Min-chul Chung

Min-chul Chung (정민철) also transliterated as Min-chul Jung

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 2", Weight 193 lb.

• High School Taejon High School

• Born March 28, 1972 in Daejeon South Korea

BR register page

Biographical Information

Min-chul Chung has been a long-time pitcher in the Korea Baseball Organization.

Chung debuted in the KBO in 1992 with the Binggrae Eagles, going 14-4 with 7 saves and a 2.48 ERA while allowing 141 hits in 195 2/3 IP in an excellent debut. He failed to take home Rookie of the Year honors, which went to a different hurler. In 1993, Min-chul was 13-3 with a save and a 2.24 ERA.

The Eagles became the Hanwha Eagles in 1994 and Chung remained a star, going 14-10 with a 2.15 ERA. He fanned a league-high 196 hits in 218 innings while giving up just 156 hits. He led the KBO in ERA in taking two of the three legs of a pitching Triple Crown. Chung represented South Korea in the 1994 Asian Games.

Min-chul was 13-7 with a 3.21 ERA in 1995. In 1996, he went 13-12 with a save and a 3.03 ERA. In '97, Chung had a 14-11, 2.46 record and led the KBO with 160 strikeouts in 208 2/3 IP. He also threw a no-hitter against the OB Bears.

During the 1998 campaign, Chung went 10-7 with a 3.16 ERA. He tied Dong-hwan Moon for 8th in the league in ERA. He played for South Korea in the 1998 Asian Games. He also became the youngest pitcher in KBO history to 1,000 strikeouts, reaching that mark at age 26 years and 5 months. He was 18-8 with a save and a 3.75 ERA in '99, allowing 179 hits in 201 2/3 IP. He was two wins behind league leader Min-tae Chung and he was 6th in ERA. His run of 8-straight seasons with double-digit wins was the second-longest stretch in league history after Kang-chul Lee.He became the youngest 100-game winner in league annals. He got Hanwha's first win ever in a Korean Series, taking game one of the 1999 Korean Series. He also won game four as Hanwha took the title. He also pitched in the 1999 Asian Championship to help South Korea qualify for the 2000 Olympics. To this point, his career ERA was 2.80.

Chung signed with the Yomiuri Giants for 2000, going 2-0 with a 4.82 ERA in 4 games. He went 1-2 with a 4.65 ERA in 8 games in 2001 to finish 3-2 with a 4.70 ERA in two years in Japan.

Chung returned to Korea in 2002 and went 7-13 with a 5.35 ERA for Hanwha, a far cry from his pre-Japan performance. In '03, he was 11-10 with a 4.00 ERA. He had a horrendous 2004, going 0-6 with a 7.67 ERA and 76 hits allowed in 54 innings.

In 2005, Min-chul was 9-3 with a 4.82 ERA. His record was 7-13, 3.93 in 2006. In the 2007 season, he went 12-5 with a 2.90 ERA. He ranked third in ERA behind Danny Rios and Byung-yong Chae. He became the youngest KBO pitcher to win 150 games despite missing two years in Japan. Chung had a 6-10, 5.23 record in 2008.

Chung was atrocious in 2009, going 0-6 with a 9.87 ERA and allowing 54 hits (7 homers) in 31 innings.

Through 2009, Chung has been 161-128 with a 3.51 ERA in the KBO. He has fanned 1,661 in 2,394 2/3 innings while allowing 2,194 hits.

Sources

• Korean Baseball Organization
• Japan Baseball Daily
• Korean Wikipedia entry