The Immortal .400 Hitter Who Led a Lineup Full of Opportunities and Exciting Baseball [Lee Jong-seong's Sports Culture & Industry]

*This content was translated by AI.

Baek Incheon (aged 83), who passed away on the 15th, Liberation Day, was a baseball figure who left significant marks in both Korea and Japan. This is why obituary articles about him poured out not only in Korea but also in Japan.

When he became the batting champion in 1982, the inaugural year of Korean professional baseball, his batting average was .412. To this day, his .400 batting average is regarded as an unbreakable record among all records produced in Korean professional baseball.

As a manager, Baek Incheon took charge of LG Twins as their first-ever head coach in 1990 and led the team to a championship. LG Twins, the first Seoul-based team to win a title, sparked a new wave in professional baseball with its fiery offensive style at the time.

Although LG Twins were in last place until early June that year, they successfully staged a dramatic comeback in the second half to claim the championship. Baek Incheon played a major role in this turnaround legend of LG Twins. His baseball philosophy — "Always remember you are professional players and never give up until the final moment" — united the LG players, who were once as scattered as grains of sand. With their well-structured lineup and agile play, it is no exaggeration to say that LG opened the curtain on "exciting baseball" in 1990.

He later managed Samsung (1996–1997) and Lotte (2002–2003), but failed to achieve notable results, gradually fading from the memories of baseball fans.

Baek Incheon's baseball career took a downward turn after he was dismissed in 2003 during his tenure as Lotte manager due to poor performance and conflicts with the club front office. Although he later worked as a commentator for Japanese professional baseball after Korean slugger Lee Seung-yeop moved to Japan, his health deteriorated due to three strokes. On top of that, he fell victim to fraud and had to endure financial hardship.

His prime years as a baseball figure were during his active days in Japanese professional baseball. He was a large-scale hitter who drew significant attention from the Japanese baseball world even while attending Kyungdong High School.

In 1960, Kyungdong High became the first Korean high school team to play an away game in Japan. In a match against Nihon Daini High School held at Meiji Jingu Stadium, Baek Incheon, batting fourth, hit a three-run home run. After the second game of the Daejeon series, he was only the second high school student to hit a home run at Meiji Jingu Stadium, drawing major attention from Japanese media to Baek Incheon.

Two years later, Baek Incheon joined the Toei Flyers (the predecessor of Nippon-Ham Fighters) in Japanese professional baseball and shared meals with Korean-Japanese player Jang Hoon. Starting as a catcher for Toei in 1963, he switched to outfielder in 1966 and was selected as an All-Star the following year, showing rapid growth in his skills.

Even within Toei, known as the "Fierce Gang" due to its wild play and stubbornness, Baek Incheon was recognized as a powerful and strong man. He stood up directly against fan jeers and unfair umpire calls in Japan, where discrimination against Koreans was severe.

In 1970, during a controversial call, he jumped over the home plate umpire and even assaulted him. The umpire he attacked was a former professional boxer, making the incident a major topic in Japan. Japanese media reported that "a Korean assaulted a Japanese umpire," and eventually, the umpire filed a lawsuit against Baek Incheon. However, the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) commissioner summoned both Baek Incheon and the umpire to the office to mediate a reconciliation. At that meeting, Baek Incheon expressed his apology to the umpire. As a result of this incident, Baek Incheon was fined 300,000 yen and suspended from playing for five games.

In 1972, Baek Incheon reached the milestone of a .300 batting average (.315) for the first time. Three years later, he moved to Taiheiyo Lions (the predecessor of Seibu Lions) and became the Pacific League batting champion.

At that time, Taiheiyo was a team with such powerful offense that it led the Pacific League in team batting average. Taiheiyo aimed for fiery offensive baseball, moving away from the "small ball" style typical of Japanese professional baseball. The enthusiastic swings of strong-willed players who joined from other teams satisfied fans who were tired of strategic baseball.

Hence, the nickname given to Taiheiyo was the "Bandit Lineup." Because home runs and extra-base hits could erupt anywhere regardless of batting order, Taiheiyo relentlessly scored large numbers of runs against opposing pitchers. Primarily used as the fifth batter, Baek Incheon was a central hitter of the Bandit lineup alongside fourth batter Doi Masahiro.

In a 1990 interview, Manager Baek Incheon stated, "Professional baseball players must endure hardship during winter to grow," and added, "I issue warnings to players who fail to slide when necessary or make lethargic pitches."

This aligns with his motto "Noryeokjagae" (), meaning "Success comes from loving the effort you put in yourself." The success of Taiheiyo's Bandit lineup under his leadership and LG Twins' exciting baseball also stemmed from a strong sense of professionalism as professional baseball players and thorough self-discipline.

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*This content was translated by AI.