Jong-kook Chae

Jong-kook Chae (채종국)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 187 lb.
• School Yonsei University
• High School Bukyeong High School

• Born October 24, 1975 in Busan South Korea

BR register page

Biographical Information

Jong-kook Chae was an infielder for a decade in the Korea Baseball Organization and appeared in the Olympics.

Chae hit .231/.355/.423 as a SS-3B for the South Korean national team in the 1995 Intercontinental Cup. In the 1996 Olympics, he went 2 for 9, was hit by a pitch and had more errors (2 in 14 chances) than runs produced (1), splitting shortstop duties with Jae-ho Back. He was picked in the second round of the 1998 draft by the Hyundai Unicorns. He made his pro debut in 1999, going 1 for 5. He did not play with Hyundai in 2000 then was 9 for 42 with four walks and a homer in 59 games (presumably used as a defensive sub often) in 2001. By 2002, he was a semi-regular (100 G, 184 AB) and hit .228/~.279/.315. He batted .241/~.278/.365 in 2003 and .275/~.321/.370 in 2004, his career year; he played in a career-high 128 games and had a career-best 19 doubles.

In 2005, the 29-year-old fell to .237/~.289/.351 though he did set highwater marks in homers (9), runs (45) and RBI (36). His production and playing time fell in 2006 (.212/~.242/.279). By 2007, he was a bench player, now with the SK Wyverns, going 7 for 43 with a double and 3 walks. He wrapped up with the Samsung Lions in 2008, with a 8-for-41 campaign and two walks.

Overall, Chae had hit .237/~.284/.328 in 659 games (1,343 AB) in the KBO. In 2012, he became a coach with the Nexen Heroes' farm club.

Sources

• Taiwan Baseball Wiki
• Korean Wikipedia
• KBO page