- Jae Weong Seo
Infobox MLB player
width = 150
name=Jae Weong Seo
position=Starting pitcher
team=Kia Tigers
number=40
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1977|5|24
birthplace=Gwangju ,South Korea
debutdate=July 21
debutyear=2002
debutteam=New York Mets
statyear=2007
stat1label=Win-Loss
stat1value=28-40
stat2label=Earned run average | stat2value=4.60
stat3label=Strikeout s
stat3value=340
teams=
*New York Mets (by|2002–by|2005)
*Los Angeles Dodgers (by|2006)
*Tampa Bay Devil Rays (by|2006–by|2007)
*Kia Tigers (by|2008–present) (KBO)Infobox Korean name
title=Korean name
hangul=서재응
rr=Seo Jae-eung
mr=Sŏ Chae-ŭng
hanja=徐在應
tablewidth=303Jae Weong Seo (born
May 24 ,1977 inGwangju ,South Korea ), usually referred to as simply Jae Seo and pronounced "Jay So", is aMajor League Baseball starting pitcher in theKorean Baseball League for theKia Tigers .Career
Seo attended
Inha University inIncheon, South Korea where he led his team to the Korean collegiate championship in 1997.In by|1998, Seo was signed as a
free agent by theNew York Mets . After an excellent first year of professional play, Seo underwentreconstructive surgery on his elbow in by|1999. He did not pitch again until by|2001. OnJuly 21 , mlby|2002, Seo made his major league debut with a scoreless inning of relief against theCincinnati Reds . In mlby|2003, Seo spent the entire season with the Mets as a starting pitcher. He logged 188innings pitched and 31games started , both tops amongrookie pitchers in theNational League that year. In mlby|2004, Seo struggled, splitting his time between the Mets and the Triple-ANorfolk Tides .When he first pitched in the major leagues, he had two pitches - a
fastball which topped out at 91-92miles per hour (he threw in the mid-90s beforeTommy John surgery ), and a deceptivechangeup in the mid 80s. Not being able to throw as hard as earlier in his career meant it was important for Seo to maintain a high degree of control over his pitches which, on occasion he was unable to do. This, along with Seo's reluctance to change his pitching mechanics, led to confrontations with Mets' pitching coachRick Peterson .However, in mlby|2005, Seo finally seemed to have taken heed of this advice, developing a
slider ,splitter , andcurveball . The Mets' surplus ofpitcher s resulted in his spending much of the year at Norfolk. However, he was called up to the majors in early August 2005, and pitched extremely well.On
January 4 , mlby|2006, Seo was dealt to theLos Angeles Dodgers along withTim Hamulack in exchange for relieversDuaner Sanchez andSteve Schmoll . OnJune 26 , he was traded by the Dodgers, along withcatcher Dioner Navarro andoutfielder Justin Ruggiano to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in exchange for pitcherMark Hendrickson and catcherToby Hall . Seo made his debut with the Rays onJune 28 , 2006, against theFlorida Marlins , pitching two scorelessinnings .In mlby|2007, despite his strong performance during
spring training , he recorded a 3-4 record with a 8.13 ERA. He was then sent to the Triple-ADurham Bulls and had a solid season of 9-4 with 3.69 ERA.On
December 11 , by|2007, Seo signed with the Kia Tigers of the Korean Baseball League.International play
Seo was selected and played for the Korean national team in the by|2006
World Baseball Classic . He pitched extremely well, having tied with the second lowest ERA in the tournament with theDominican Republic 'sBartolo Colón , with a 0.64 ERA. In the semi final game againstJapan , in 6 innings Seo did not allow a single run, though Japan would eventually win the game after a miserable 7th inning, allowing 5 runs, Seo is still recognized for having one of the best pitching performances in the WBC.Personal life
Seo is married and resides in
La Cañada Flintridge, California . His daughter Ellen was born in July2005 .ee also
*
List of Korean Americans External links
*baseballstats |mlb=150242 |espn=6824 |br=s/seoja01 |fangraphs=895 |cube=S/Jae-Wong-Seo
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