You're 26 next year, but you're going to be an FA? He is the youngest to aim for 10 billion won as a resurrected genius hitter equipped with catcher items
Dec 24, 2024
|
|
|
A total of 11 players have recorded more than 10 billion won among all FA (including returning to overseas markets).
Starting with Choi Hyung-woo (10 billion won for four years) of the KIA Tigers in 2017, Lee Dae-ho, who returned from the Major League, hit 15 billion won for four years. Since then, Kim Hyun-soo (2018, four-year 11.5 billion won → 2022, four-year 11.5 billion won) Choi Jung (2019, six-year 10.6 billion won → 2025, four-year 11 billion won) Yang Eui-ji (2019, four-year 12.5 billion won → 2023, four-year 15.2 billion won) Kim Jae-hwan (2022, four-year 11.5 billion won) Park Gun-woo (2022, six-year 10 billion won), Yang Hyun.
Among the non-FA multi-year contracts, there was a jackpot of more than 10 billion won. In 2022, Koo Ja-wook signed a five-year, 12 billion won contract, and Kim Kwang-hyun, who returned from the Major League, signed a four-year, 15.1 billion won contract. In 2023, Koo Chang-mo received a seven-year, 13.2 billion won jackpot contract, and this year, Ko Young-pyo signed a five-year, 10.7 billion won contract, and Ryu Hyun-jin, who returned to Korea, signed a eight-year, 17 billion won contract. If these are added, the number of players who earned more than 10 billion won in a single contract in the KBO League will increase to 16.
And at the end of next season, we may also see 10 billion FA. It is Kang Baek-ho (25) who is KT Wiz's 'genius batter'.
Kang Baek-ho joined KT as the No. 1 player in the second round in 2018. At that time, both pitchers and batters were good, so it seemed possible to do it like Shohei Ohtani, but he chose a batter.
In his first year, he won the Rookie of the Year award with a batting average of 299, 153 hits, 29 home runs, and 84 RBIs. He was selected as a genius as a player who can compete with Lee Jung-hoo, who is a year older than him.
There was no jinx in the second year. In 2019, he had a batting average of 336, 147 hits, 13 home runs and 65 RBIs. Focusing on accuracy, not long balls, he greatly increased his batting average. In 2020, he hit .330, 165 hits, 23 home runs and 89 RBIs, and in 2021, he hit .347, 179 hits, 16 home runs and 102 RBIs, leading KT to its first championship.
Kang Baek-ho, who continued to show good batting, slowed down due to injuries in 2022 and 2023. In 2022, he played in only 62 games and had a batting average of 245, and in 2023, he only played in 71 games with a batting average of 265.
Kang Baek-ho's value fell as his batting performance fell while the outfielder and first baseman's defense was not so good.
However, Kang Baek-ho played in 144 games this season and revived with a batting average of 289, 159 hits, 26 home runs and 96 RBIs. The point of the revival was his return to catcher. Kang Baek-ho, a catcher in high school, turned into an outfielder and first baseman to concentrate on hitting as he came to the professional league, but the burden of defense pressured Kang Baek-ho. As ABS reduced the catcher's defensive burden, Kang Baek-ho relieved the defensive burden by using Kang Baek-ho as Jang Sung-woo's backup catcher, and Kang Baek-ho, who played as a catcher occasionally as a designated hitter, recorded a better hit.
And Kang Baek-ho, who spent seven years, will become an FA when he finishes next season. A batter with a career batting average of 370, 924 hits, 121 homers and 504 RBIs over seven years.
During this period, he ranked 5th in batting average, 9th in hits, 8th in homers, and 9th in RBIs. It may be said that the ranking is not very high, but all the players on Kang Baek-ho signed long-term contracts as FA. In fact, it means that Kang Baek-ho is the FA's biggest fish next season.
Kang Baek-ho was born in 1999 and is 25 years old this year. He will turn 27 in 2026, when he signs an FA contract after next season. If Kang Baek-ho signs a contract worth 10 billion won after next season, he will be the youngest ever to win the title of 10 billion won FA.
Among the players who signed contracts worth 10 billion won, only Koo Ja-wook (29 years old) and Koo Chang-mo (26 years old) were in their 20s. Koo Ja-wook signed a contract a year before the FA, so if he had signed as an FA, he would have been 30 years old. Koo Chang-mo surprised many by signing a multi-year contract with only five years of FA registration. It would have taken more time to become an FA.
The position of catcher can further increase Kang Baek-ho's ransom. Although he usually plays as a designated hitter, playing as a catcher can also help the team's defense. Kang Baek-ho, who was a catcher after the start of this year's season and failed to train properly, is expected to show better catcher defense if he trains the catcher in earnest from now on.
indyk@sportschosun.com
