1953 EAB Hall of Fame
One player made it into the 1953 East Asia Baseball Hall of Fame as SS Jun-Yeong Dang made it at 73.9% on his third ballot. Three others had 60% plus, but were just short of the 66% threshold. Closer Osamu Kurokawa barely missed it at 65.7% on his second try. 2B Sang-U Yoon was at 62.9% on his second try and SP Toshihiro Tsukahara was 62.5% on his third try. SP Kazuo Udagawa at 55.1% on his fourth try was the only other player above 50%. No one was dropped after their 10th ballot.
Jun-Yeong “Juggernaut” Dang – Shortstop – Gwangju Grays – 73.9% Third Ballot
Jun-Yeong Dang was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed shortstop from Nampo, a city in North Korea about 50 kilometers southwest of Pyongyang. Dang was a terrific contact hitter with remarkable speed and baserunning ability. He didn’t have much home run power, but his speed allowed him to pick up a lot of triples. He was great at avoid strikeouts, but poor at drawing walks; his at bats typically ended with the ball in play somewhere. Dang was a career shortstop and was generally an average defender.
Dang was signed as an amateur as a teenager by Gwangju in 1931, where he’d spend his entire East Asia Baseball career. He spent a few years in training, making his debut at age 19 in 1934 as a bench player. He became the starting shortstop in 1936 and would hold that role for a decade. The Grays were a dynasty in the 1920s, but fell off in the 1930s and 1940s with Dang never getting a chance to play in the postseason.
While they struggled, Dang was a bright spot with his #36 uniform getting retired ultimately. He was a team leader and important captain for the franchise. He led Korea in hits thrice, triples four times, stolen bases five times, and batting average twice. He won Silver Sluggers In 1944 and 1945 and was second in MVP voting in 1944. That season, he had a .343 average, 205 hits, 27 triples, and 8.2 WAR.
With World War II over, Dang left for the United States and Major League Baseball, signing at age 31 with Cincinnati for the 1946 season. The big money deal would quadruple his yearly earnings from his time in Gwangju. He wasn’t elite with the Reds, but was a solid starter in the first two years. A ruptured disc in his back took him out for most of the 1948 season. He returned in 1949 but struggled and after a bench role in 1950, Dang retired at age 35.
For his entire pro career, Dang has 2544 hits, 1101 runs, 319 doubles, 238 triples, 126 home runs, 905 RBI, a .310 average, and 59.2 WAR. With Gwangju, had had 2016 hits, 869 runs, 251 doubles, 213 triples, 100 home runs, 712 RBI, a .321/.344/.476 slash and 53.6 WAR. An excellent decade of production, but leaving for Cincinnati lowered his overall totals and led some voters to disfavor him. Being on a struggling Gwangju squad hurt him as well. He came close on his first ballot at 65.1%, but dropped to 52.9% on his second try, making it unclear that he’d ever get another solid look. However, year three got Dang above the threshold at 73.9%, placing him into the EAB Hall of Fame.
One player made it into the 1953 East Asia Baseball Hall of Fame as SS Jun-Yeong Dang made it at 73.9% on his third ballot. Three others had 60% plus, but were just short of the 66% threshold. Closer Osamu Kurokawa barely missed it at 65.7% on his second try. 2B Sang-U Yoon was at 62.9% on his second try and SP Toshihiro Tsukahara was 62.5% on his third try. SP Kazuo Udagawa at 55.1% on his fourth try was the only other player above 50%. No one was dropped after their 10th ballot.
Jun-Yeong “Juggernaut” Dang – Shortstop – Gwangju Grays – 73.9% Third Ballot
Jun-Yeong Dang was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed shortstop from Nampo, a city in North Korea about 50 kilometers southwest of Pyongyang. Dang was a terrific contact hitter with remarkable speed and baserunning ability. He didn’t have much home run power, but his speed allowed him to pick up a lot of triples. He was great at avoid strikeouts, but poor at drawing walks; his at bats typically ended with the ball in play somewhere. Dang was a career shortstop and was generally an average defender.
Dang was signed as an amateur as a teenager by Gwangju in 1931, where he’d spend his entire East Asia Baseball career. He spent a few years in training, making his debut at age 19 in 1934 as a bench player. He became the starting shortstop in 1936 and would hold that role for a decade. The Grays were a dynasty in the 1920s, but fell off in the 1930s and 1940s with Dang never getting a chance to play in the postseason.
While they struggled, Dang was a bright spot with his #36 uniform getting retired ultimately. He was a team leader and important captain for the franchise. He led Korea in hits thrice, triples four times, stolen bases five times, and batting average twice. He won Silver Sluggers In 1944 and 1945 and was second in MVP voting in 1944. That season, he had a .343 average, 205 hits, 27 triples, and 8.2 WAR.
With World War II over, Dang left for the United States and Major League Baseball, signing at age 31 with Cincinnati for the 1946 season. The big money deal would quadruple his yearly earnings from his time in Gwangju. He wasn’t elite with the Reds, but was a solid starter in the first two years. A ruptured disc in his back took him out for most of the 1948 season. He returned in 1949 but struggled and after a bench role in 1950, Dang retired at age 35.
For his entire pro career, Dang has 2544 hits, 1101 runs, 319 doubles, 238 triples, 126 home runs, 905 RBI, a .310 average, and 59.2 WAR. With Gwangju, had had 2016 hits, 869 runs, 251 doubles, 213 triples, 100 home runs, 712 RBI, a .321/.344/.476 slash and 53.6 WAR. An excellent decade of production, but leaving for Cincinnati lowered his overall totals and led some voters to disfavor him. Being on a struggling Gwangju squad hurt him as well. He came close on his first ballot at 65.1%, but dropped to 52.9% on his second try, making it unclear that he’d ever get another solid look. However, year three got Dang above the threshold at 73.9%, placing him into the EAB Hall of Fame.
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