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Left fielder Jin-Uk Song was the only addition into the East Asia Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008. On his sixth ballot, Song got bumped firmly across the 66% requirement at 76.5%. Closer Geon Byung fell short at 63.4% on his tenth and final try. The top debuts were RF Makhmud Hakim at 62.4% and 3B Shigefumi Tsukehara at 59.4%. No one else was above 50%.



For Byung, his 63.4% in 2008 was the closest he got to making the cut. He generally bounced around the 40-50 range, although had fallen as low as 22.9% in 2007. He had a 16-year career, although spent parts in MLB and WAB. Byung won Reliever of the Year in 1988 and won a title in 1989 with Chiba, although his longest run was with Suwon.

Byung had 404 saves and 428 shutdowns, a 2.52 ERA, 941 innings, 984 strikeouts, 148 ERA+, and 30.0 WAR. Every other voting-eligible reliever in all of the other pro leagues with 400+ saves earned induction. Usually that is a magic number and others had made it into EAB’s Hall with comparable resumes. Yet, Byung wasn’t viewed as dominant enough in his peak to make it across the line.



Jin-Uk Song – Left Field – Seongnam Spiders – 76.5% Sixth Ballot

Jin-Uk Song was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed left fielder from Suwon, South Korea. As a batter, Song was often viewed as firmly above average to solid across the board. He was a reliably respectable contact hitter with a nice walk rate, but below average strikeout rate. Song was notably stronger against right-handed arms (.883 OPS, 140 wRC+) compared to lefties (.765 OPS, 114 wRC+).

Song had good gap power, averaging 30 doubles and 12 triples per his 162 game average. He also had a respectable 22 homers per 162. Song’s biggest strength offensively was his baserunning. He was one of the craftiest base stealers of all-time, succeeding on 71% of his attempts. Song had great speed and was excellent at getting that extra bag at opportune times.

Defensively, Song played the vast majority of his time in left field, although he had brief appearances in center and right. He never won a Gold Glove, but Song was viewed as consistently good and sometimes great defensively. Song had some sporadic injuries, but he was typically reliably in the lineup over his 19 year career. His personality was once called “exceptionally unexceptional,” so he sometimes was overlooked despite an excellent career.

Song played college baseball at Dankook University in Yongin and emerged as a top prospect in the 1978 EAB Draft. He was picked fifth overall by Seongnam and spent his entire pro career with the Spiders. Song was a part-time starter in 1979, but earned the full-time gig from 1980 through 1997. He stayed the starter throughout, only missing time to the occasional injury.

Song’s first full season as a starter earned a Silver Slugger in 1980 in center field. He’d win the award in left in 1983, 1985, 1988, and 1990. Song wasn’t a league leader often, but posted six seasons worth 6+ WAR. He led in WAR in 1985 and 1990, posting 9.2 both years. Song also led the Korea League in 1983 with 135 runs scored, which was the seventh-most in a season at that point.

The 1985 season saw 9.2 WAR, a league-best 173 wRC+, plus career bests in triples (20), and home runs (32). That earned Song his lone MVP. When he led in WAR in 1990, he took second in MVP voting. Very quickly, Seongnam knew to lock Song up. He signed an eight-year, $4,382,000 extension after the 1982 season and a five-year, $6,540,000 addition in the spring of 1990.

Song helped Seongnam end a ten-year playoff drought in 1982, winning their Korea League title. The Spiders lost to Kawasaki in the EAB Championship. They were a wild card in 1983, but put together a surprise run to their first EAB title, beating Niigata in the final. Seongnam won division titles in 1984 and 1985, but lost in the first round both years.

The Spiders remained solid, but missed the playoffs from 1986-89. They got a wild card again in 1990 and went on another playoff run, again beating Niigata for the EAB title. Song was finals MVP that season, cementing his spot in Seongnam history. The Spiders made the 1991 KLCS, but lost to Goyang. In his playoff career, Song had 65 starts, 66 hits, 27 runs, 13 doubles, 8 home runs, 30 RBI, 24 stolen bases, a .264/.312/.444 slash, 114 wRC+, and 1.4 WAR.

The rest of his tenure saw Seongnam stuck in the middle tier outside of the playoffs. Song’s game had aged well into his early 30s, but a torn back muscle cost him half of the 1993 season. Song bounced back with a great 1994 at age 37, but saw his power and speed numbers decline after that. The Spiders let him become a free agent after the 1995 season, but ended up giving him a two-year deal.

Various injuries cost him a few weeks of his final seasons, but Song remained a steady part of the starting lineup. He finally opted to retire after the 1997 season at age 41. Seongnam immediately retired his #16 uniform for his role in their first championship seasons.

Song finished with 2789 hits, 1717 runs, 493 doubles, 197 triples, 364 home runs, 1258 RBI, 969 walks, 1281 stolen bases, a .292/.357/.500 slash, 134 wRC+, and 99.8 WAR. As of 2037, Song is fourth in stolen bases, 12^th in runs scored, 28^th in doubles, and 31^st in WAR by position players. That, plus helping Seongnam to its first two titles makes Song seem like a pretty obvious choice. Despite that resume, it took Song six tries to make it across the line. There were some voters who disliked his lack of home run power and undervalued his baserunning and defense.

Song debuted at 57.8% and stayed around there, getting to 63.4% in 2006. He had a surprising drop to 44.4% in 2007, making some wonder if he’d be demoted to the Hall of Pretty Good. The voters finally came to their senses and put him in at 76.5%. Song was aided by a quieter ballot as well, earning the lone induction for EAB in 2008.