Jung-Ho Kang

Who is Jung-Ho Kang?

Jung-Ho Kang understands what it’s like to have everything at one moment and then lose most of it in the next.  Jung-Ho Kang deserved to be successful because he was talented in his field.

But he also deserved to lose all he had previously accomplished because it is not justifiable to continue to play in the dirt.

Jung Ho Kang was formerly regarded as the pride of South Koreans.

However, it would not be incorrect to see him as the dishonor of the nation for whatever he did.

Jung Ho Kang is a professional baseball player from South Korea.

He was a member of the Korean Baseball Organization’s Hyundai Unicorns and Nexen Heroes (KBO).

The KBO is South Korea’s premier baseball league.

Similarly, he has recently been affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB).

MLB is an American professional baseball organization that also happens to be one of the country’s oldest sports leagues.

Childhood and Amateur Baseball Career

Jung-Ho Kang graduated from Gwangju Jeil High School. In high school baseball, he was a catcher.

Gwangju High School is well-known for producing some of the best baseball players in the country.

MLB players Seo Jae-Jeong, Kim Byung-Hyun, and Choi Hee-Seop attended the same high school as Kang.

Kang was instrumental in Gwangju Jeil High School’s triumph at the Golden Lion Flag Championship in July 2005.

He struck out seven batters and allowed only two hits in eight scoreless innings of work.

He also received the Outstanding Pitcher Award and the RBI championship.

In contrast to Japan and the United States, South Korea takes high school baseball very seriously and has a limited number of high school teams.

Kang was a well-known figure in South Korean high school baseball.

National Baseball Team Member

In 2004, he played for the South Korean national under-18 squad at the World Junior Baseball Championship.

Kang was a third baseman. In actuality, his team took third place.

Professional Baseball Career

Unicorns from Hyundai

Jung-Ho Kang was selected by the Hyundai Unicorns in the second round of the 2006 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) First-Year Player Draft.

He worked extremely hard in his first two seasons to create an impression.

As a rookie with the Hyundai Unicorns, he batted.150 in 10 games.

Kang also struck out eight times in 21 plate appearances.

In addition, he appeared in 20 games and batted.133 in 2007.

2007-2011 Nexen Heroes

The unicorns had to be sold by Hyundai.

As a result, they stopped working.

Woori Heroes, a new team, was presented as a replacement.

In 2009, it was dubbed the Nexen Heroes.

Kang was the Woori Heroes’ starting shortstop in 2008.

He appeared in 116 games and batted.271, with eight home runs and 47 RBI.

Kang was an offensive player in 2009.

During the season, he had a.286 batting average, 23 home runs, 81 RBI, a.508 slugging percentage, 136 hits, and 71 runs scored.

Furthermore, he shared the league lead in doubles with Hong of the Lotte Giants.

Kang hit.300 for the first time in his career in 2010.

In addition, he had a season average of.301, 12 home runs, and 58 RBI. He was on the defensive side.

Kang also received his first KBO Gold Glove Award for his defensive play.

He then hit three home runs in 13 at-bats.

As a result, he won a gold medal with the South Korean baseball team at the 2010 Asian Games.

Kang, on the other hand, was not as good as in his previous two seasons in 2011.

He batted.282 with nine home runs and 63 RBI.

2012-2014

Kang resumed his previous speed in 2012.

He batted.314 with 25 home runs, 82 RBI, 77 runs scored, and a career-high 21 stolen bases.

He even got his second Gold Glove Award.

Kang also took part in the 2013 World Baseball Classic in March 2013.

In the 2013 KBO season, he hit 22 home runs and had an OPS of.876.

He was able to win his third Gold Glove Award. Furthermore, it was a win after 2012.

Kang had the best year of his career in 2014.

He batted.356, had 40 home runs and had 117 RBI.

He also had the highest slugging percentage (.739) and OPS in the league (1.198).

He finished the second with 40 home runs and a.459 OBP.

He then finished third in the league with 117 RBI and 36 doubles.

Similarly, he scored 103 runs in the fifth inning.

He also received his fourth Gold Glove Award. It was the third consecutive victory.

Kang’s KBO career statistics are available on the Korean Baseball Organization’s website.

Major League Baseball Career

Pittsburg On December 2, 2014, the Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) won the auction for Jung-Ho Kang.

Kang went on to play in Major League Baseball.

Pirates of Pittsburgh

By winning the offer, the Pittsburgh Pirates gained the ability to negotiate a deal for Kang to transfer to MLB.

Kang’s winning bid was reported to be $5,002,015 (5,457,150,000).

This sum was given to Kang’s former team, the Nexen heroes.

It was to be paid since they had the only right to negotiate Kang’s contract and also because they had lost Kang.

On January 16, 2015, Jung-Ho Kang agreed to terms with the Pittsburgh Pirates on a four-year, $11 million contract.

The contract also included a fifth-year option.

Kang then traveled from South Korea to Pittsburgh to validate the contract.

They also went through a physical examination, which is required for athletes.

However, there was no press conference or other announcement program.

Season 2015

Kang decided to practice with his former team, Nexen Heroes, in early 2015 in preparation for his MLB debut.

Nexen heroes had actually arrived in Arizona for their Spring Training, which was hosted by the Texas Rangers spring training complex.

They worked out together from January 25 until February 7, 2015.

Kang worked hard while training to improve his strength.

Kang’s transfer from the KBO to the MLB was covered by Korean-language media outlets in both Korea and the United States.

There was, however, little domestic coverage.

Kang then went to a spring training game in Bradenton, Florida.

During spring training, he competed with Jordy Mercer for the starting shortstop position.

Furthermore, Kang connected on a 0-1 fastball (middle-in) in the second at-bat of his first spring training game in 2015, capitalizing on a miscue by Toronto’s right-handed starting pitcher, Marco Estrada.

In the third inning, he hit an opposite-field solo home run.

As a result, he helped the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 5-0 lead and an eventual 8-7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Mid 2015

On April 5, 2015, Kang recorded his first Major League hit against Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Kyle Lohse.

On April 21, Kang recorded his first RBI against the Chicago Cubs.

The Pittsburgh Pirates took an 8-5 lead thanks to a bases-clearing RBI double.

On May 3, 2015, Kang batted to give his team a 1-0 lead in the ninth inning of a 0-1 loss in St. Louis.

Kang subsequently hit on the first pitch of the inning, tying the game 1-1 against Trevor Rosenthal of the St. Louis Cardinals.

As a result, on May 9, 2015, the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 7-5.

They also became the first MLB team to complete a 4-5-4 triple play.

On September 8, 2015, Kang made a stunning 472-foot solo shot.

It was his 14th shot of the season, and it came against the Cincinnati Reds on the road.

Kang also suffered a significant left-leg fracture when Chicago Clubs baserunner Chris Coghlan attempted to break the double play by sliding into him.

It was a daring move.

Kang was consequently placed on the 60-day disabled list. He was even forced to miss the rest of the season’s games.

In fact, he was unable to play in the postseason NL wild-card game.

Nonetheless, the Pittsburgh Pirates hosted the Chicago Cubs in the National League wild-card game.

Kang appeared on the field in a wheelchair during the NL Wild Card game’s pre-game introductions on October 7.

He got a standing ovation.

In brief, Jung-Ho Kang appeared in 126 games in 2015, hitting 15 home runs and driving in 58 runs.

He also finished third in the National League’s Rookie of the Year vote.

Season 2016

Kang returned to the field for the first time since his injury on May 6, 2016.

In the game, he hit two solo home runs.

His RBI helped the Pirates beat their NL Central division opponent St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 on the road.

Kang appeared in 103 games in 2016, batting.255 with a career-high 21 home runs and 62 RBIs.

Kang had numerous major legal issues during the 2017 season.

As a result, on March 11, the Pittsburgh Pirates placed Kang on the Restricted List.

When this decision was taken, he was still in South Korea.

Furthermore, he was not on the Pirates’ active or 40-man rosters on April 3, 2017, opening day.

His work visa to travel to the United States was also revoked.

On May 18, a Korean court upheld Kang’s suspended sentence verdict.

His games in the United States were greatly disrupted from then on.

Baseball-reference.com has Jung-Ho Kang’s career statistics available.

Controversies surrounding

Kang has been involved in legal issues multiple times.

On Bumble, he matched with a 23-year-old woman from Chicago.

He extended an invitation to her to his hotel room.

On June 17, 2016, at about 10 p.m., she went to his hotel room.

She stated she was offered an alcoholic drink, which caused her to black out 15 to 20 minutes later.

The woman also claimed to have been sexually abused.

She said that the wine caused her to drift in and out of consciousness while he sexually abused her.

However, Kang was not charged because he refused to participate in the police inquiry.

Similarly, at the end of the 2016 season, he was arrested in South Korea for driving under the influence.

It was his third Driving While Intoxicated (DUI) offense.

Kang received an eight-month suspended prison sentence in March 2017 after fleeing the scene of an accident on December 2, 2016, in Seoul.

In 2009 and 2011, he was charged with the same offense.

While recruiting Kang, the Pittsburgh Pirates had no idea of these allegations.

Kang was denied a work permit to enter the United States by Korean officials.

This incident effectively ended his 2017 season.

The Second Chance of Jung-Ho Kang

The Pittsburgh Pirates arranged for Kang to enter a treatment program.

Kang worked tirelessly on it.

He stated that he is attempting to be as cautious as possible in whatever he does in order to avoid any obstacles.

Kang also claimed not to have touched a drop of alcohol.

He returned to the Pittsburgh Pirates but was unable to replicate his previous success.

He was designated for assignment by the Pirates in August 2019 after hitting.169 with 10 home runs in 185 plate appearances.

On August 4, 2019, Jung-Ho Kang was released by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

On the MLB website, you can view an overview of Jung-Ho Kang’s MLB career.

Life of Jung-Ho Kang Following MLB

Kang asked to be allowed to return to KBO.

He adored baseball and was determined to have one more chance to play it.

According to KBO rules, a player who drives under the influence three times is subject to a three-year suspension.

However, in May 2020, his term was lowered to a one-year suspension and 300 hours of community service.

Before making a judgment, the authorities held several rounds of deliberations.

Salary and Net Worth

In 2016, the South Korean baseball player was paid $2.5 million by MLB.

He also had a four-year, $11 million contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Keep up to speed with Kang’s life by visiting Jung-Ho Kang – Wikipedia.

Also, read  Bismack Biyombo,  Top 10 Players With the Most T20 Runs,  Ben Simmons

Online Presence

Kang is less active on his social media accounts.