Baek In-chun

Baek In-chun
Hangul	백인천
Hanja	白仁天
Revised Romanization	Baek Incheon
McCune–Reischauer	Paek Inch'ŏn

Baek In-chun
Baek In-chun
Hits	135
Teams
	As player Nippon-Ham Fighters (1962–1974); Taiheiyo Club Lions (1975–1976); Lotte Orions (1977–1980); Kintetsu Buffaloes (1981); MBC Chungyong (1982); Sammi Superstars (1983–1984); As coach Sammi Superstars (1983–1984); Hanwha Eagles (1999); SK Wyverns (2002); As manager MBC Chungyong (1982, 1989); LG Twins (1990–1991); Samsung Lions (1995–1997); Lotte Giants (2002–2003);
Career highlights and awards
	NPB Pacific League batting champion (1985); KBO batting champion and single-season batting average record: .412 (1982); As manager, winner of the Korean Series (LG Twins, 1990);

Baek In-chun (born November 27, 1943) is a retired Korean baseball player. Baek spent most of his career playing in Nippon Professional Baseball. He finished his career in Korea with the KBO League and then got into managing. Baek holds the KBO record for highest batting average in a season; as a manager he led the LG Twins to their first KBO championship.

Biography

An ethnic Korean, Baek was born in Wuxi, Jiangsu, Republic of China,^{[citation needed]} but as a youngster emigrated to Japan, where he attended Tokyo High School.^[1] He grew to be 5'8" and a sturdy 180 lbs.^[1]

Career

NPB

In 1962, at age 19, Baek joined

Nippon-Ham Fighters

), starting out as a catcher but after a few years converting to a slugging, speedy outfielder.

After being let go by the Fighters after the 1974 season, Baek played seven more seasons in the NPB, for the

Kintetsu Buffaloes. For the Lions, he won the 1975 Pacific League batting title with a .319 average and was declared a 1975 Best Nine Award

outfielder. He had one of his best seasons in 1979, at age 35, as he hit .340 with 18 home runs and 71 RBI for the Orions.

Over the course of his career in the NPB, Baek hit 209 home runs and stole 212 bases.[1]

KBO

In 1982, South Korea entered the realm of professional baseball with the

MBC Chungyong. (As a new professional league, the KBO was eager to learn from the experiences of those who had played professionally in Japan.)^[3] Incredibly, in his first year the 38-year-old led the league in hitting in 1982, with a batting average of .412 — still a KBO record^[3] (although in only 298 plate appearances).^[1]

That year Baek also led the KBO in runs, hits, doubles, and slugging percentage.

After one season as player-manager of the Chungyong, in 1983 Baek joined the

Sammi Superstars

as a player-coach, lasting through the 1984 season, when he retired as a player.

In 1989, Baek returned to the KBO as a full-time manager, coming back to the Chungyong, which in 1990 became known as the LG Twins. In his second year, he led the Twins to their first KBO championship, defeating the Samsung Lions in the Korean Series. As a result, Baek was named the 1990 KBO Manager of the Year.^{[citation needed]} Baek managed the Chungyong/Twins for three seasons, leaving after the 1991 season.

He managed the

SK Wyverns, but mid-way through the season took over as manager of the Lotte Giants

, serving there through the 2003 season.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "In-cheon Paek," Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
^ "Korean Hitter with Odd Stance Meets Manager Who Had One Too". The Dong-a Ilbo. 2007-03-02. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
^ ^a ^b Hyun-kyung, Kang. "Baseball: Korean baseball shifting to Major League style," The Korea Times (March 9, 2017).

External links

Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)
Career statistics and player information from Korea Baseball Organization

[BR-1] "In-cheon Paek," Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2020.

[2] "Korean Hitter with Odd Stance Meets Manager Who Had One Too". The Dong-a Ilbo. 2007-03-02. Retrieved 2007-12-16.

[KoreaTimes-3] Hyun-kyung, Kang. "Baseball: Korean baseball shifting to Major League style," The Korea Times (March 9, 2017).

[1]

[3]

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	Korea