Won-jin Jang

Won-jin Jang (장원진)

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 213 lb.

• School Inha University
• High School Incheon High School

• Born June 15, 1969 in Incheon South Korea

BR register page

Biographical Information

Won-jin Jang played in the Korea Baseball Organization for 15 years.

Jang was drafted by the OB Bears in the 4th round of the 1992 KBO draft, and he hit .306/.370/.367 in 23 games in his first season. He recorded a .264/.342/.347 batting line in 1993, then he improved to .297/.357/.432 with 4 homers in 1994. Jang crushed 9 homers with a .260/.320/.377 batting line in 1995, then he missed the next season due to military service. Jang played 97 games with a .266/.327/.342 batting line in 1997 after returning, and he slumped to .225/.298/.301 in 1998. He bounced back soon in 1999, and he hit .317/.372/.376 with 15 doubles.

The Incheon native had his career year in 2000, and he hit .323/.374/.433 with 7 homers and 5 triples. He led the league in hits (tied with Byung-kyu Lee) and triples (tied with Young-woo Lee, Jae-hong Park and Jong-bum Chae), and he was 8th in batting (tied with Byung-kyu Lee). His 170 hits set the KBO record for most hits in a season by a switch-hitter. Jang collected 11 steals with a .285/.336/.359 batting line in 2001, and he hit .275/.324/.322 in 2002. He also represented South Korea in the 2002 Intercontinental Cup, batting .344/.475/.500 with 9 runs in 10 games and playing error-free defense, primarily at 1B. He homered off Delvis Candelario of the Dominican national team. In the Gold Medal Game, he was 1-for-4 in their 2-1 loss to Cuba.

Jang was still a solid hitter as his batting line was .290/.346/.394 in 2003, then he blasted 5 homers with a .284/.356/.373 batting line in 2004. He played 123 games with a .286/.361/.345 batting line in 2005, then he had a .253/.280/.323 batting line in 2006. Jang slumped to .185/.226/.259 in 2007, then he announced his retirement. He was the batting coach for the Bears from 2011 to 2016, and he coached their minor league team from 2017 to 2020.

Overall, Jang hit .284/.342/.367 with 1,342 hits and 51 homers in 15 seasons in the KBO.

Sources

• Namu Wiki
• Old IBAF site