Sung-hwan Cho

Sung-hwan Cho (조성환)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 168 lb.
• School Wonkwang University
• High School Chungnam High School

• Born December 23, 1976 in Seoul, South Korea

BR register page

Biographical Information

Sung-hwan Cho is a South Korean infielder.

Cho debuted in 1999 with the Lotte Giants, going 10 for 25 with 3 walks, a double and a homer. He hit .226/~.308/.290 in 93 AB in 2000 and .196/~.295/.283 in 92 AB in 2001. In 2002, he batted .235/~.304/.290 in more regular action. He had a breakthrough year in '03, hitting .307/~.370/.403 with 73 runs and 23 steals (in 34 tries). He was 18 for 70 with 12 walks and 4 doubles in 2004.

At that point, Cho's career hit a snag. He was caught (along with 50 other players) having manipulated urine tests to dodge military service. Cho spent 6 months in prison, then had to complete his service.

Cho returned to the Giants in 2008 and had a great year, hitting .327/.382/.463 with 10 home runs, 81 RBI, 79 runs and 31 steals (in 34 tries). He was 6th in the Korea Baseball Organization in stolen bases, 7th in RBI and 4th in average, trailing Hyun-soo Kim, Sung-hoon Hong and Jung Choi; he was .004 back of 2nd-place Hong. He won a Gold Glove at second base; in the KBO, the Gold Glove goes to the best overall player at each position and is not simply a defensive prize.

Through 2008, Cho has hit .287/~.357/.386 in the KBO.

Cho suffered a major injury on April 23, 2009, when his cheekbone was broken on a pitch by Byeong-yong Chae. He was expected to miss a couple months.

Sources

• KBO player page
• Korean Wikipedia entry
• Korea Times