Woong-cheon Cho

Woong-cheon Cho (조웅천)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.

• High School Suncheon Commercial High School, Gwangju Dongsung High School

• Born March 17, 1971 in Gwangju South Korea

BR register page

Biographical Information

Woong-cheon Cho pitched in the KBO for 19 seasons.

Cho was drafted by the Pacific Dolphins in the 5th round of the 1990 KBO draft, and he only pitched 6 games with the big club in his first three seasons. He was 0-5 with a 4.29 ERA in 1993, then he allowed 13 runs in 15 innings in 1994. Cho had a 2.57 ERA in 29 games in 1995, and he broke out in 1996. Cho was one of the most dominant middle inning relievers in 1996, and he pitched a league-leading 68 games with a solid 2.11 ERA. He pitched 2 shutout innings in 1996 Korean Series, and he got a win over Jung-soo Kim and the Haitai Tigers in Game 2. That was the first Korean Series win in the history of the Hyundai Unicorns.

The Gwangju native remained solid in 1997, and he was 7-2 with a 2.84 ERA in 55 appearances. Cho tied his teammate Myeong-won Chung for 6th in games pitched. His ERA was 3.51 in 52 games in 1998, then he had a 3.43 ERA in 51 games in 1999. The league started to record holds in 2000, and Cho notched 16 holds and 8 saves with a 3.05 ERA and a 8-6 record in 74 games. He was the first leader in holds in KBO history, and he ranked 2nd in appearances (4 behind Hye-cheon Lee). In the 2000 Korean Series, Cho pitched 2 shutout innings in Game 1 to get a save for winning hurler Soo-kyung Kim, and he completed another 2 shutout innings in Game 2. Cho was perfect again in Game 3 as he pitched a shutout inning to get a hold, but he allowed 5 runs in 1 2/3 innings in Game 5. The Unicorns still beat the Doosan Bears despite their losing three straight games after winning the first three.

The Unicorns then traded him with Kyu-je Cho to the SK Wyverns for 1.5 billion won, and he struggled in 2001 as his ERA rose to 5.63 in 59 games. He was 4th in appearances (between Sang-min Oh and Deuk-yeom Ka) and 4th in holds (tied with Ka and Oh). Cho bounced back soon, and he collected 6 saves and 5 holds with a 3.27 ERA in 56 games in 2002. The Wyverns then named him their new closer in 2003, and Cho had his career year. He notched 30 saves with a 1.97 ERA in 65 games, and he led the league in saves. He was the first player to both lead the league in holds and saves, and there are only 2 players who have done it as of 2024 (the other was Jae-hun Chung).

Cho then represented Korea in the 2003 Asian Championship, and the event was also the qualifier of the 2004 Olympics. He replaced Chang-Yong Lim in the 9th inning against Chinese Taipei, but he gave up a game-tying single to Chih-Yuan Chen. Cho stayed on the mound in the 10th inning, then Chih-Kang Kao hit a walk-off single and Korea was eliminated from a spot in the Olympics. He became a middle-inning reliever again in 2004, and he collected 10 holds and 9 saves with a 3.08 ERA in 55 games. Cho was 5-4 with 10 saves and 6 holds in 2005, and he broke Yong-soo Kim's career appearances record on June 24. He notched 11 holds with a 4.69 ERA in 51 games in 2006.

In 2007, Cho came back and he lowered his ERA to 1.57 in 64 games while collecting 9 saves and 16 holds. He was 6th in holds (7 behind Taek-hyun Ryu) and 7th in appearances (tied with Tae-hun Im). He got 13 holds with a 2.68 ERA in 52 games in 2008, and he was 7th in holds (between Im and Kyu-jin Yoon). He became the first pitched to pitch 800 games in KBO history on August 27. However, Cho suffered a elbow injury in 2009, and he only pitched 5 games with the big club. He announced his retirement after the 2009 season, and he became a coach. He was pitching coach for the Wyverns from [[2011 KBO|2011 to 2014 and in 2016, and he coached their minor league team in 2011 and 2015. He then served as pitching coach for the minor league team of the Doosan Bears from 2017 to 2019, for the Lotte Giants in 2020 and for the SSG Landers from 2021 to 2023.

Overall, Cho was 64-54 with a 3.21 ERA, collected 89 holds and 98 saves in 813 appearances, struck out 920 and pitched 1,092 2/3 innings in 19 years in the KBO. He was the KBO all-time games pitched leader when he retired, and he ranked 4th in appearances (between Hae-soo Jin and Kyu-min Woo) as of 2024.

Sources

• Namu Wiki
• Korean Wikipedia