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Pitcher Jae-Ha Pak would be the lone addition to East Asia Baseball’s Hall of Fame with the 1969 voting. Pak was a no-doubter with 99.0% on his debut. Two others were above 50% in their first appearances, but short of the 66% threshold required for induction. SP Young-Gwon Shin got 61.6% and home run/whiff king 1B Ju-An Pak received 58.5%. LF Dong-Hee Cho was the only other player above 50%, reaching 52.7% on his seventh attempt.



Two players were dropped following ten failed attempts on the EAB ballot. 1B Jae-Ha Cho was dinged by spending eight of his 19 professional seasons in MLB. With Pyongyang, he won an MVP and had 1605 hits, 911 runs, 404 home runs, 953 RBI, and 58.5 WAR. His full pro tally with 88.3 WAR, 660 home runs, and 1651 RBI probably gets him in, but the accumulations weren’t high enough despite leading Korea in home runs four times. He peaked at 53.4% on his ninth ballot and ended at 39.1%, usually hovering around between those marks. Also cut was Kiyomasu Nakano, the 1952 Japan League Pitcher of the Year. In 16 seasons with five times, he had a 168-119 record, 2.65 ERA, 3087 strikeouts, and 52 7 WAR. Firmly a “Hall of Very Good” pitcher, peaking at 39.9% on his third ballot and closing only at 12.2%.



Jae-Ha Pak – Starting Pitcher – Incheon Inferno – 99.0% First Ballot

Jae-Ha Pak was a 5’11’’, 200 pound left-handed starting pitcher from Dangjin, South Korea; a city of around 100,000 on the western shores of the country. Pak’s control was legendary with few pitchers ever having such command of his arsenal. His velocity peaked at 96-98 mph with merely above average stuff and good to sometimes great movement. His three main pitchers were a fastball, curveball, and splitter, along with a rarely used changeup. However, Pak’s ability to put these pitches in the perfect spot made him great. He also had great stamina, leading Korea in complete games nine times and innings pitched four times. The main criticism was that was considered a bit lazy and dumb, but he thrived despite these critiques.

Pak was signed as an amateur free agent at age 16 in 1944 with Incheon. After spending three seasons as a developmental player, he made his debut with 44.1 unremarkable innings of relief in 1948 at age 20. He took over a starter role after that with a solid first full season in 1949. Pak missed half of the 1950 season with a hamstring strain, but the Inferno exploded for the franchise’s first-ever playoff berth at a blistering 113-49. They went on to win the East Asian Championship with Pak going 4-0 in the postseason with a 3.98 ERA.

1951 was his first great individual season, earning second in Pitcher of the Year voting. He was second again in 1952, then won it for the first time in 1953 with a 10.3 WAR season. Pak had 12 seasons worth 7+ WAR and four worth 10+. In 1954, he had career bests in WAR (11.3), ERA (2.32), and strikeouts (315), although none of these led the league that year and he was second in Pitcher of the Year voting. Incheon went on another playoff tear and won the EAB Championship in 1594. Although they had a few solid seasons in-between, the Inferno wouldn’t make the playoffs in any of Pak’s other seasons with them.

Pak won his second Pitcher of the Year with Incheon in 1955 and took third in 1957, his final year with the team. In total, he had a 161-103 record, 2.77 ERA, 2268 strikeouts, 185 complete games, and 69.7 WAR. The Inferno would retire his #7 uniform for his role in getting the team its first two rings. Pak opted for free agency at age 30 and found a buyer in Ulsan with a six-year, $517,000 deal starting in 1958.

Pak’s third Pitcher of the Year award came with his Swallows debut, finishing for the third time as the WARlord with 11.0 and for the first time as strikeout leader with 311. He led in strikeouts and WAR again the next year, but was third in Pitcher of the Year voting. Pak would take second once more in 1962. The Swallows made the playoffs twice in his tenure, but ultimately were one-and-done. In six seasons, Pak had a 99-80 record, 3.05 ERA, 1669 strikeouts, and 52.9 WAR. Pak also pitched for South Korea in the World Baseball Championship from 1957-65, posting a 2.98 ERA over 178 innings worth 5.3 WAR. Notably in 1964, he threw his lone no-hitter with 12 strikeouts and 1 walk in a WBC bout with Paraguay.

His EAB career ended with the Ulsan run, although Pak would continue his pro baseball career. He went to MLB and signed a three-year, $466,000 deal with St. Louis for the 1964 season. At age 36, Pak wasn’t an ace, but posted a solid debut season that included a complete game shutout in his lone MLB playoff appearance. In 1965, the generally sturdy Pak suffered a torn flexor tendon, ending his season in the summer. That and other injuries put him out much of 1966 as well with mixed results when he did play. The Cardinals let him go and Pak signed one final deal with Washington for 1967. It was a three-year deal with the optimistic Admirals, but a torn labrum in early July ended his career at age 40.

For his full career, Pak had a 294-214 record, 2.93 ERA, 4629.1 innings, 4278 strikeouts, 327 complete games, and 132.8 WAR. For just EAB, he had a 260-183 mark, 2.88 ERA, 4040.1 innings, 3937 strikeouts to only 370 walks for a 10.6 K/BB, 301/463 quality starts, 309 complete games, a FIP- of 68 and 122.7 WAR. At retirement, he was second to only Chikara Ohkubo (126.9) in pitching WAR and fourth in EAB wins. His 309 complete games was and remains the EAB career record as of 2037 and he’s one of very few in any league to have 300+. Pak was an obvious Hall of Fame choice as one of EAB’s all-time great aces, getting an impressive 99.0%.