Hak-soo Ham

Hak-soo Ham (함학수)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 194 lb.

• High School Kyeongbuk High School

• Born January 2, 1955 in Daegu South Korea

BR register page

Biographical Information

Hak-soo Ham played in the Korea Baseball Organization for 6 years.

Ham played for South Korea in the 1975 Intercontinental Cup. The Samsung Lions signed him when the KBO was founded in 1982, and he was the starting first baseman in the first game of the league. He became the first player in KBO to reach base (via an error by the opposing first baseman), and he scored the first run of the league thanks to Man-soo Lee's hit. Ham ended up hitting .261/.321/.410 with 7 homers in 1982, and he was 5th in RBI (tied with Lee). He hit the first Korean Series homer but the Lions fell to the OB Bears in the 1982 Korean Series. Ham then recorded a .261/.294/.359 batting line in 1983, and he crushed the first pinch-hit grand slam, against the MBC Blue Dragons, on April 16.

The Daegu native hit .277/.316/.399 with 9 homers in 1984, and he was 10th in RBI (between Koo-seon Jeong and Jong-mo Kim). Ham slumped to .241/.306/.355 in 1985, then he recorded a .243/.286/.423 batting line in 1986. He played 54 games with a .248/.278/.384 batting line in 1987, then he announced his retirement.

Ham was the batting coach of the Samsung Lions from 1988 to 1990, the Binggrae Eagles from 1991 to 1993 and the Pacific Dolphins from 1995 to 1997. He coached Sekwang High School in 1999, Sungnam High School in 2004 and Gangneung High School from 2005 to 2009. He was also the fielding coach of the SK Wyverns in 2000.

Overall, Ham hit .259/.304/.386 with 344 hits and 32 homers in 6 seasons in the KBO.

Sources

• Defunct IBAF site
• Namu Wiki