Hai-young Jung

Hai-young Jung (정해영)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 216 lb.

• High School Gwangju Jeil High School

• Born August 23, 2001 in Jeonju South Korea

BR register page

Biographical Information

Hai-young Jung pitched in the KBO and for the South Korea national baseball team. His father Hei-yeol Jung also played in KBO.

Jung represented South Korea in the 2018 BFA U-18 Baseball Championship. The KIA Tigers picked him in the first round of the 2020 KBO draft. He and his father was drafted by the same team in first round and both signed, and that was the first time in KBO history. Jung had a 3.29 ERA in 47 appearances in his rookie year, and he notched 11 holds. The 20-year-old pitcher was named the closer of the Tigers in 2021 after Sang-hyun Jeoninjured, and he collected 34 saves with a 2.20 ERA in 64 appearances. He was 3rd in saves (8 behind Seung-Hwan Oh, and he broke Chang-Yong Lim's Tigers single season saves record. He was also the youngest pitcher to notch 30 saves in a season.

The Jeonju native collected his 50th career save on June 2, 2022, and he was the youngest pitcher in KBO to reach this benchmark. He ended up having 32 saves with a 3.38 ERA in 57 games, and he was 3rd in saves (between Jae-yun Kim and Oh. Jung also became the first Tigers pitcher to get back-to-back 30-save seasons. Jung was still a solid closer in 2023, and he collected 23 saves with a 2.92 ERA in 52 appearances. He was 6th in saves, between Yong-chan Lee and Sang-won Park. He also became the 15th pitcher to get 20 saves in 3 consecutive seasons, and he was the first Tigers player to do so.

Jung made it onto Korea's roster for the 2023 Asia Professional Baseball Championship. He pitched 1 2/3 shutout innings with 2 strikeouts against Australia, and he added a shutout inning against Chinese Taipei. In the Gold Medal Game, he relieved Ji-min Choi in the 10th inning tiebreaker against Japan, and he walked Shugo Maki before Yuto Koga bunted. Shogo Sakakura then tied the game with a sacrifice fly, and Jung walked Chusei Mannami. However, Makoto Kadowaki still hit a walk-off single.

In 2024, Jung notched his 100th career save on April 24, and he became the youngest pitcher to get 100 saves in KBO history. He missed July due to shoulder injury, but he still collected 31 saves with a 2.49 ERA in 53 games. He led the league in saves, 4 ahead of Oh.

Jung's repertoire included a fastball (peak 95.1 mph), slider and forkball.

Sources

• KBO.com bio
• Namu wiki bio
• 2023 Asia Professional Baseball Championship