KBO 40 Legends: The grinders

Baseball

Published: 21 Sep. 2022, 09:00

KBO 40 Legends: The grinders

Clockwise from top left: Jeon Jun-ho, Lee Soon-chul, Park Jin-man and Jeong Keun-woo. [KBO]

The KBO on Monday announced the final four members of the league’s “40 Legend” team, a round-up of the top 40 KBO players of all time that has been slowly compiled since the All-Star game in July.

Players were chosen for the 40-man squad from a list of 177 candidates, including all former Golden Glove and Korean Series MVP winners, as well as any pitchers who had recorded 800 appearances with 100 wins, 150 saves and at least one 20-win season and any batters who had appeared in 2,000 games, hit 200 home runs, 2,000 hits and had at least one 40-home run season.

All active players, including those playing overseas, were excluded.

But it's not all a swing of the bat and instant glory — sometimes you've got to put the work in. These legends are some of the KBO's biggest grinders.

Jeon Jun-ho

Jeon grew up running track and had no problem using that speed on the baseball field. The KBO’s all-time leading base stealer, with 549 stolen bases, Jeon stole at least 10 bases for 18 consecutive seasons.

Jeon Jun-ho [KBO]

Lee Soon-chul

Lee started his career at third base but quickly ended up in the outfield, where he won four Golden Gloves and led the league in steals on three separate occasions.

Lee Soon-chul [KBO]

Jeong Keun-woo

Jeong is another speedy infielder, stealing at least 20 bases for 11 consecutive seasons. He was also a strong batter, leading the league in runs in 2009 and 2016.

Jeong Keun-woo [KBO]

Park Jin-man

Park was a purely defensive player, winning the Golden Glove five times and six Korean Series rings; four with the Unicorns and two with the Lions. At the 2008 Olympics, Park started the defensive play that won Korea gold.