Baek In-chun, the only .400 hitter in Korean baseball history, dies at 83
The former MBC Chungyong player-manager hit .412 in the inaugural KBO season in 1982, a feat no other Korean hitter has matched since.
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Baek In-chun, then playing for MBC Chungryong, celebrates after recording his 100th career hit after a game against the OB Bears near the end of the very first season of KBO baseball in September 1982.YONHAP
Baek In-chun, the only man to bat .400 in a Korean professional baseball season, died Saturday at the age of 83, officials said.
Baek In-chun trains with MBC Chungryong ahead of the KBO's first season in February 1982.YONHAP
According to the KBO, Baek died at 6:41 a.m. Saturday while being treated for a brain hemorrhage at Dankook University Hospital in Cheonan, some 90 kilometers (56 miles) south of Seoul.
He was found unresponsive in his home in Cheonan early Friday and transported to a nearby hospital.
Doctors told a friend of Baek's that the former athlete had stopped breathing, prompting the friend and first-aid workers to begin preparations for Baek's funeral and to move him to Dankook University Hospital, where Baek had received his regular medical checkups.
After arriving at the second hospital, however, Baek's heart started beating again, and he was connected to a respirator Friday afternoon in the emergency room.
Baek's family members are said to have been opposed to life-sustaining treatment.
Baek had suffered four cerebral infarctions in recent years, though sources close to Baek said he had undergone his regular medical checkup in relatively good condition Thursday.
As player-manager for MBC Chungyong (currently the LG Twins) in the inaugural KBO season in 1982, Baek batted .412. No other player in KBO history has topped the hallowed mark since.
In 2014, the Korea Pro Baseball Players Alumni Association created the "Baek In-chun Award" in the former star's honor to recognize the best high school or college hitter each year.
The KBO said it will organize an official funeral for Baek, who went on to serve as hitting coach and manager in the KBO following his 23-year playing career in both Japan and Korea. Baek was named Manager of the Year for the Twins in 1990, when he led them to the Korean Series title.
