Former professional baseball manager Baek In-cheon, immortalized as South Korea's only .400 hitter, passed away at 6:41 a.m. today (August 15) while receiving treatment for a cerebral hemorrhage at Dankook University Hospital in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province.

He was 83 years old.

Around 6:00 a.m. the previous day, Baek was rushed from his residence in Cheonan to a nearby hospital via ambulance in a state of cardiac arrest. After regaining his blood pressure and pulse following cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), he remained in critical condition and was transferred to Dankook University Hospital, where he regularly received medical treatment.

After struggling for a day in the intensive care unit, Baek ultimately passed away.

Having played for 23 years across South Korean and Japanese professional baseball, the late Baek remains the KBO's only .400 hitter, recording a batting average of 0.412 as a player-manager for the MBC Chungryong during the inaugural 1982 season.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) plans to hold an official league funeral, the second in its history, to honor his contributions and dedication to the development of South Korean baseball.

The KBO and the bereaved family have set up the mortuary at Dankook University Hospital in Cheonan, with the funeral procession scheduled for the morning of the day after tomorrow (August 17).

Born in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China, in 1942, Baek fled to South Korea during the Korean War and learned baseball at Kyungdong Middle School and Kyungdong High School.

He reportedly possessed a powerful lower body and exceptional batting skills, having also competed as a speed skater.

After joining the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation's industrial baseball team as a catcher in 1961, he moved to Japan in 1962 through a free agent agreement to join the Toei Flyers, the predecessor of the current Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japanese professional baseball.

He subsequently played in Japan until 1981, passing through the Taiheiyo Club Lions (now the Saitama Seibu Lions), Lotte Orions (now the Chiba Lotte Marines), and Kintetsu Buffaloes.

In 1975, while playing for the Taiheiyo Club Lions, he recorded a batting average of 0.319 to claim the Pacific League batting title.

Returning to his homeland with the launch of professional baseball, the late Baek played two more seasons for the Sammi Superstars from 1983 to 1984 before retiring, concluding a 23-year professional career in South Korea and Japan.

Beginning his coaching career as a batting instructor for the Cheongbo Pintos in 1985, he took the helm in 1990 as the inaugural manager of the LG Twins—which was founded after acquiring the MBC Chungryong. Advocating "spirit baseball," he won the Korean Series and enjoyed his finest years.

Baek managed three different teams including the LG Twins (1990–1991), Samsung Lions (1996–1997), and Lotte Giants (2002–2003), and also guided players as a batting instructor for the Samsung Lions, Hanwha Eagles, and SK Wyverns (now the SSG Landers).

In 1997, during his tenure as manager of the Samsung Lions, he engaged in a controversial dispute over compressed bats with then-LG manager Chun Bo-sung, who raised suspicions that Samsung hitters were using compressed bats.

After stepping down from coaching, he worked as a broadcast commentator in the early 2000s.

Although he was a courageous commander on the field who emphasized mental strength and fighting spirit, his later years were marked by severe economic hardship due to a troubled family life, cerebral infarction symptoms that first struck during his tenure as Samsung manager and recurred three more times, and fraud committed against him by an acquaintance.

Following Baek's passing, Park Young-gil, 85, former manager of the Lotte Giants, remains the only surviving inaugural manager among the six founding clubs of the league's opening season.

(Photo: Yonhap News)