View source for Jung Bong

{{Short description|South Korean baseball player (born 1980)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}}
{{western name order|Bong Jung-keun}}
{{family name hatnote|Bong||lang=Korean}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
| name         = Bong Jung-keun
| image        =
| team         = 
| number       = 
| position     = [[Pitcher]]
| birth_date   = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1980|7|15}}
| birth_place  = [[Seoul]], [[South Korea]]
| bats         = Left
| throws       = Left
| debutleague  = MLB
| debutyear    = 2002
| debutdate    = April 23
| debutteam    = Atlanta Braves
| finalleague  = MLB
| finalyear    = 2004
| finaldate    = June 20
| finalteam    = Cincinnati Reds
| debut2league = KBO
| debut2date   = April 11
| debut2year   = 2007
| debut2team   = LG Twins
| final2league  = KBO
| final2year    = 2016
| final2date    = October 4
| final2team    = LG Twins
| statyear     = 
| statleague   = MLB
| stat1label   = [[Win–loss record (pitching)|Win–loss record]]
| stat1value   = 7–4
| stat2label   = [[Earned run average]]
| stat2value   = 5.17
| stat3label   = [[Strikeout]]s
| stat3value   = 62
| stat2league  = KBO
| stat2year    = 
| stat21label  = Win–loss record
| stat21value  = 55–46
| stat22label  = Earned run average
| stat22value  = 3.41
| stat23label  = Strikeouts
| stat23value  = 654
| stat24label  = [[Save (baseball)|Saves]]
| stat24value  = 109
| awards       =
* [[World Baseball Classic#All-WBC teams|All-World Baseball Classic Team]] ([[2009 World Baseball Classic|2009]])
| teams        = 
* [[Atlanta Braves]] ({{mlby|2002}}–{{mlby|2003}})
* [[Cincinnati Reds]] ({{mlby|2004}})
* [[LG Twins]] ({{Baseball year|2007}}–{{Baseball year|2016}})
| medaltemplates = 
{{MedalSport | Men's [[baseball]]}}
{{MedalCountry|{{KOR}}}}
{{MedalOlympics}}
{{MedalGold|[[2008 Summer Olympics|2008 Beijing]]|[[Baseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics|Team]]}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[World Baseball Classic]]}}
{{MedalSilver| [[2009 World Baseball Classic|2009 Los Angeles]] | Team }}
{{MedalBronze| [[2006 World Baseball Classic|2006 San Diego]] | Team }}
}}
{{Infobox Korean name
| hangul  = 봉중근
| hanja   = 奉重根
| rr      = Bong Jung-geun
| mr      = Pong Chung-gŭn
}}
'''Bong Jung-keun''' ({{korean|hangul=봉중근|hanja=奉重根}}; {{IPA|ko|poŋdʑuŋɡɯ̽n}} or {{IPA|ko|poŋ|}} {{IPA|ko|t͡ɕuŋɡɯ̽n|}}; born July 15, 1980) is a South Korean former professional [[baseball]] player. He played in [[Major League Baseball]] with the [[Atlanta Braves]] and [[Cincinnati Reds]], and in the [[KBO League]] with the [[LG Twins]]. He batted and threw [[left-handed]].

==Career==
===Amateur===
Bong is often considered one of the greatest hitting pitchers in Korean high school baseball history. While attending Shinil High School in [[Seoul]], he was a highly regarded [[five-tool player]] and [[control pitcher]] in the Korean High School baseball league, playing as the team's 3rd [[batter (baseball)|batter]] and No.1 [[starting pitcher|starter]].<ref name="auto2">{{cite web
 | title =Ex-MLB pitcher Bong Jung-keun announces retirement
 | url =https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20180919004600315
 | website=[[Yonhap News Agency]]
 | date = September 19, 2018
 | access-date = February 25, 2021}}
</ref>

In September {{Baseball year|1996}}, as a freshman at Shinil High School, Bong was named the Best Pitcher in the 50th [[Golden Lion Flag National High School Baseball Championship]], taking 4 of the team's 5 wins. As the team's [[leadoff hitter]], he batted .353 with 6 hits in 17 at-bats.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web
 | title =Retiring pitcher has no regrets after sacrificing for club
 | url =https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20180928008700315
 | website=[[Yonhap News Agency]]
 | date = September 28, 2018
 | access-date = February 25, 2021}}</ref>

In May {{Baseball year|1997}}, Bong led his team to its national title at the 52nd [[Blue Dragon Flag National High School Baseball Championship]], going 11-for-16 with 9 RBIs as a batter and racking up 3 wins as a starting pitcher. He won [[batting average (baseball)|batting]] (.688), [[Run batted in|RBI]] and [[win (baseball)|win]]s titles, and was unanimously named the tournament MVP.<ref name="auto1"/>

In September {{Baseball year|1997}}, Bong helped his team to capture another national title at the 51st [[Golden Lion Flag National High School Baseball Championship]]. He was named Best Pitcher, earning 4 out of the team's 5 wins as a utility pitcher. As a batter, Bong finished runner-up in [[batting average (baseball)|batting]] (.571, 8-for-14) and won the [[stolen bases]] title.<ref name="auto1"/>

===International===
In August {{Baseball year|1997}}, Bong competed for the South Korea national junior baseball team in the [[World Junior Baseball Championship]] held in [[Moncton]], Canada. In the round robin phase, he went 15-for-25 with 11 RBIs and 13 runs, and hit home runs in 4 consecutive games, playing in 5 preliminary games as a [[center fielder]] and [[relief pitcher]]. South Korea was eliminated by [[USA national baseball team|USA]] 7–0 in the quarterfinals, but Bong additionally accumulated 3 hits and 3 RBIs in the 5th–8th classification games. He finished the tournament with a .500 batting average (18-for-36), 14 RBIs and 4 home runs, and was named the tournament MVP. He also won the home run title and was selected to the All-Star team as an [[outfielder]] as well.<ref name="auto1"/>

Bong also helped Korea to the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://calltothepen.com/2018/09/20/atlanta-braves-jung-bong-calls-career/|title=Atlanta Braves: Jung Bong calls it a career|date=September 20, 2018}}</ref>

Bong also appeared in the 2009 World Baseball Classic against Japan as a starter, allowing 3 hits and scoring 2 strikeouts in 5{{fraction|1|3}} innings for a 1–0 victory.<ref name="auto"/>

=== Notable international careers ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!style="background:#0A6EFF"|<span style="color:white;">Year</span>
!style="background:#0A6EFF"|<span style="color:white;">Venue</span>
!style="background:#0A6EFF"|<span style="color:white;">Competition</span>
!style="background:#0A6EFF"|<span style="color:white;">Team</span>
!style="background:#0A6EFF"|<span style="color:white;">Individual Note</span>
|-
|1997
|{{Bb|CAN}}
|[[World Junior Baseball Championship]]
|style="text-align:center"|5th
|style="text-align:center"|.500 BA (18-for-36), 4 HR, 14 RBI<br>'''MVP''', '''All-Star ([[outfielder|OF]])''', '''[[home run|HR]] title'''
|-
|2006
|{{Bb|USA}}
|[[2006 World Baseball Classic|World Baseball Classic]]
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Silver medal icon.svg]]
|0–0, 0.00 ERA (3 G, 2.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 K)
|-
|2008
|{{Bb|CHN}}
|[[Baseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Gold medal icon.svg]]
|0–0, 8.31 ERA (2 G, 8.2 IP, 8 ER, 6 K)
|-
|2009
|{{Bb|USA}}
|[[2009 World Baseball Classic|World Baseball Classic]]
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Silver medal icon.svg]]
|style="text-align:center"|2–0, 0.51 ERA (4 G, 17.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 K)<br>'''All-Star ([[2009 WBC#All–WBC team|P]])'''
|-
|{{baseball year|2010}}
|{{Bb|CHN}}
|[[16th Asian Games|Asian Games]]
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Gold medal icon.svg]]
|0–0, 0.00 ERA (1 G, 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 K)
|}

===Major League Baseball career===
Bong began his career with the Braves, signing with the team in 1998 while still in High school for a bonus of $1.7 million. Bong made his major league debut in {{mlby|2002}} pitching 6 innings in one game.<ref name="auto"/> The next year, he was moved to the [[bullpen]] and pitched in 44 games, [[Win (baseball)|winning]] six and [[Loss (baseball)|losing]] two, and recorded his first [[Save (baseball)|save]].<ref name="auto"/> With the Reds in {{mlby|2004}}, he pitched 15{{fraction|1|3}} innings, winning one game and losing one. He missed the whole {{mlby|2005}} season due to shoulder surgery, and the Reds outrighted him to Triple-A [[Louisville Bats|Louisville]] after the season.<ref name="auto"/>

===KBO League career===
The Reds released him on May 12, 2006; he returned to Korea to continue his career.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kffl.com/player/6849/mlb|title=Jung-Keun Bong on KFFL}}</ref>

In {{Baseball year|2008}}, with the [[LG Twins]], Bong had a 2.66 [[Earned run average|ERA]] and 140 [[strikeout]]s.<ref name="auto2"/>

Bong retired from professional baseball on September 19, 2018, after 12 years playing for the [[LG Twins]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2018/09/19/0200000000AEN20180919004600315.html |title = Ex-MLB pitcher Bong Jung-keun announces retirement|date = September 19, 2018}}</ref>

=== Personal records ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-bgcolor="#000000"
!style="background:#000000;" width="42"|<span style="color:white;">Year</span>
!style="background:#000000;" width="65"|<span style="color:white;">Team</span>
!style="background:#000000;" width="30"|<span style="color:white;">G</span>
!style="background:#000000;" width="30"|<span style="color:white;">GS</span>
!style="background:#000000;" width="30"|<span style="color:white;">W</span>
!style="background:#000000;" width="30"|<span style="color:white;">L</span>
!style="background:#000000;" width="30"|<span style="color:white;">SV</span>
!style="background:#000000;" width="30"|<span style="color:white;">H</span>
!style="background:#000000;" width="30"|<span style="color:white;">CG</span>
!style="background:#000000;" width="30"|<span style="color:white;">ShO</span>
!style="background:#000000;" width="40"|<span style="color:white;">IP</span>
!style="background:#000000;" width="30"|<span style="color:white;">H</span>
!style="background:#000000;" width="30"|<span style="color:white;">HR</span>
!style="background:#000000;" width="30"|<span style="color:white;">BB</span>
!style="background:#000000;" width="30"|<span style="color:white;">K</span>
!style="background:#000000;" width="30"|<span style="color:white;">R</span>
!style="background:#000000;" width="30"|<span style="color:white;">ER</span>
!style="background:#000000;" width="35"|<span style="color:white;">ERA</span>
|-
|{{Baseball year|2002}}
|rowspan=2|[[Atlanta Braves|ATL]]
|1
|1
|0
|1
|0
|0
|0
|0
|6.0
|8
|0
|2
|4
|5
|5
|7.50
|-
|{{Baseball year|2003}}
|44
|0
|6
|2
|1
|2
|0
|0
|57.0
|56
|8
|31
|47
|32
|32
|5.05
|-
|{{Baseball year|2004}}
|[[Cincinnati Reds|CIN]]
|3
|3
|1
|1
|0
|0
|0
|0
|15.1
|17
|3
|10
|11
|13
|8
|4.70
|-
|{{Baseball year|2007}}
|rowspan=10|[[LG Twins|LG]]
|24
|22
|6
|7
|0
|0
|0
|0
|111.2
|121
|6
|60
|56
|71
|66
|5.32
|-
|{{Baseball year|2008}}
|28
|28
|11
|8
|0
|0
|0
|0
|186.1
|153
|13
|80
|140
|66
|55
|2.66
|-
|{{Baseball year|2009}}
|26
|26
|11
|12
|0
|0
|0
|0
|172.1
|160
|13
|71
|127
|70
|63
|3.29
|-
|{{Baseball year|2010}}
|28
|28
|10
|9
|0
|0
|0
|0
|178.1
|166
|13
|83
|130
|74
|71
|3.58
|-
|{{Baseball year|2011}}
|4
|4
|1
|2
|0
|0
|0
|0
|16.1
|13
|1
|14
|7
|9
|9
|4.96
|-
|{{Baseball year|2012}}
|40
|0
|0
|1
|26
|0
|0
|0
|38.0
|26
|1
|14
|36
|5
|5
|1.18
|-
|{{Baseball year|2013}}
|55
|0
|8
|1
|38
|0
|0
|0
|61.0
|44
|2
|17
|54
|10
|9
|1.33
|-
|{{Baseball year|2014}}
|50
|0
|2
|4
|30
|0
|0
|0
|49.2
|51
|2
|17
|45
|16
|16
|2.90
|-
|{{Baseball year|2015}}
|47
|2
|5
|1
|15
|0
|0
|0
|49.1
|60
|10
|23
|39
|28
|27
|4.93
|-
|{{Baseball year|2016}}
|19
|5
|1
|0
|0
|2
|0
|0
|36.1
|41
|4
|22
|20
|23
|20
|4.95
|- bgcolor="red"
|colspan="2"|<span style="color:white;">'''TOTAL'''</span>
|<span style="color:white;">276</span>
|<span style="color:white;">119</span>
|<span style="color:white;">62</span>
|<span style="color:white;">49</span>
|<span style="color:white;">110</span>
|<span style="color:white;">4</span>
|<span style="color:white;">0</span>
|<span style="color:white;">0</span>
|<span style="color:white;">976.2</span>
|<span style="color:white;">916</span>
|<span style="color:white;">76</span>
|<span style="color:white;">444</span>
|<span style="color:white;">716</span>
|<span style="color:white;">422</span>
|<span style="color:white;">386</span>
|<span style="color:white;">3.95</span>
|}

== Filmography ==
=== Television shows ===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Role
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | {{abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}}
|-
! scope="row"| 2022
| ''Back to the Ground''
| Contestant
| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://entertain.naver.com/now/read?oid=312&aid=0000546278|author=Cha Hye-young|title=봉중근, 일본 톱타자 이치로에 굴욕 안긴 과거 재조명 ('빽 투 더 그라운드')|trans-title= Bong Joong-geun re-examines the past when Japan's top hitter Ichiro was humiliated ('Back to the Ground')|publisher=Ten Asia|via=[[Naver]]|date=May 11, 2022|access-date=May 11, 2022|language=ko}}</ref> 
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Baseball stats |mlb=407794 |espn=5103|br=b/bongju01|fangraphs=82 |brm=bong--001jun}}
*[http://eng.koreabaseball.com/Teams/PlayerInfoPitcher/Summary.aspx?pcode=77147 Career statistics and player information] from [[Korea Baseball Organization]]
*{{SR/Olympics profile|bo/bong-jung-keun-1|Bong Jung-Keun}}
*{{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928204545/http://www.databaseolympics.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=BongJun01 |date=September 28, 2011 |title=Jung-Keun Bong at databaseOlympics.com}}
*[http://cafe.daum.net/bongjungkeun Bong Jung-keun Fancafe] at [[Daum (web portal)|Daum]] {{in lang|ko}}

{{South Korea roster 2006 World Baseball Classic}}
{{South Korea baseball roster 2008 Summer Olympics}}
{{South Korea roster 2009 World Baseball Classic}}
{{South Korea baseball roster 2010 Asian Games}}
{{2009 World Baseball Classic All WBC Team}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bong, Jung-keun}}
[[Category:1980 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:21st-century South Korean sportsmen]]
[[Category:Atlanta Braves players]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Reds players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball players from South Korea]]
[[Category:South Korean expatriate baseball players in the United States]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball pitchers]]
[[Category:Gulf Coast Braves players]]
[[Category:Macon Braves players]]
[[Category:Myrtle Beach Pelicans players]]
[[Category:Greenville Braves players]]
[[Category:Richmond Braves players]]
[[Category:Louisville Bats players]]
[[Category:Chattanooga Lookouts players]]
[[Category:LG Twins players]]
[[Category:Olympic baseball players for South Korea]]
[[Category:Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for South Korea]]
[[Category:2006 World Baseball Classic players]]
[[Category:2009 World Baseball Classic players]]
[[Category:Olympic medalists in baseball]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Asian Games gold medalists in baseball]]
[[Category:Asian Games baseball players for South Korea]]
[[Category:Baseball players at the 2010 Asian Games]]
[[Category:Baseball players at the 2014 Asian Games]]
[[Category:Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games]]
[[Category:World Baseball Classic players of South Korea]]