Cheol-woo Park

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(Redirected from Cheol-u Park)

Cheol-woo Park (박철우)

  • Bats Left, Throws Left
  • Height 5' 11", Weight 200 lb.

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Cheol-woo Park played in the Korea Baseball Organization for 12 years. His son Sei-hyok Park also played in the KBO.

Park was drafted by the Haitai Tigers in the second round of the 1987 KBO draft, and he hit .234/.294/.319 in 29 games in his first season. Haitai won the 1987 Korean Series. Park struggled again in 1988 as his batting line was .188/.208/.246 in 36 games (Haitai won the 1988 Korean Series as well), then he broke out in 1989. He played 112 games with 13 homers and a .318/.381/.482 batting line, and he won the KBO Gold Glove as a designated hitter (the KBO Gold Glove is for the best overall player at each position, hence an award for DH, unlike Gold Gloves in other countries, which are for defense). Park was 3rd in batting (.009 behind Won-bu Go), 7th in RBI (tied with Young-jun Han and Dong-ki Kim) and 5th in homers (tied with Dae-hwa Han and Sang-ho Kim). He was 7-for-18 in the 1989 Korean Series as the Tigers beat the Binggrae Eagles, and he was named the Korean Series MVP.

The Gwangju native collected 21 doubles and 10 homers with a .284/.373/.430 batting line in 1990, and he was 5th in doubles (tied with Jeong-hun Lee and Kyeong-sik Shin). Park then crushed 14 homers with a .282/.371/.448 batting line in 1991, and he was 5th in RBI (between Sung-han Kim and Jong-tae Park). They won the 1991 Korean Series. He played 116 games with a .271/.346/.403 batting line in 1992, then he slumped to .264/.356/.325 in 1993. He got his fifth ring as they took the 1993 Korean Series title. The Tigers then traded him with Jae-ho Yoon to the Ssangbangwool Raiders for In-ho Song and 350 million won.

Park hit .291/.350/.374 in 1994, then he had a .265/.330/.366 batting line in 1995. He slumped to .188/.395/.281 in 1996, and he soon bounced back with a .340/.438/.427 batting line in 1997. The veteran hit .237/.336/.280 in 59 games in 1998, then he announced his retirement. He then became the batting coach for the SK Wyverns in 2000, for the KIA Tigers from 2003 to 2005 and for their minor league team from 2001 to 2003. Park coached Gwangju Jinheung High School in 2006, and he was the manager of KIA's minor league team in 2012 and the batting coach in 2013. The Doosan Bears named him their batting coach from 2015 to 2017, bench coach from 2018 to 2019 and minor league bench coach from 2019 to 2021.

Overall, Park hit .278/.358/.401 with 701 hits and 59 homers in 12 seasons in the KBO.

Sources[edit]