Ji-hwan Bae

Ji-hwan Bae (born July 26, 1999) is a South Korean professional baseball shortstop in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

Ji-hwan Bae
Pittsburgh Pirates – No. 90
Shortstop / Second baseman
Born: (1999-07-26) July 26, 1999
Daegu, South Korea
Bats: Left Throws: Right

Career

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.[2] 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.[3] Bae was projected to be a first round pick in the 2017 KBO League draft.[4]

On September 23, 2017, the Atlanta Braves announced the signing of Bae as a free agent.[5] General manager John Coppolella claimed that Bae was the youngest Asian baseball player to sign with the Braves in nearly two decades.[6] 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.[7][8] 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.[9] 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.[10] Bae was later signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates for a reported signing bonus of $1.25 million.[11][12]

Controversy

In April 2019, Bae was questioned on charges of assaulting his girlfriend while in high school.[13] As a result of the allegations that he slapped, choked, and kicked the girl, he was convicted of assault in court in Daegu and required to pay a fine of 2 million won.[14] Following the conviction, Major League Baseball also suspended Bae without pay for 30 games.[14]

References
  1. "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. 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.
  3. "Ji-hwan Bae returns to South Korea amid domestic violence investigation". ESPN.com. May 19, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  4. O'Brien, David (September 24, 2017). "Braves close to signing Korean shortstop". Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  5. Burns, Gabriel (September 23, 2017). "Braves compare Korean signee Bae to Trae Turner". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  6. Thompson, Jaylon (September 23, 2017). "Snitker encouraged by discussions about future". MLB.com. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  7. "Braves penalized for int'l signing violations". MLB.com. November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  8. "Ex-Braves GM John Coppolella permanently banned; team loses prospects". ESPN.com. November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  9. Kepner, Tyler (November 21, 2017). "M.L.B. Bars Former Braves Executive in Signings Scandal". New York Times. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  10. "Teen baseball prospect shrugs off murky future". Korea Herald. Yonhap. December 19, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  11. "Pirates rookie Bae Ji-hwan scores run in spring training debut". Yonhap. March 27, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  12. Berry, Adam (March 26, 2018). "New Bucs prospect Bae makes pro debut". MLB.com. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  13. "마이너리거 배지환, 30경기 정지 징계…"전 여자친구 폭행"". sports.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  14. Mills, Jeff. “MLB suspends Hoppers infielder Ji-Hwan Bae six months after domestic violence conviction”, The Greensboro News and Record, April 18, 2019.
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