is an American 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 ...

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 ...

. He played for the

LG Twins LG Corporation (or LG Group) (), formerly Lucky-Goldstar from 1983 to 1995 (Korean: ''Leokki Geumseong''; ), is a South Korean multinational conglomerate founded by Koo In-hwoi and managed by successive generations of his family. It is t ...

of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).

Early years

Jukich was born on October 17, 1982, in

Duluth, MN , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

. He played college baseball at both McCook Community College and Dakota Wesleyan. He was the first Dakota Wesleyan graduate to be selected in the MLB draft.

Professional career

Jukich was originally drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 13th round of the 2006 MLB Draft. During the 2006 season, Jukich went 3–2 with a 2.52 ERA in 16 games pitching primarily for the

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bailey Stadiu ...

. In 2007, Jukich was sent to the Cincinnati Reds to complete an earlier trade. He pitched in the Reds' organization until 2010 eventually reaching AAA. In 2010, he compiled a 7–4 record with an earned run average of 3.90. On December 12, 2009, Jukich was selected by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

in the Rule 5 Draft, though he was eventually returned to the Louisville Bats. In the fall of 2010, while Jukich was pitching for Los Leones del Caracas in Venezuela, he was informed that the Reds had sold his contract to

of the

Korea Professional Baseball 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 ...

league. Jukich played three seasons with the Twins. Overall, he posted record of 25–22 with an ERA of 4.00.

References

External links

Career statistics and player information
from Korea Baseball Organization * 1982 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in South Korea Baseball players from Duluth, Minnesota Chattanooga Lookouts players Dakota Wesleyan Tigers baseball players Kane County Cougars players KBO League pitchers Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela LG Twins players Louisville Bats players Sarasota Reds players Stockton Ports players Vancouver Canadians players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1980s-stub

Early years

Professional career

See also

References

External links