Ji-hwan Bae
Bae with the Indianapolis Indians in 2022
Pittsburgh Pirates – No. 3
Second baseman / Center fielder
Born: (1999-07-26) July 26, 1999
Daegu, South Korea
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 23, 2022, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.240
Home runs2
Runs batted in38
Stolen bases27
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  South Korea
U-18 Baseball World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2017 Thunder Bay Team

Ji-hwan Bae (born July 26, 1999) is a South Korean professional baseball second baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022.

Amateur career

Bae represented South Korea at the 2017 U-18 Baseball World Cup. During the tournament, he hit for a .286 batting average with five RBIs, six runs scored, six walks and two stolen bases.[1] In his final high school baseball season, Bae appeared in 27 games, hit .474, and received the Lee Young-min Batting Award as South Korea's best hitter at the high school level.[2] Bae was projected to be a first round pick in the 2017 KBO League draft.[3]

Professional career

Atlanta Braves

On September 23, 2017, the Atlanta Braves announced the signing of Bae as a free agent.[4] General manager John Coppolella claimed that Bae was the youngest Asian baseball player to sign with the Braves in nearly two decades.[5] By joining the Braves, Bae would have become the second player since Kwon Kwang-min, who signed with the Chicago Cubs in 2015, to leave a South Korean high school directly for professional baseball in the United States.[1] On November 21, 2017, Major League Baseball voided his contract with the Braves as a result of fraudulent contract negotiations.[6][7] The New York Times reported that, although Bae had agreed to sign for $300,000, the Braves planned to pay him an additional $600,000 by reallocating money promised to other signees.[8] The KBO League barred Bae from signing with any South Korean professional team for two years because he had skipped the KBO's draft to join the Braves organization, where he appeared with Atlanta's Florida Instructional League team.[9]

Pittsburgh Pirates

Minor leagues

On March 27, 2018, the Pittsburgh Pirates signed Bae for a reported signing bonus of $1.25 million.[10][11] Bae finished the 2019 season with the Greensboro Grasshoppers.[12] He then played for Geelong-Korea in the Australian Baseball League during the offseason.[13][14][15] The 2020 Minor League baseball season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[16] and Bae was subsequently assigned to the Altoona Curve in 2021. At the Double-A level, he recorded a slash line of .278/.359/.413 with 12 doubles, five triples, seven homers and 31 RBIs in 83 games.[17] After the minor league season ended, Bae was assigned to the Peoria Javelinas and selected to the Arizona Fall League Fall Stars Game.[18] Bae spent most of the 2022 season with the Indianapolis Indians, where he appeared in 108 games, slashed .289/.362/.430 with 23 doubles, six triples, eight home runs and 53 RBIs.[17]

Major leagues

On September 23, 2022, Bae made his major league debut.[17][19] He started at second base for the Pirates in a game against the Chicago Cubs,[19] was walked once, hit a single, and stole two bases.[20][21] Bae made the Pirates 2023 Opening Day roster.[22][23] On April 4, 2023, he hit his first major league home run.[24]

Personal life

Born in July 1999, Bae attended Kyeongbuk High School in Daegu.[1] He grew up as a fan of South Korean professional baseball, and began watching Major League Baseball when fellow South Korea native Shin-Soo Choo joined the Cleveland Indians. Bae soon became a fan of Hyun-jin Ryu, Jung-ho Kang, and José Altuve.[25]

Assault conviction

In May 2018, Bae was accused of slapping, choking, and kicking his ex-girlfriend in 2017 on New Year's Eve, when he was 18 years old.[26][27][28] In October 2018, he was convicted of assault in court in Daegu and required to pay a fine of ₩2 million.[29][30][31] In April 2019, Major League Baseball suspended Bae without pay for 30 games because of the incident.[29][32][33][34]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Korean high school shortstop signs with Atlanta Braves". Korea Herald. Yonhap. September 24, 2017. Archived from the original on September 24, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2017. Alt URL
  2. ↑ "Ji-hwan Bae returns to South Korea amid domestic violence investigation". ESPN.com. May 19, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  3. ↑ O'Brien, David (September 24, 2017). "Braves close to signing Korean shortstop". Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  4. ↑ Burns, Gabriel (September 23, 2017). "Braves compare Korean signee Bae to Trae Turner". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  5. ↑ Thompson, Jaylon (September 23, 2017). "Snitker encouraged by discussions about future". MLB.com. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Braves penalized for int'l signing violations". MLB.com. November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Ex-Braves GM John Coppolella permanently banned; team loses prospects". ESPN.com. November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  8. ↑ Kepner, Tyler (November 21, 2017). "M.L.B. Bars Former Braves Executive in Signings Scandal". New York Times. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Teen baseball prospect shrugs off murky future". Korea Herald. Yonhap. December 19, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Pirates rookie Bae Ji-hwan scores run in spring training debut". Yonhap. March 27, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  11. ↑ Berry, Adam (March 26, 2018). "New Bucs prospect Bae makes pro debut". MLB.com. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Grasshoppers' Bae steams through August". MILB.com. August 22, 2019. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Players to watch out for this summer". Geelong Advertiser. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  14. ↑ "Every name on the Geelong-Korea roster for the ABL season". Geelong Advertiser. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  15. ↑ "Geelong Korea wants to focus on localization for 2019/20 season". Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  16. ↑ Adler, David (June 30, 2020). "2020 Minor League Baseball season canceled". MLB.com. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  17. 1 2 3 Gorman, Kevin (23 September 2022). "Ji Hwan Bae ready to showcase speed, defensive versatility for Pirates after promotion". Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  18. ↑ Gorman, Kevin (21 November 2021). "Pirates prospects Nick Gonzales, Ji-hwan Bae selected to play in AFL Fall Stars Game". Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  19. 1 2 Persak, Mike (23 September 2022). "Pirates prospect Ji Hwan Bae joins team for Friday's game against Cubs". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  20. ↑ "Quiroz hits go-ahead single in 8th, Cubs beat Pirates 6-5". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 23 September 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  21. ↑ delos Santos, Justice (23 September 2022). "Bae has ball in debut: 2 steals, 1 hit, 1 walk". MLB.com. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  22. ↑ delos Santos, Justice (March 30, 2023). "Bucs set 2023 Opening Day roster". MLB.com. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Pirates set Opening Day roster". MLB.com. March 30, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  24. ↑ Gorman, Kevin (April 5, 2023). "Pirates rookie Ji Hwan Bae has Monster game with 1st career homer, spectacular catch". Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  25. ↑ Bloom, Elizabeth (March 27, 2018). "An inside look at the Pirates' signing of teenage Korean shortstop Ji-hwan Bae". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  26. ↑ "MLB 진출 야구 유망주, '여친 폭행 혐의' 피소". n.news.naver.com.
  27. ↑ "Pirates Prospect Ji-hwan Bae Accused Of Domestic Violence". MLB Trade Rumors. May 18, 2018.
  28. ↑ Biertempfel, Rob (May 18, 2018). "Exclusive: Pirates minor leaguer Ji-hwan Bae returns to South Korea to cooperate with police investigation into abuse allegations". The Athletic.
  29. 1 2 Mills, Jeff (April 18, 2019). "MLB suspends Hoppers infielder Ji-Hwan Bae six months after domestic violence conviction". Greensboro News and Record.
  30. ↑ "Pirates Prospect Ji-hwan Bae Found Guilty Of Assaulting Former Girlfriend". MLB Trade Rumors. October 15, 2018.
  31. ↑ Biertempfel, Rob (October 12, 2018). "MLB continues its investigaton after Pirates' prospect Ji-hwan Bae is found guilty of assault in South Korea". The Athletic.
  32. ↑ Dykstra, Sam (17 April 2019). "Pirates' Bae suspended 30 games". MLB.com. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  33. ↑ "마이너리거 배지환, 30경기 정지 징계…"전 여자친구 폭행"". sports.news.naver.com (in Korean). April 18, 2019.
  34. ↑ Biertempfel, Rob (April 19, 2019). "Assault victim calls for Pirates to release suspended minor leaguer Ji-Hwan Bae". The Athletic.
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