Jae-hak Shim

Jae-hak Shim (심재학)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 212 lb.

• School Korea University
• High School Chungnam High School

• Born October 18, 1972 in Seoul South Korea

BR register page

Biographical Information

Jae-hak Shim was an outfielder for 15 years in the Korea Baseball Organization. He topped 20 homers in a season on three occasions; in 8 campaigns, he hit double-digit long balls.

Shim hit .304/.485/.435 for South Korea in the 1991 Intercontinental Cup while serving as their main left fielder. His 8 walks (in 9 games) tied for 4th in the Cup. He won Bronze in the 1991 Asian Championship. In the 1993 Asian Championship, Shim made the All-Star outfield alongside Takayuki Takabayashi and Peter Vogler. He played in the 1994 Asian Games. In the 1994 Baseball World Cup, Jae-hak hit .226/.294/.452 with 7 RBI in 9 games, again being employed as the South Korean starting left fielder.

Shim began his pro career in 1995 with the LG Twins, hitting .230/.376/.356. In 1996, he batted .285/.395/.468 and went deep 18 times. He hit .285/.363/.455 in 1997, with 15 home runs and 84 RBI. The next year, he slumped a bit to .267/.360/.405; he helped South Korea win Gold at the 1998 Asian Games. He was just 0 for 1 in 1999.

In 2000, Shim moved to the Haitai Tigers, batting .265/.361/.486 with 30 doubles and 21 home runs. He joined the Doosan Bears in 2001 and had his best year, producing at a .344/.473/.599 clip with 93 walks, 24 home runs and 88 RBI. He was second in the Korea Baseball Organization in average, .011 behind leader Joon-hyuk Yang and ahead of several former major leaguers such as Felix Jose and Carlos Baerga. Jae-hak was honored as one of the KBO's top three overall outfielders in winning a Gold Glove (not just a fielding award in Korea). The other two outfielders chosen were Byung-kyu Lee and Soo-keun Jung.

Shim was unable to maintain his excellence of 2001, fading to .245/.361/.420 in 2002 and .236/.332/.348 in 2003, when he only went yard five times. Returning to the Tigers (now the KIA Tigers) in 2004, the veteran outfielder rebounded to hit .282/.408/.532 with 22 home runs, 81 RBI and 85 walks.

Shim hit .254/.373/.433 in 2005 as he fell to 94 games and .176/.268/.269 in 56 games in 2006. In 2007, he was 12 for 51 with 7 walks and 4 doubles. He went 0 for 1 in 2008 to conclude his playing career. After the season, the Woori Heroes hired him as a hitting coach.

Overall, Shim batted .269/.377/.449 in 1,247 games in the KBO. He hit 149 home runs, drove in 622 and drew 686 walks.

Sources

• Defunct IBAF site
• KBO Player Page
• Korean Wikipedia entry
• Wiki Baseball (Chinese)