Jae-ho Baek

Jae-ho Baek (백재호) also listed as Paik and Back

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 175 lb.

• School Dongguk University
• High School Shinil High School

• Born June 30, 1974 in Seoul South Korea

BR register page

Biographical Information

Jae-ho Baek was an Olympic infielder.

Amateur Career

Baek played for South Korea in the 1992 World Junior Championship, 1994 Asian Games and 1995 Asian Championship (winning Silver in the latter two events). He hit .290/.436/.452 with 8 runs and 9 RBI as the main Korean 2B in the 1995 Intercontinental Cup, though he fielded just .921 at second. He tied for 6th in the Cup in RBI, leading his team, and was second on South Korea in runs (behind Byung-kyu Lee). He struggled on both fronts in the 1996 Olympics, fielding .917 and going 1 for 16 with two walks, a double and two RBI, with more errors (3) than hits (1). He split 2B with Dong-wook Lee and Soo-kwan Kim and SS with Jong-kook Chea. His only hit came against the Netherlands in the lone Korean win; they finished last.

Pro Career

The Hanwha Eagles took Baek in the second round of the 1997 draft. He had a productive pro debut, hitting .243/.331/.426 with 16 homers in 1997 while playing mainly 2B. He batted .257/.335/.420 with 13 HR while moving to short in 1998. He helped Korea win a Gold Medal in the 1998 Asian Games. In 1999, he produced at a .248/.303/.362 clip. The next year, he continued to decline, hitting .216/.296/.326.

In 2001, he hit .276/.378/.392. He followed with a very different outcome in 2002 when his batting line read .202/.258/.409, with 10 homers in 193 at-bats. In 2003, Baek batted .228/.338/.333. He was just 7 for 35 with 3 doubles and a triple in 2004. In 2005, the 30/31-year-old veteran hit .277/.329/.362 in a part-time role. He was limited to 42 games in 2006 but did well offensively - .349/.434/.442. He faded to .226/.342/.360 in 2007, his final season. Overall, he hit .245/.323/.380 in 1,007 career games in the KBO.

He then coached for Hanwha from 2008 to 2010 and became a minor league coach for the SK Wyverns in 2012.

Sources

• Defunct IBAF site
• Korean Wikipedia entry
• KBO page
• Taiwan Baseball Wiki