Ji-chan Kim

Ji-chan Kim (김지찬)

• Bats Right, Throws Left
• Height 5' 4", Weight 141 lb.

• School Daegu University
• High School Raon High School

• Born March 8, 2001 in Iowa USA

BR register page

Biographical Information

Ji-chan Kim has played for the South Korean national team and in the Korea Baseball Organization.

Kim represented Korea in the 2019 U-18 Baseball World Cup. He began with a four-hit game against the Netherlands then had three versus China and three more against Japan and the US. South Korea won Bronze. Kim hit .528/.553/.583 with 11 runs and 10 steals (in 12 tries) in 9 games, handling 39 chances error-free. He led the event in hits (one ahead of Robert Hassell), was second in runs (three shy of Hassell) and led in steals (no one else had more than 3), average (.014 ahead of Hassell) and assists (27, 3 ahead of Tyriq Kemp). He won the Outstanding Defensive Player award for the tournament and was also picked as the All-Star second baseman, joining Yuya Nirasawa, Austin Gomm and Shun-Ho Wang on the infield.

He was drafted by the Samsung Lions in the 2nd round of the 2020 KBO draft, and he hit .232/.301/.272 in 135 games as their starting second baseman in his rookie year. He collected 2 hits and 3 steals in an inning on April 17, 2021, and he was the first player to do so in KBO history. Kim ended up hitting .274/.331/.304 in 2021, and he improved to .280/.361/.332 with 25 steals in 2022. He was 4th in steals, between Ji-hoon Choi and Hae-min Park. Kim recorded a .292/.408/.330 batting line in 99 games in 2023.

In the 2022 Asian Games, Kim was 1-for-1 and Korea beat Chinese Taipei to win Gold. His hit came off Kiattisak Chutongrat of Thailand. He backed up Ji-hoon Choi in center. That exempted him from the mandatory military service. He collected 42 steals with a .316/.405/.384 batting line in 2024, and he was 5th in steals (between Park and Do-yeong Kim).

Sources

• 2019 U-18 Baseball World Cup
• Namu Wiki
• 2022 Asian Games