Kim Jae-bak (; born May 23, 1954, in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

) is a South Korean former professional baseball

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. Nicknamed the "Ground Fox," he batted and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

. He played ten seasons in the

KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...

, for the MBC Cheongryong/

LG Twins The LG Twins () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul, South Korea. They are a member of the KBO League. The Twins play their home games at Jamsil Baseball Stadium, which they share with their rivals, the Doosan Bears. ...

from 1982 to 1991, and for the

Pacific Dolphins The Hyundai Unicorns () were a South Korean professional baseball team based in Suwon. They were a member of the KBO League. The Unicorns won the KBO championship four times (1998, 2000, 2003 and 2004). The Unicorns were dissolved after the 20 ...

in 1992. As manager of the

Hyundai Unicorns The Hyundai Unicorns () were a South Korean professional baseball team based in Suwon. They were a member of the KBO League. The Unicorns won the KBO championship four times (1998, 2000, 2003 and 2004). The Unicorns were dissolved after the 20 ...

from 1996 to 2006, he guided the team to four

Korean Series The Korean Series () is the final championship series of the KBO League. It has been held since the KBO League's first season in and is the final series of the post-season play-offs. From to 2013, the winner of the Korean Series went on to play ...

championships.

Biography

Kim was born in Seoul, and attended Daegwang High School and

Yeungnam University Yeungnam University () is a private research university located in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang, South Korea. The university's predecessors, Taegu College and Chunggu College, were founded in Daegu in 1947 and 1950 respectively. In 1967, the two ...

, growing to a height of 5'7" and 170 lbs.

Playing career

Amateur career

Kim was a legendary amateur player, starting in high school, when his Daegwang High School team won the inaugural Bonghwang High School baseball tournament in 1971. In 1977, Kim led the South Korean amateur league in seven offensive categories — batting average, home runs, RBI, runs, stolen bases, on-base percentage, and slugging. He was on the South Korean team that won the Silver Medal at the

1981 World Games The 1981 World Games were the first World Games, an international multi-sport event, and were held in Santa Clara, California, United States. The games featured sports that were not included in the Olympics, including tug-of-war, racquetba ...

. In 1982, Kim was called up to the South Korea national baseball team for the

1982 Amateur World Series The 1982 Amateur World Series was the 27th Amateur World Series (AWS), an international men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (which titled it the Baseball World Cup as of the 19 ...

(the predecessor to the

Baseball World Cup The Baseball World Cup (BWC) was an international baseball tournament for national teams around the world, sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). First held in 1938 as the Amateur World Series (AWS), it was, for most of its ...

), held in his home country. Kim led Team Korea to its first championship in the event, and was named to the tournament's All-Star team at shortstop.

Professional career

Kim was already 28 years old when the

was formed in 1982. He was a speedy

leadoff hitter In baseball, a leadoff hitter is a batter who bats first in the batting order (baseball), lineup. It can also refer to any batter who bats first in any inning. Strategy Traditionally, the leadoff hitter has been utilized as a contact-oriented ...

for the MBC Cheongryong, winning the

KBO League Golden Glove Award The KBO League Golden Glove Award is an award given out annually by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to the best overall player at each position in the KBO League. It is also commonly known as the KBO Golden Gloves. The award was established i ...

five times as the league's premier shortstop, from 1983 to 1986, and also in 1989. He led the league in stolen bases with 50 in 1985, and in runs scored in 1986 with 67. In 1990, the Cheongryong became the

, and immediately won the

, with Kim as the starting shortstop. After a couple of down years for Kim, in 1990–1991, however, he was encouraged to retire by the Twins. After indicating he wished to continue playing, however, he was traded to the

in 1992. After another poor year, he retired after the '92 season. Kim finished his career with 284 stolen bases.

Managing career

After his retirement, Kim was immediately hired by the Dolphins as a senior coach, in which position he served from 1993 to 1995. In 1996, the franchise, now known as the

, hired Kim as the team's manager. Kim led the Unicorns to the

in his first year, but the team lost the series to the

Haitai Tigers The Kia Tigers () are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982 and based in the southwestern city of Gwangju. Until 2001, they were known as the Haitai Tigers. The Tigers are members of the KBO League and are the most successful ...

. The Unicorns finished first in the KBO League in 1998, eventually winning the franchise's first championship. Kim's Unicorns team won the championship three more times, in 2000, 2003, and 2004. Kim was a coach on the Gold Medal-winning South Korean national team at the

2002 Asian Games The 2002 Asian Games, officially known as the XIV Asian Games and also known as Busan 2002 (), were an international multi-sport event held in Busan, South Korea from September 29 to October 14, 2002. Due to schedule impediments the football tour ...

. He managed the South Korean national team which won a Bronze Medal in the

2006 Asian Games The 2006 Asian Games (), officially known as the XV Asiad or 15th Asian Games (, and commonly known as Doha 2006 (), were an Asian multi-sport event held in Doha, Qatar, from December 1 to 15, 2006, with 424 events in 39 sports featured in the ga ...

. Kim served as the

hitting coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisi ...

for the third-place South Korean team in the

2006 World Baseball Classic The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums in or around Tokyo, Japan, and the American cities o ...

. He left the Unicorns after the 2006 season for his original franchise, the

. At the time, his

₩ The won sign , is a currency symbol. It represents the South Korean won, the North Korean won and, unofficially, the old Korean Empire won, Korean won. Appearance Its appearance is "W" (the first letter of "Won") with a horizontal strike ...

1.55 billion contract was a record for a manager or coach."New LG Twins Coach Signs Record Pact,"
'' The Dong-a Ilbo'' (October 21, 2006). Kim managed the

from 2007 to 2009, but without the success he had with the Unicorns.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Jae-bak 1954 births Baseball players from Seoul Hyundai Unicorns managers KBO League infielders LG Twins managers MBC Chungyong players LG Twins players Living people Pacific Dolphins players South Korean baseball managers World Games silver medalists for South Korea Medalists at the 1981 World Games