Bong Jung-keun
Pitcher
Born: (1980-07-15) July 15, 1980
Seoul, South Korea
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Professional debut
MLB: April 23, 2002, for the Atlanta Braves
KBO: April 11, 2007, for the LG Twins
MLB statistics
Win–loss record7–4
Earned run average5.17
Strikeouts62
KBO statistics
Win–loss record55–46
Earned run average3.41
Strikeouts558
Saves102
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  South Korea
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2008 BeijingTeam
World Baseball Classic
Silver medal – second place 2009 Los Angeles Team
Bronze medal – third place 2006 San Diego Team
Jung Bong
Hangul
봉중근
Hanja
奉重根
Revised RomanizationBong Jung-geun
McCune–ReischauerPong Chung-gŭn

Bong Jung-keun (Korean: 봉중근; Hanja: 奉重根; Korean pronunciation: [poŋdʑuŋɡɯ̽n] or [poŋ] [t͡ɕuŋɡɯ̽n]; born July 15, 1980) is a South Korean former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball with the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds, and in the KBO League with the LG Twins. He batted and threw left-handed.

Career

Amateur

Bong is often considered one of the greatest hitting pitchers in Korean high school baseball history. While attending Shinil High School in Seoul, he was a highly regarded five-tool player and control pitcher in the Korean High School baseball league, playing as the team's 3rd batter and No.1 starter.[1]

In September 1996, as a freshman at Shinil High School, Bong was named the Best Pitcher in the 50th Golden Lion Flag National High School Baseball Championship, taking 4 of the team's 5 wins. As the team's leadoff hitter, he batted .353 with 6 hits in 17 at-bats.[2]

In May 1997, Bong led his team to its national title at the 52nd Blue Dragon Flag National High School Baseball Championship, going 11-for-16 with 9 RBIs as a batter and racking up 3 wins as a starting pitcher. He won batting (.688), RBI and wins titles, and was unanimously named the tournament MVP.[2]

In September 1997, Bong helped his team to capture another national title at the 51st Golden Lion Flag National High School Baseball Championship. He was named Best Pitcher, earning 4 out of the team's 5 wins as a utility pitcher. As a batter, Bong finished runner-up in batting (.571, 8-for-14) and won the stolen bases title.[2]

International

In August 1997, Bong competed for the South Korea national junior baseball team in the World Junior Baseball Championship held in Moncton, Canada. In the round robin phase, he went 15-for-25 with 11 RBIs and 13 runs, and hit home runs in 4 consecutive games, playing in 5 preliminary games as a center fielder and relief pitcher. South Korea was eliminated by USA 7–0 in the quarterfinals, but Bong additionally accumulated 3 hits and 3 RBIs in the 5th–8th classification games. He finished the tournament with a .500 batting average (18-for-36), 14 RBIs and 4 home runs, and was named the tournament MVP. He also won the home run title and was selected to the All-Star team as an outfielder as well.[2]

Bong also helped Korea to the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.[3]

Bong also appeared in the 2009 World Baseball Classic against Japan as a starter, allowing 3 hits and scoring 2 strikeouts in 51⁄3 innings for a 1–0 victory.[3]

Notable international careers

Year Venue Competition Team Individual Note
1997  Canada World Junior Baseball Championship 5th .500 BA (18-for-36), 4 HR, 14 RBI
MVP, All-Star (OF), HR title
2006  United States World Baseball Classic 0–0, 0.00 ERA (3 G, 2.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 K)
2008  China Olympic Games 0–0, 8.31 ERA (2 G, 8.2 IP, 8 ER, 6 K)
2009  United States World Baseball Classic 2–0, 0.51 ERA (4 G, 17.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 K)
All-Star (P)
2010  China Asian Games 0–0, 0.00 ERA (1 G, 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 K)

Major League Baseball career

Bong began his career with the Braves, signing with the team in 1998 while still in High school for a bonus of $1.7 million. Bong made his major league debut in 2002 pitching 6 innings in one game.[3] The next year, he was moved to the bullpen and pitched in 44 games, winning six and losing two, and recorded his first save.[3] With the Reds in 2004, he pitched 151⁄3 innings, winning one game and losing one. He missed the whole 2005 season due to shoulder surgery, and the Reds outrighted him to Triple-A Louisville after the season.[3]

KBO League career

The Reds released him on May 12, 2006; he returned to Korea to continue his career.[4]

In 2008, with the LG Twins, Bong had a 2.66 ERA and 140 strikeouts.[1]

Bong retired from professional baseball on September 19, 2018, after 12 years playing for the LG Twins.[5]

Personal records

Year Team G GS W L SV H CG ShO IP H HR BB K R ER ERA
2002 ATL 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 6.0 8 0 2 4 5 5 7.50
2003 44 0 6 2 1 2 0 0 57.0 56 8 31 47 32 32 5.05
2004 CIN 3 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 15.1 17 3 10 11 13 8 4.70
2007 LG 24 22 6 7 0 0 0 0 111.2 121 6 60 56 71 66 5.32
2008 28 28 11 8 0 0 0 0 186.1 153 13 80 140 66 55 2.66
2009 26 26 11 12 0 0 0 0 172.1 160 13 71 127 70 63 3.29
2010 28 28 10 9 0 0 0 0 178.1 166 13 83 130 74 71 3.58
2011 4 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 16.1 13 1 14 7 9 9 4.96
2012 40 0 0 1 26 0 0 0 38.0 26 1 14 36 5 5 1.18
2013 55 0 8 1 38 0 0 0 61.0 44 2 17 54 10 9 1.33
2014 50 0 2 4 30 0 0 0 49.2 51 2 17 45 16 16 2.90
2015 47 2 5 1 15 0 0 0 49.1 60 10 23 39 28 27 4.93
2016 19 5 1 0 0 2 0 0 36.1 41 4 22 20 23 20 4.95
TOTAL 276 119 62 49 110 4 0 0 976.2 916 76 444 716 422 386 3.95

Filmography

Television shows

Year Title Role Ref.
2022 Back to the Ground Contestant [6]

References

  1. 1 2 "Ex-MLB pitcher Bong Jung-keun announces retirement". en.yna.co.kr. September 19, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Retiring pitcher has no regrets after sacrificing for club". en.yna.co.kr. September 28, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Atlanta Braves: Jung Bong calls it a career". September 20, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Jung-Keun Bong on KFFL".
  5. ↑ "Ex-MLB pitcher Bong Jung-keun announces retirement". September 19, 2018.
  6. ↑ Cha Hye-young (May 11, 2022). "봉중근, 일본 톱타자 이치로에 굴욕 안긴 과거 재조명 ('빽 투 더 그라운드')" [Bong Joong-geun re-examines the past when Japan's top hitter Ichiro was humiliated ('Back to the Ground')] (in Korean). Ten Asia. Retrieved May 11, 2022 – via Naver.
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