Cards Invite their 1st Korean & European Players to Minor League Camp

[BleacherBum593]

I had an email exchange with John Vuch (Cards Director of Minor League Operations) this morning. He told me that the Cards have invited P Jai Chul Chung to a minor league camp.

The Cards are expending some personnel dollars in trying to establish a working relationship in the Far East. This is the first payoff.

I tried to google him, but had no success

Since my nephew is stationed over in S Korea with the Air Force, I asked him to see if he could find out some info on him thru some of his local sources over there.

Heard back from my nephew and he could not locate him.

[jrocke217]

i want to first thank you for this info & the various other info you post on this board. so i figured i throw this out here on your message board. maybe we can work together to find out more on this guy before camps or the season opens.

i have been trying my best to get ahold of some contacts on chung.

1 thing that i have been told is he is fresh out of high school. so no pro ball experience. cards have 1 scout, as far as i know, over in asia watching these guys.

that's all i have right now.

[BleacherBum593]

jrocke217 - Thanks. Send me a PM to discuss what you have in mind regarding the sharing of info.

BB593

[ArRedbird]

-- jrocke217

[BleacherBum593]

I received the following info from John Vuch this afternoon:

FYI we are inviting two international players as minor league non-roster players (i.e. not signed to an official minor league contact) to our minor league spring training camp, arriving on March 3. Obviously, since they are not under contract, no need to include them in media guide, but it is fine to informally let our media know they are coming.

The Korean pitcher is Jai Chul Chung. Here’s some info on him.

Name: Chung, Jai Chul
Date of Birth: March 13, 1982
Nationality: South Korean
Position: Pitcher
Height: 6' 0"
Weight: 180 lbs
Throw: Right
Bat: Left
High School: Chung Won High School, Seoul Korea
University: Sung Geun Kwan University

The Hungarian catcher is named Denes Simonyi. He is 21 years old
Here’s a link to his info…

Simonyi Link

[BleacherBum593]

I've revised the thread title and my first post based on the info just learned.

Good to finally see the Cards branching out into other parts of the world in search of talent.

[BleacherBum593]

Here's some more background information that John Vuch was kind enough to forward on to us:

Hi Mike…

Background on Jai Chul Chung

Received some more information on Jai Chul Chung from his agent, John Choi and from our scout who saw him, Chuck Fick.

Chung was among the top high school pitchers in South Korea, and was sought after by many of the Korean professional teams after graduating from high school. Rather than sign a professional contract, he opted to go to college. He played college ball at Sung Guen Kwan University, however he suffered an arm injury, which caused him to miss several years.

Due to the time missed due to injury, he proceeded as if he was finished with baseball and joined the South Korean military, where he spent several years. As his arm returned to health, he began to work out along with his uncle, a former Korean professional player, and current athletic director at Dong Kook University.

He finished him military service on December 9 and attended an open combine/tryout with roughly 300 players and numerous scouts in attendance. According to our scout, Chung was the one player that stood out, showing good athleticism, a solid fastball with a good curve and change. As a result, he was invited to our minor league spring training camp.

Thanks…
John