Baek In-chun, the Only .400 Hitter in KBO League History, in Critical Condition as Stroke Symptoms Worsen

[Financial News] Baek In-chun, the former manager and the only .400 hitter in KBO League history, is reportedly in critical condition after his stroke symptoms worsened.
According to Yonhap News Agency and the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on the 14th, Baek, who had been living in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, was taken to a nearby hospital in cardiac arrest that morning.
Friends and acquaintances who initially heard from the hospital that he had "stopped breathing" and began preparing funeral arrangements moved him to Cheonan Dankook University Hospital, where he had regularly undergone checkups. After he arrived, his pulse, which had stopped, began to return faintly, and Baek is now said to be staying in the emergency room on a ventilator.
Baek had suffered four strokes, but he fought the illness with strong determination. He was reportedly in relatively good condition and had even undergone a routine checkup the day before.
Baek was born in 1942 in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China. He came to South Korea during the Korean War and learned baseball at Gyeongdong Middle School and Gyeongdong High School. After joining the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF) in 1961, he moved to the Toei Flyers, the predecessor of today's Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, on a free-agent deal in 1962.
He later played in Japan through the Saitama Seibu Lions, Chiba Lotte Marines and Kintetsu Buffaloes until 1981. In 1975, while with the Taiheiyo Lions, he batted .319 and won the Pacific League batting title.
With the launch of professional baseball in South Korea, Baek played as both manager and player for MBC Chungyong in 1982 and posted a .412 batting average that year. That remains the only .400 batting average in Korean professional baseball history, and Baek still stands as the only .400 hitter in the sport's history.
Baek played for the Sammi Superstars from 1983 to 1984 and retired after the 1984 season, ending a 23-year professional playing career in Korea and Japan.
The following year, in 1985, he began his coaching career as a batting instructor for the Chongbo Pintos. He later became the inaugural manager of the LG Twins and led the team to a Korean Series championship. He also served as manager of the Samsung Lions and Lotte Giants, and worked as a batting instructor for Samsung, the Hanwha Eagles and SK Wyverns, now the SSG Landers.
After stepping down from coaching, he also worked as a television baseball commentator in the early 2000s.
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter