Reporter Lee Dae-ho = Lee Jung-hoo (25, Kiwoom Heroes) said in a New Year’s interview with Yonhap News in 2023, “I hope this year will be the last in the KBO league.”
After the end of this season, he declared a challenge to the American Major League (MLB) through the posting system (private competitive bidding), so he expressed his determination to challenge the dream stage after spending the best season.
Kiwoom, who stepped on the stage of the Korean Series last year with an outstanding star player named Lee Jeong-hu, spared no support for him who announced his farewell.
On the 20th, Kiwoom announced that it had completed negotiations with Lee Jung-hoo for the 2023 season salary at 1.1 billion won.
He, who received an annual salary of 750 million won last year, signed an increase of 350 million won to exceed the annual contract salary of 1 billion won.
Excluding special cases such as multi-year contracts with free agents (FA) and returning to overseas players, Lee Jung-hoo is the first to exceed 1 billion won in annual annual salary negotiations in professional baseball.
In 2022, Lee Jung-hoo, who became the main character of the first regular league MVP in his debut by winning 5 batting crowns, including batting average (0.349), on-base percentage (0.421), slugging percentage (0.575), hits (193), and RBIs (113 points) Breaking the 1 billion won mark was an expected result.
After entering the KBO League in 2017, Lee Jung-hoo, who drew a graph of’upward’ on his report card without a break for a year, opened a new era of salary in his 7th year.
The Kiwoom club gave Lee Jung-hoo, who was about to go abroad, a generous salary based on his performance, and at the same time gave him responsibility.
The 25-year-old Lee Jung-hoo was even given the captain’s armband.
On the 9th, Kiwoom coach Hong Won-ki (50) set up a separate meeting with Lee Jung-hoo before leaving for the United States for personal training and asked him to “take the captaincy.”
After Lee Jeong-hoo’s motive and same-age Kim Hye-seong performed the captain’s duties on behalf of Park Byeong-ho (37, kt wiz) in the second half of 2021, Kiwoom was born again as a ’20s captain’.
Last year, veteran outfielder Lee Yong-gyu (38) served as captain.
There is a jinx in the KBO league that if you take on the captaincy, your personal performance will drop.
It is not easy to focus on the game when taking care of big and small tasks within the team.
Some players who are sensitive often take the captaincy and then return the armband after their performance plummets. 카지노
Lee Jung-hoo’s success in advancing to the US depends on his performance this year.
There is no place to go higher in the KBO league, but even the batting form is modified in preparation for the MLB stage.
Lee Jung-hoo was willing to shoulder the heavy responsibility.
Kiwoom has high hopes for the leadership of Lee Jung-hoo, who has been encouraging the players with a smile even after last year’s runner-up in the Korean Series was confirmed.
The only thing Lee Jung-hoo, captain with an annual salary of 1.1 billion won, did not win in the KBO league was the championship trophy.
Many people talk about Lee Jung-hoo’s MLB destination for next season and the amount of the contract, but in his head, there are only four letters in his head: ‘Kiwoom wins’.
“I came this far thanks to the club that recognized my potential as a player who only hit the ball with a bat. I want to repay the club with a championship and finish it,” Lee Jung-hoo’s resolution this year, it is not difficult to read his mind.
Lee Jung-hoo, who is currently training in the United States, joins the team’s spring training camp in Scottsdale, Arizona on the 29th of this month and transforms into a ‘captain hero’.