Jong-ho Park

From BR Bullpen

Jong-ho Park (박종호)

  • Bats Both, Throws Right
  • Height 5' 9", Weight 165 lb.

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Jong-ho Park was named the best second baseman in South Korea three times. He won a batting title and an Olympic Bronze Medal.

Park debuted in 1992 with the LG Twins, hitting .192/.272/.260 in a backup role. In '93, he became a starter and batted .263/.331/.392. In 1994, he continued to improve, hitting .260/.366/.391 with 21 steals (in 31 tries). He won the Gold Glove at second base; in KBO, Gold Gloves go to the best overall performer at each position.

In 1995, Park only played 61 games, batting .251/.331/.304. The next year, in similarly limited playing time, he hit .219/.337/.269. LG, obviously displeased with his decline, traded him to the Hyundai Unicorns.

Park hit .229/.358/.312 his first season with Hyundai, showing only a good batting eye. He turned his career around in 1999, batting .301/.388/.470. He hit 10 home runs after only hitting 15 in his first seven seasons combined. He stole 13 bases in 16 tries and scored 79 runs. He also broke Pil-sung Kong's KBO record for HBP in a season.

Park continued his rise in 2000 when he batted .340/.458/.490. He walked 73 times while only striking out 47 times. He smacked 30 doubles and scored 89 runs. He became the first switch-hitter ever to lead the Korea Baseball Organization in batting average. He had edged out Dong-joo Kim, Ji-man Song and Tilson Brito by .002 in a tight race. He won his second Gold Glove. He also joined Korea for the 2000 Olympics and was their starting second baseman for the event. He hit .303/.425/.303 to lead South Korea in OBP. Hitting second in the Bronze Medal Game, he was the only Korean batter to draw a walk from Daisuke Matsuzaka and one of two (along with Byung-kyu Lee) to reach base twice in the game, as he had one hit in three at-bats. Park also had Korea's only steal in the game. He provided solid defense behind Dae-sung Koo, with 3 assists and no errors, as Korea went on to upset Japan 3-1 to take the Bronze.

In 2001, Park slipped back down, hitting .241/.331/.340 for Hyndai. He batted .266/.326/.366 in 2002. He was resurgent in 2003 with a batting line of .293/.371/.396. He scored a career-high 90 runs that year.

Park became a free agent and signed with the Samsung Lions for 2004. He hit .282/.350/.370 in 2004 and won his third and last Gold Glove. In '05, he batted .268/.368/.352. His playing time dropped in 2006 when he hit .238/.325/.297; it was the 9th straight season he played in 100 or more games but he would not come close again.

In 2007, Park only played 17 games, going 5 for 27 with a walk and 3 doubles. In 2008, he hit .232/.314/.256 in 33 contests. He returned to the LG Twins as a free agent in 2009 but did not play once in the first month of the season.

Overall, Park's career batting line is .270/.356/.373 in 1,539 games.

Sources[edit]

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