Seung-hwan Oh

Seung-hwanOh(Hangul:;Korean:오승환;Hanja:Ngô thăng hoàn;Korean pronunciation:[o.sɯŋ.ɦwan];born July 15, 1982) is a South Korean professionalbaseballrelief pitcherfor theSamsung Lionsof theKBO League.He previously played for the Lions inSouth Korea,theHanshin TigersofNippon Professional Baseball(NPB) inJapan,and theSt. Louis Cardinals,Toronto Blue Jays,andColorado RockiesofMajor League Baseball(MLB). He is known as"Dol-bucheo"(Stone Buddha) for being unshaken and maintaining an emotionless face in every situation. His prowess as a relief pitcher also earned him the nickname"Kkeut-pan Wang"(Final Boss), in South Korea and among Cardinals fans.

Seung-hwan Oh
Oh with theColorado Rockiesin 2019
Samsung Lions – No. 21
Relief pitcher
Born:(1982-07-15)July 15, 1982 Jeongeup,South Korea
Bats:Right Throws:Right
Professional debut
KBO:April 3, 2005, for the Samsung Lions
NPB:March 29, 2014, for the Hanshin Tigers
MLB:April 3, 2016, for the St. Louis Cardinals
KBO statistics (through 2024 season)
Win–loss record	44-33
Earned run average	2.25
Strikeouts	858
Saves	427
NPB statistics
Win–loss record	4–7
Earned run average	2.25
Strikeouts	147
Saves	80
MLB statistics
Win–loss record	16–13
Earned run average	3.31
Strikeouts	252
Saves	42
StatsatBaseball Reference
Teams
Samsung Lions(2005–2013) Hanshin Tigers(2014–2015) St. Louis Cardinals(2016–2017) Toronto Blue Jays(2018) Colorado Rockies(2018–2019) Samsung Lions(2020–present)
Career highlights and awards
KBO KBO Rookie of the Year(2005) 8×KBOAll-Star (2005–2008, 2011–2013, 2022) 6× KBO saves leader (2006–2008, 2011–2012, 2021) KBO career saves leader 5×Korean Serieschampion (2005–2006, 2011–2013) 2× Korean Series MVP (2005, 2011) Asia Serieschampion (2011) NPB NPB All-Star(2015) 2×CLsaves leader (2014–2015) CLCSMVP (2014)
Medals Men'sbaseball RepresentingSouth Korea World Baseball Classic 2009 Los Angeles Team Summer Olympics 2008 Beijing Team Asian Games 2006 Doha Team World University Baseball Championship 2004 Tainan Team

Seung-hwan Oh
Hangul	오승환
Hanja	NgôThăngHoàn
Revised Romanization	O Seung-hwan
McCune–Reischauer	O Sŭng-hwan

The native form of thispersonal nameisOh Seung-hwan.This article usesWestern name orderwhen mentioning individuals.

In thisKorean name,the family name isOh.

Amateur career

Oh attendedKyunggi High SchoolinSeoul,South Korea.He had been a pitcher since he began baseball, then switched to the outfield after suffering serious arm injuries in 1999. He joined the 2001KBOdraft at the end of his last high school season, but, despite intriguing some MLB scouts, went undrafted, and Oh elected to attend college instead.

Upon graduation from high school, Oh started his collegiate career atDankook University,but missed the entire 2001 and 2002 seasons after undergoingTommy John surgeryin 2001.

In 2003, he came back to the mound, pitching limited innings as arelief pitcher.

In 2004, his senior year atDankook University,Oh won most of the Korean college pitching awards. In June, Oh made his first appearance for theSouth Korea national baseball teamat the2004 World University Baseball Championshipheld inTainan,Taiwan.He led his team to the bronze medal, playing most of the games incloserduty.

Professional career

Samsung Lions (2005–2013)

TheSamsung Lionsselected Oh in the second round (5th pick, 12th overall) of the 2005 KBO First Year Players draft. After signing with the club, he contributed a strong rookie season as asetup manandcloserin2005,going 10–1 with a 1.18 ERA, 16 saves (sixth in the league) and 115 strikeouts (fifth in the league) in 99 innings pitched over 61 games. In the2005 Korean Series,he pitched seven scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts, appearing in three games as a closer to lead his team to the championship. He won theKorean Series Most Valuable Player Award.After the season, Oh was named theKBO League Rookie of the Year.

Prior to his second season, Oh was selected to the roster of theSouth Korea national baseball teamfor theinaugural World Baseball Classic.That year, he achieved the first of two consecutive seasons with 40-plus saves,2006and2007.His 47 saves in 2006 set a KBO League record for one season, a total he repeated in 2011.

Recording his 100th save in fewer games than anyone in KBO League history, Oh became the KBO League's all-time saves leader with 277.He collected his 200th save in his 333rd career appearance, making him the fastest player in all of the world's top professional leagues to achieve that total, surpassing the mark of 359 forged byJonathan PapelbonofMajor League Baseball.

A shoulder injury began interfering with Oh's performance in 2009 and continued into 2010. He had his second elbow surgery to removebone spursin 2010 and returned to the playoffs in the same year.

While Oh was still playing for the Lions, they became KBO Leaguechampionsfour more times. The Lions defeated theFukuoka SoftBank Hawks,theNippon Professional Baseballchampions, to earn theAsia Serieschampionship in2011,and become the first non-Japanese team to win. Oh earned his second Korean Series MVP Award in2011.

He also posted a stellar 1.69 ERA in 444 games over the nine seasons that he played for Samsung Lions.Every season with the Lions, Oh turned in an ERA under 2.00, except 2009–10, which were shortened by injuries.

Hanshin Tigers (2014–2015)

Oh with the Hanshin Tigers in 2014

On November 22, 2013, Oh signed a two-year, 990 million yen contract with theHanshin Tigers,the biggest contract for a Korean baseball player in Japan.Tigers' managerWada Yutakasuggested offering some Korean-language classes for his players to better communicate with their new teammate, especially the catchers and pitching coaches.

All throughout the2014season, he played the role as the Tiger's top closer. He became the second Korean player to break the 300-save mark afterLim Chang-yongin a 3–0 defeat ofYomiuri Giantson July 22, 2014.On the September 24 match with theBayStars,he picked up his 36th save of the season and broke the NPB record for saves by a foreign pitcher in his first year in the NPB.Eddie Gaillard(2000) andDennis Sarfate(2011) each saved thirty-five games in a season.He also now holds the record for the most saves by a Korean pitcher in their first year in Japan, beating the previous record set by Lim, who had 33 saves in2008when he started playing for theSwallows.Oh notched a total of 39 saves for the season, breaking the NPB record for saves by a Korean pitcher in a single season set bySun Dong-yeol(38 saves) with Chunichi in 1997.

Oh played an instrumental role in Hanshin's advance to theJapan Seriesin October. After pitching four innings in two games against Hiroshima during theClimax Series(first stage), he took the mound in all four games against the Yomiuri Giants and successfully secured consecutive victories for his team. Including the last five regular-season games, he pitched in 11 consecutive games and recorded the save in all of them. When the Tigers finally won the series in October 18, Oh received the Climax Series MVP award, becoming the first Korean pitcher to do so in his first year in NPB. His fast and heavy balls, together with his calm and unwavering expression even in crisis situations, earned him a new nickname "Stone Guardian" from Japanese baseball fans.

With Hanshin in2015,Oh appeared in 54 games, logging69+1⁄3innings and striking out 66, walking 16 and allowing a 2.75 ERA.He saved another 41 games that year, breaking his own NPB single-season record for most saves by a Korean pitcher.In two seasons while playing in Japan, he had a 2.25 ERA with 80 saves. Through eleven total professional seasons in South Korea and Japan, he recorded 357 saves, a 1.81 ERA, and 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings in646+1⁄3IP.

St. Louis Cardinals (2016–2017)

On January 11, 2016, Oh signed a one-year contract with theSt. Louis CardinalsofMajor League Baseball(MLB),with a club option for a second season. The Cardinals had scouted him for seven years while he pitched in Asia. During contract negotiations with St. Louis, Oh indicated that his goal was to become the first player to appear in theKorean Series,theJapan Series,and theWorld Series.He was initially assigned to helpset upfor incumbent closerTrevor Rosenthal.Oh made his Major League debut onOpening Day2016 against thePittsburgh Pirates.He pitched one inning, walking two batters and striking out two batters, while throwing 27 pitches. He earned his first major league win against theAtlanta Braveson April 10, pitching a scoreless inning in a 12–6 outcome.

In May, Oh began to receive attention as a top candidate for theNational League(NL)Rookie of the Year Award.In his first 31 games and32+2⁄3innings, he had struck out 46 batters — tied for first among NL relievers — while walking eight batters and permitting an ERA of 1.65.On June 25, the Cardinals removed a struggling Rosenthal from the role as closer, and determined that Oh, leftyKevin Siegrist,and rightyJonathan Broxtonwould instead serve in the role by committee.Oh recorded his first MLB save on July 2 by pitching a perfect ninth with two strikeouts against theMilwaukee Brewers.By saving both games of adoubleheaderagainst theSan Diego Padreson July 20, Oh was the first Cardinals pitcher to do so sinceJason Isringhausenin 2004.When Oh finished his 30th game on September 9, he triggered the 2017 option, worth $2.75 million.

In 2017, he was 1–6 with a 4.10 ERA, and led the major leagues inintentional walks,with nine.

Toronto Blue Jays (2018)

On February 26, 2018, Oh signed a one-year, $2 million contract with theToronto Blue Jaysthat included a vesting option for the 2019 season.

Colorado Rockies (2018–2019)

On July 26, 2018, the Blue Jays traded Oh to theColorado RockiesforForrest Wall,Chad Spanberger, and aplayer to be named lateror cash considerations.On July 16, 2019, it was announced that Oh would undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the 2019 season, and he was subsequently designated for assignment on July 23. He was released on July 26, 2019. In 2019, his cutter was on average the slowest in major league baseball, at 82.2 mph.

Second stint with Samsung Lions (2019–present)

On August 5, 2019, Oh returned to Korea and signed with theSamsung Lionsof theKBO League,the team he began his professional career with.

In the 2020 season, Oh was scheduled to wrap up his remaining 30 games of disciplinary action and took the mound in mid-June. As scheduled, he returned to the game against Kiwoom on June 9.

Notable international results

Year	Venue	Competition	Team	Individual Note
2006	United States	World Baseball Classic		0–0, 1 SV, 0.00 ERA (4 G, 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 K)
2006	Qatar	Asian Games		0–1, 0 SV, 7.71 ERA (2 G, 2.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 K)
2007	Chinese Taipei	Asian Baseball Championship
2008	China	Olympic Games		0–0, 1 SV, 0.00 ERA (2 G, 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 K)
2009	United States	World Baseball Classic		0–1, 0 SV, 18.00 ERA (2 G, 1.0 IP, 2 ER, 1 K)

Playing style

A sample of Oh's pitching motion in 2016

A right-handed pitcher, Oh stands 5' 10 "(178 cm) and weighs 205 pounds (93 kg). His primary pitches include a four-seamfastball— averaging 92–93 miles per hour (148–150 km/h) and topping out at 96 miles per hour (154 km/h) — and a mid-80ssliderwith a darting motion resembling acutter.

Oh's signature pitch is the four-seam fastball, which, due to its hard rising movement, earned the nickname "Dol-jikgu" (stone fastball) in Korea. By varying the speeds of each pitch, he alters the movement. He also alters the delivery of his pitches, creating another factor to change the batter's concentration.

Personal life

It was announced in April 2015 that Oh was in a relationship withGirls' Generation'sYuri.The couple were confirmed to have broken up in October 2015 after six months of dating due to the long distance in their relationship.

The subject of a Korean investigation related togambling,authorities interrogated Oh about his activities inMacauin November 2014 with fellow Korean baseball playerLim Chang-yong.Korean law is unusually strict in that it does not ban gambling per se, although it does ban going to casinos based outside the country,even in places where gambling is legal.TheSeoulCentral District Prosecutors Office fined Oh and Lim in January 2016,and the KBO League suspended Oh for six months.With Japanese law toward gambling among athletes similarly restrictive, the Hanshin Tigers terminated his contract amid reports he was linked to a Korean crime organization.

Due to references from fans and media as "The Final Boss" and "Stone Buddha", Oh's nickname has frequently drawn comparisons to other notable nicknames of MLB players.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball players from South Korea

External links

• Career statistics fromMLB,orESPN,orBaseball Reference,orFangraphs,orBaseball Reference (Minors)
• Career statistics and player informationfrom theKBO League
• NPB stats
• O Seung-HwanatOlympics at Sports-Reference.com(archived)
• Seung-Hwan Ohat databaseOlympics.com (archived)
• 오승환onInstagram