Song Jin-woo (; born February 16, 1966) is a South Korean retired

left-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 dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply l ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. Song played 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 21 seasons between and with the

Hanwha Eagles The Hanwha Eagles () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Daejeon that competes in the KBO League. The Eagles' home ballpark is Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark. They have won the Korean Series once, in 1999, and the league penn ...

. He currently holds several pitching records for the KBO, including his 210 wins and 3,003

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

. He is one of two pitchers in KBO League history to win 200 games, and strike out 2,000 or more batters. Because of his central role in establishing the Korean baseball players' association (essentially a players' union), he has the nickname of "Mr. President."

Playing career

Song attended Dongguk University. He competed for South Korea in the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

, and at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, on the team that won the bronze medal. On May 18, 2000, Song no-hit the Haitai Tigers (winning the game 6-0), becoming only the tenth KBO pitcher to accomplish that feat.Kim Tae-jong
"No-hitter records in KBO history,"
''The Korea Times'' (2014-06-25). Song won the 2002

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 ...

with a record of 18-7, a 2.99 ERA, 165 strikeouts, and 8 complete games. Song was the first pitcher in the KBO to strike out over 2,000 batters. He accomplished this feat on June 6, 2008, at his home field of Daejeon Baseball Stadium against the Woori Heroes. He recorded the strikeout in the bottom of the 8th inning with two outs, ringing up Song Ji-man. Song's number 21 jersey was retired by the Eagles on September 23, 2009. KBO Retired Hanwha 21

Song's record of 2,048 strikeouts lasted 15 years until it was broken by Yang Hyeon-jong of the Kia Tigers on August 21, 2024.

Coaching career

Song became the Eagles' pitching coach in 2018, vowing to change the team's approach. Song said, "Changing the entry is the most sensitive issue between coaches and players." Song's "personalized' prescription" played a big role. Foreign pitcher Keyvius Sampson had difficulty in the early stages of the season, but he improved his position as well as his arrest while correcting his position. ongtold Jason Wheeler to fix the changeup. Song coach also emphasized "communication."

Filmography

Television show

References

External links