Song Jin-woo (baseball)

Song Jin-woo
Hanwha Eagles – No. 21
Pitcher / Coach
Born: (1966-02-16) February 16, 1966 (age 58)
Jeungpyeong, North Chungcheong, South Korea
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
KBO debut
April 12, 1989, for the Binggrae Eagles
Last KBO appearance
September 23, 2009, for the Hanwha Eagles
KBO statistics
Win–loss210–153
Earned run average3.51
Saves103
Strikeouts2,048
Teams
As player
As coach
Career highlights and awards
KBO Records
Medals
Representing  South Korea
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Sydney Team
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2002 Busan Team
Song Jin-woo
Hangul
송진우
Hanja
宋津宇
Revised RomanizationSong Jinu
McCune–ReischauerSong Chinu

Song Jin-woo (Korean송진우; Hanja宋津宇; born February 16, 1966) is a South Korean retired left-handed pitcher. Song played in the KBO League for 21 seasons between 1989 and 2009 with the Hanwha Eagles. He currently holds several pitching records for the KBO, including his 210 wins and 3,003 innings pitched.[1][2] He is one of two pitchers in KBO League history to win 200 games, and strike out 2,000 or more batters. Because of his central role in establishing the Korean baseball players' association (essentially a players' union), he has the nickname of "Mr. President."[citation needed]

Playing career

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Song attended Dongguk University.[citation needed] He competed for South Korea in the 1988 Summer Olympics, and at the 2000 Summer Olympics, on the team that won the bronze medal.[citation needed]

On May 18, 2000, Song no-hit the Haitai Tigers (winning the game 6-0), becoming only the tenth KBO pitcher to accomplish that feat.[3]

Song won the 2002 KBO League Golden Glove Award with a record of 18-7, a 2.99 ERA, 165 strikeouts, and 8 complete games.

Song was the first pitcher in the KBO to strike out over 2,000 batters. He accomplished this feat on June 6, 2008, at his home field of Daejeon Baseball Stadium against the Woori Heroes. He recorded the strikeout in the bottom of the 8th inning with two outs, ringing up Song Ji-man.

Song's number 21 jersey was retired by the Eagles on September 23, 2009.

Song's record of 2,048 strikeouts lasted 15 years until it was broken by Yang Hyeon-jong of the Kia Tigers on August 21, 2024.[4][5][6]

Coaching career

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Song became the Eagles' pitching coach in 2018, vowing to change the team's approach. Song said, "Changing the entry is the most sensitive issue between coaches and players." Song's "personalized' prescription" played a big role. Foreign pitcher Keyvius Sampson had difficulty in the early stages of the season, but he improved his position as well as his arrest while correcting his position. [Song] told Jason Wheeler to fix the changeup. Song coach also emphasized "communication."[7]

Filmography

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Television show

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Year Title Network Role Ref.
2022 Back to the Ground MBN Coach [8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Korean baseball’s old-timers rack up the records," JoongAng Daily. Accessed on 2009-1-4.
  2. ^ koreabaseball.com Song Jin-Woo player page Accessed on 2009-1-4.
  3. ^ Kim Tae-jong. "No-hitter records in KBO history," The Korea Times (2014-06-25).
  4. ^ "Kia Tigers' Yang Hyeon-jong breaks 15-year-old KBO strikeout record". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  5. ^ "(2nd LD) Tigers ace Yang Hyeon-jong becomes KBO's all-time strikeout leader". m-en.yna.co.kr. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  6. ^ "KBO's new strikeout king proves nice guys can finish first". news.koreaherald.com. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  7. ^ 강, 주형 (2018-05-18). "Trust, communicate and customize ...by song jin -woo". The Hankook-Ilbo. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  8. ^ Ahn Tae-hyun (March 24, 2022). "빽 투 더 그라운드' 야구 레전드, 한 팀으로 뭉쳤다…범접불가 아우라" [Back to the Ground' baseball legends unite as one team... Incomparable Aura] (in Korean). News1. Retrieved March 24, 2022 – via Naver.
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