{{Family name hatnote|Baek||lang=Korean}} {{Infobox baseball biography | name = Baek In-chun | image = | image_size = | team = | number = | position = Catcher / Outfielder / Player-manager / Manager | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1943|11|27}} | birth_place = Wuxi, Jiangsu, Republic of China | death_date = | death_place = | bats = Right | throws = Right | debutleague = NPB | debutdate = June 26 | debutyear = 1963 | debutteam = Toei Flyers | debut2league = KBO | debut2date = March 27 | debut2year = 1982 | debut2team = MBC Chungyong | finalleague = NPB | finaldate = | finalyear = 1981 | finalteam = Kintetsu Buffaloes | final2league = KBO | final2date = | final2year = 1984 | final2team = Sammi Superstars | statyear = | statleague = NPB | stat1label = Batting average | stat1value = .278 | stat2label = Home runs | stat2value = 209 | stat3label = RBI | stat3value = 776 | stat4label = Hits | stat4value = 1831 | stat2league = KBO | stat21label = Batting average | stat21value = .335 | stat22label = Home runs | stat22value = 23 | stat23label = RBI | stat23value = 91 | stat24label = Hits | stat24value = 135 | teams = '''As player''' * Toei Flyers / Nittaku Home Flyers / Nippon-Ham Fighters ({{Baseball year|1962}}–{{Baseball year|1974}}) * Taiheiyo Club Lions ({{Baseball year|1975}}–{{Baseball year|1976}}) * Lotte Orions ({{Baseball year|1977}}–{{Baseball year|1980}}) * Kintetsu Buffaloes ({{Baseball year|1981}}) * MBC Chungyong ({{Baseball year|1982}}) * Sammi Superstars ({{Baseball year|1983}}–{{Baseball year|1984}}) '''As coach''' * Sammi Superstars ({{Baseball year|1983}}–{{Baseball year|1984}}) * Hanwha Eagles ({{Baseball year|1999}}) * SK Wyverns ({{baseball year|2002}}) '''As manager''' * MBC Chungyong ({{Baseball year|1982}}, {{baseball year|1989}}) * LG Twins ({{Baseball year|1990}}–{{Baseball year|1991}}) * Samsung Lions ({{Baseball year|1995}}–{{Baseball year|1997}}) * Lotte Giants ({{Baseball year|2002}}–{{Baseball year|2003}}) | highlights = * 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) | update = }} {{Infobox Korean name/auto |hangul = %백인천 |hanja = 白仁天 }} '''Baek In-chun''' (born November 27, 1943) is a retired Korean professional baseball catcher, outfielder, player-manager and manager. 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|date=June 2020}} but as a youngster emigrated to Japan, where he attended Tokyo High School.<ref name=BR>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=haku--000jin# "In-cheon Paek,"] Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2020.</ref> He grew to be 5'8" and a sturdy 180 lbs.<ref name=BR />
== Career == === NPB === In 1962, at age 19, Baek joined Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a catcher for the Toei Flyers. (Baek was one of the first Koreans to play professional baseball in Japan, joining the great Isao Harimoto [birth name ''Jang Hun''],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2007030284618 |title=Korean Hitter with Odd Stance Meets Manager Who Had One Too |publisher=The Dong-a Ilbo |author= |date=2007-03-02 |accessdate=2007-12-16 }}</ref> who had joined the Flyers beginning in 1959.) In his first year, the Flyers won their first (and only) Japan Series championship, defeating the Hanshin Tigers. Baek played for the franchise for the next 13 years (the team went through a number of sponsors and name changes, becoming the Nittaku Home Flyers and then the 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 Taiheiyo Club Lions, the Lotte Orions, and 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.<ref name=BR />
=== KBO === In 1982, South Korea entered the realm of professional baseball with the KBO League, and the veteran Baek moved to his ethnic homeland to join the league — as the player-manager of MBC Chungyong. (As a new professional league, the KBO was eager to learn from the experiences of those who had played professionally in Japan.)<ref name=KoreaTimes /> 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<ref name=KoreaTimes>Hyun-kyung, Kang. [https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/sports/2017/03/662_225360.html "Baseball: Korean baseball shifting to Major League style,"] ''The Korea Times'' (March 9, 2017).</ref> (although in only 298 plate appearances).<ref name=BR /> 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|date=June 2020}} Baek managed the Chungyong/Twins for three seasons, leaving after the 1991 season.
He managed the Samsung Lions from 1995 to 1997, and served as a coach for the Hanwha Eagles in 1999. He started 2002 as a coach for the SK Wyverns, but mid-way through the season took over as manager of the Lotte Giants, serving there through the 2003 season.
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{baseballstats |mlb= |espn= |br= |fangraphs= |cube= |brm=haku--000jin}} *[http://eng.koreabaseball.com/teams/playerinfopitcher/summary.aspx?pcode=96480 Career statistics and player information] from Korea Baseball Organization
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Baek, In-chun}} Category:Baseball announcers Category:Lotte Giants managers Category:Samsung Lions managers Category:LG Twins managers Category:SSG Landers coaches Category:Hanwha Eagles coaches Category:Sammi Superstars players Category:MBC Chungyong players Category:South Korean baseball managers Category:South Korean baseball coaches Category:KBO League designated hitters Category:Kintetsu Buffaloes players Category:Lotte Orions players Category:Taiheiyo Club Lions players Category:Nippon Ham Fighters players Category:Toei Flyers players Category:Nippon Professional Baseball catchers Category:Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Category:South Korean expatriate baseball players in Japan Category:Sportspeople from Wuxi Category:1943 births Category:Living people Category:Baseball player-managers Category:1962 Asian Baseball Championship players