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Kang Baek-ho (Korean: 강백호; born July 29, 1999) is a South Korean professional baseball left fielder for the KT Wiz of the KBO League.

Kang Baek-ho
Baek-ho in 2019
KT Wiz – No. 50
Left fielder
Born: (1999-07-29) July 29, 1999 (age 23) Incheon, South Korea
Bats: Left Throws: Right
KBO League debut
March 24, 2018, for the KT Wiz
KBO League statistics (through July 20, 2021)
Batting average	.329
Home runs	75
Runs batted in	299
Teams
KT Wiz (2018–present)
Career highlights and awards
Korean Series (2021) KBO Rookie of the Year (2018) 3x KBO All-Star (2018–2020)
Medals Men's baseball Representing  South Korea U-18 World Cup 2017 Thunder Bay Team WBSC Premier12 2019 Tokyo Team

Kang Baek-ho
Hangul	강백호
Hanja	姜白虎
Revised Romanization	Gang Baek-ho
McCune–Reischauer	Kang Paek-ho

Amateur career

Kang began playing baseball in elementary school but had to move between schools several times as a youth due to "a family issue" which he told Ilgan Sports was "hard to talk about."[1]

Kang played high school baseball as a pitcher, catcher and designated hitter at Seoul High School where, as a freshman, he was the first player to hit a home run at Gocheok Sky Dome. In 2017, he led Seoul to a high school baseball championship and was named the most valuable player of the tournament.[2] Kang's accomplishments as a high schooler brought him significant media attention.[1][2][3] After high school, Kang decided to enter the KBO against the wishes of his father who wanted him to try for "a bigger stage."[1]

Professional career

Kang was selected with the first overall pick in the 2017 KBO draft by the KT Wiz. He made his KBO debut at 18 years old and hit a home run against Héctor Noesí in the first plate appearance of his career.[4] As a professional, he stopped pitching and catching and transitioned to the field.[2] Kang set the rookie record with 29 home runs en route to winning the KBO League Rookie of the Year Award.[5] He pitched in the 2018 KBO All-Star Game and reached speeds of 150 kilometres per hour (93.2 mph). Following the season, his salary was more than tripled to ₩120 million (equivalent to $102,973 in 2019), setting a record for a sophomore player.[2]

In June 2019, Kang underwent surgery on his hand after cutting it on a piece of metal while making a catch in foul territory at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium.[6] He sat out for the entire month of July due to the injury but was voted a starter on the all-star team nonetheless.[1][7]

Kang missed three weeks of the 2020 season after hurting his wrist while sliding on defense.[3] Fans voted Kang to the all-star team again in 2020 although the game did not take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]

At the halfway point of the 2021 season, Kang had a batting average of .395 which led the league by 47 points.[9] He reached base in eight consecutive plate appearances in Games 1 and 2 of the 2021 Korean Series, tying a Korean Series record.[10]

International career

Kang represented South Korea at the 2017 U-18 Baseball World Cup where he pitched and played the field. He won a silver medal and was named to the All-World Team.[11]

In 2019, he represented South Korea in the Premier12 and played well.[12]

He was named to the South Korean roster for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[13]

References

External links

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