On the day he made baseball free agency history, Choi Jung-jeong (37-SSG Landers) started by apologizing to his fans. “I apologize for the delay in signing the contract,” he said, despite signing on the first day of free agency. Choi is the first player in KBO history to surpass the 30 billion won ($30.2 million) mark in cumulative free agency.
Choi signed a four-year, 11 billion won ($11 million) free agent contract with SSG on June 6 to stay. He signed a contract with a signing bonus of 3 billion won and a total annual salary of 8 billion won, with 11 billion won fully guaranteed and no options. At 37 years old and entering the twilight of his career, it was a great deal.
Choi re-signed with SK in his first free agency in November 2014 for a then-record amount of 4.6 billion won ($8.6 million), and in December 2018, he stayed for 6.6 billion won ($10.6 million) in his second free agency, joining the “10 billion free agent” club. He then received the highest amount of 11 billion won for his third free agency, bringing his cumulative FA contract total to 30.2 billion won. He surpassed Doosan’s Yang Yang-ji (27.7 billion won) to take the top spot.
The signing process has been nothing short of spectacular.
This season, Choi was outstanding, batting .291 (136-for-468) with 37 home runs, 107 RBIs, a .384 on-base percentage, .594 slugging percentage, and a .978 OPS in 129 games, ranking third in home runs, fourth in slugging percentage, and fifth in OPS. Choi, who has a KBO career-high 495 home runs, hasn’t seen his production slow down as he enters his mid-30s.
Rumors of teams targeting Choi began to surface late in the season. While the authenticity of the rumors is unclear, Choi is a C-grade free agent, so it’s not something SSG would have taken lightly. A team that signs a C-grade free agent only has to compensate the original team 150% of the previous year’s salary. This year, Choi Jung’s salary was 1 billion won, so the team that wanted to take him only had to pay SSG 1.5 billion won to sign him without bleeding compensation.
Although there is a risk at 37 years old, Choi’s consistency was so great, and he was a free agent who could bring a definite power increase, so there was enough market demand. 카지노사이트 SSG fans were also uneasy. SSG fans were heartbroken last winter when outfielder Kim Kang-min, the ’23 One Club Man,’ left for the second round of the draft, and they couldn’t help but worry about what might happen. The team’s symbolism and potential to shake up the entire league made them even more worried.
SSG was no stranger to this kind of fan sentiment.
They went all out to retain the best players, preferably locking them into multi-year contracts before the free agency market opened. Early on, the two sides agreed on a contract worth more than 10 billion won, but Choi wanted it to be a free agent contract that would allow him to receive a signing bonus, which required him to go through the free agent application and disclosure process.
SSG then made an unusual ‘contract announcement’ on the deadline for free agency on the 4th. ‘We met with Choi Jung’s side and talked positively, and we will make a final announcement after signing on the 6th, when the free agency market opens,’ it said. If the news of Choi’s free agency application had been announced without such a notice, SSG fans might have become agitated. Considering this, SSG calmed the fans’ anxiety with the first-ever contract announcement.
After Choi Jung signed, SSG apologized to the fans first. “We would like to apologize to the fans who must have waited for a long time due to the long negotiation period,” the team said. It’s been a long time for fans who have been waiting for the latest news since before free agency opened. Choi, who checked the reactions of SSG fans through various channels during the negotiation period, expressed his gratitude and apologies for not finalizing the contract sooner.
With this contract,
Choi will spend his entire career with the Incheon team, which includes SK and SSG, until 2028, when he will be 41 years old. It is unknown if his career will continue beyond 2028, but Choi, who has booked a minimum of 24 years as a one-club man, said, “It’s the team I’ve been growing up with since I was a rookie, and it’s the team I’m most attached to. I’m glad the contract went well. I feel good. I will play hard for the team for the rest of my contract,” he said.
Choi concluded his message to the fans, saying, “I think the headaches in the off-season are over. Once again, I would like to apologize to the fans who must have waited a lot during the long negotiation period. I will work hard for the team and repay them with better results. We will do our best to win one more title in Munhwa before we go to Cheongna Dome,” he promised the Incheon fans. SSG will call Munhwa home for three more years before moving to Cheongna Dome, which is scheduled to open in 2028.