Jeong Keun-woo (; Hanja: 鄭根宇; born October 2, 1982) is a former second baseman and shortstop who last played for the SK Wyverns, Hanhwa Eagles, and LG Twins in the Korea Baseball Organization. He bats and throws right-handed.
Amateur career Jeong attended Busan High School in Busan, South Korea. In 1999, he was selected for the South Korea national junior team and participated in the 1999 World Junior Baseball Championship held in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. In 2000, he was selected again for the South Korea national junior team that won the 2000 World Junior Baseball Championship in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He led the attack alongside future pro baseball stars Choo Shin-soo, Kim Tae-kyun and Lee Dae-ho, batting .333 with 3 RBIs as a starting second baseman.
Upon leaving high school, Jeong was considered the top infielder prospect for the 2001 KBO Draft, but went undrafted. Instead, he played college baseball at Korea University.
In his sophomore year at Korea University, he made his first appearance for the South Korea national baseball team at the 2002 Intercontinental Cup, where they claimed the silver medal.
In November 2003, Jeong competed for the South Korean national team as an amateur player again in the 2003 Baseball World Cup. In the tournament, he batted .308 with 2 home runs and 10 RBIs, leading the team in RBI. In Team Korea's second game against Russia, he went 5-for-6 with a home run and 5 RBIs to lead his team to a 26-3 victory.
In 2004, as a senior he participated in the 2nd World University Baseball Championship and led his team to the bronze medal, winning the RBI title.
Notable international careers YearVenueCompetitionTeamIndividual note1999World Junior Baseball Championship 5th2000World Junior Baseball Championship .333 BA (9-for-27), 3 RBI2002Intercontinental Cup .294 BA (5-for-15)2003Baseball World Cup 8th.308 BA (12-for-39), 2 HR, 10 RBI, 9 R2004World University Baseball Championship 1st in RBI
Professional career Drafted by the SK Wyverns in the second round (15th overall) of the 2005 KBO Draft, Jeong made his pro league debut on April 2, 2005. He had a disappointing rookie season, managing only a .193 batting average.
However, the next season he batted .284 with 45 stolen bases (2nd in the league) and 122 hits, and won the KBO League Golden Glove Award at second base. After the 2006 KBO season, Jeong was selected for the South Korea national team, and won a bronze medal at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar.
Jeong had a .323 batting average (4th in the league) in the 2007 KBO season, the first season of a .300-plus batting average, leading his team to the Korean Series Championship. As a member of the South Korea national team, he competed in the 2007 Asian Baseball Championship and 2008 Final Olympic Qualification Tournament.
In the 2008 KBO season, Jeong hit .300-plus once again (.317), and ranked 2nd in hits (154) and 3rd in stolen bases (40).
On July 16, 2008, Jeong was selected for South Korea national team in the 2008 Olympics. In Beijing, he batted 9-for-29 with 4 runs and a RBI, playing as a utility infielder. In the team's third game of round-robin play against Canada, he smacked a solo home run off Mike Johnson in the third inning that held up for a 1-0 win for South Korea.
On December 11, 2009, he obtained his second Golden Glove Award as a second baseman, 정근우, 2루수 독보적 골든글러브 and in 2013 he won his third Golden Glove.
He moved through the second draft of the KBO League in 2020.
Awards and honors Source: 2006 Golden Glove Award (Second baseman) 2009 Golden Glove Award (Second baseman) 2013 KBO Golden Glove 2nd prize 2016 1st place in KBO regular league
Career statistics Through 2009 season. YearTeamG AB R H2B3BHRRBITB SB CS SH BB HBP K GIDPE AVG OBP SLGOPS2005 SK 5288 1117 2 0 0 5 19 4 2 10441337.193.236.216.452 2006120430691221948 42 1734510 173646038.284.333.402.735 2007111341621102429 44 1652410 935644620.323.386.484.870 2008 124491731542048 58 20640201046353915.314.369.420.789 2009127480981682949 59 232531375548.350.437.483.920 Total 5341850313571941434208 7951666553176211702950.312.352.434.753 Bold = led KBO
Notable international careers YearVenueCompetitionTeamIndividual note2006Asian Games .350 BA (7-for-20), 3 RBI, 8 R, 3 SB, 4 BB2007Asian Baseball Championship .250 BA (2-for-8), 2 RBI, 2 R2008Olympic Games .310 BA (9-for-29), 1 HR, 1 RBI, 5 R2009World Baseball Classic .292 BA (7-for-24), 1 HR, 2 RBI, 7 R2010Guangzhou Asian Games .563 BA (9-for-16), 3 RBI, 6 R, 3 BB Filmography Television shows Year Title Role Notes 2021 Game of Blood Contestant 2022 All Table Tennis! Cast Member Youth Baseball Team Head coach Strongest Baseball Cast Member
See also List of KBO career stolen bases leaders
References
External links Career statistics and player information from Korea Baseball Organization
Jeong Keun-woo at Hanwha Eagles Baseball Club
Jeong Keun-woo Fancafe at Naver