Baseball: Japan, S. Korea batting champion Baek In Chun dies

This file photo taken in 1971 shows Baek In Chun playing in a Japanese professional baseball game. (Kyodo)

SEOUL (Kyodo) — Baek In Chun, who won batting titles in both Japan and South Korea’s professional baseball leagues, died Saturday, local media reported. He was 82, according to data on the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization’s website.

Baek, the only player to hit .400 in a South Korean professional baseball season, had been receiving treatment for a brain hemorrhage after being found in cardiac arrest at his home Friday, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing the Korea Baseball Organization.

The South Korean player joined Japanese professional baseball in 1962 and won the Pacific League batting title in 1975 with a .319 average with the Taiheiyo Club Lions, now the Seibu Lions.

After playing in Japan through the 1981 season, Baek returned to South Korea with the launch of the country’s professional league the following year.

Baek served as the inaugural manager and player with the MBC Chungyong, now the LG Twins, batting .412, the only .400 season in South Korean professional baseball history.

He later managed several clubs and guided the LG Twins to a Korean Series title in 1990.