It’s a far cry from four years ago. One player has earned the title of “one-club man” while remaining relatively undervalued. On the other hand, a player who suffered from even lower evaluations during the same period has become a player who has touched bigger money in four years.

On April 4, KIA announced that it had signed franchise star Kim Sun-bin to a three-year contract totaling 3 billion won. The contract includes a down payment of 600 million won, a salary of 1.8 billion won, and an incentive of 600 million won.

Kim joined KIA in 2008 and has played in 1509 games over 15 seasons in the KBO

Batting .333 with 1506 hits, 564 RBIs, 691 runs scored, and 149 stolen bases. Last season, he hit .320 with 134 hits, 48 RBIs, and 41 runs scored, and he also provided outstanding leadership as the team’s captain for the past two years.

Kim said, “Above all, I wanted to stay with KIA. I’m grateful to the organization for offering me such a good deal, and I’m happy to continue to hear the cheers of the Tigers fans,” said Kim.

“I will dedicate myself to training before the season and help the team become a consistent powerhouse. Although I stepped down as captain, I will take responsibility as a senior player and do my best to help the team stand at the top of fall baseball.”

KIA President Shim Jae-hak said, “Kim Sun-bin is an essential player for the team. He is a franchise player who has played consistently for the Tigers as a one-club man, so we approached the negotiation with the idea that we should grab him unconditionally. 카지노사이트 He has already proven his skills, so we expect him to be a great addition to the team if he continues to play as he is now.”

With this, Kim has now signed two 7 billion won contracts as a free agent.

He first became a free agent at the end of the 2019 season and stayed with KIA for four years and 4 billion won. In his second free agency, he signed a 3 billion won contract. At the age of 37, he became a “lifetime KIA” player with a guarantee through his 19th season.

When Kim signed his first free agent contract, the market had cooled down. Other clubs had tried to sign him, but eventually withdrew. In effect, Kia was his only option. In this process, Kia had to make a choice. Ahn Chi-hong, the 2017 championship keystone duo and a year younger but close friend who anchored the KIA infield for nearly a decade, was also eligible for free agency.

Instead of retaining Kim, KIA decided to prepare him for the transition to second base. Once Kim reached second base, Ahn Chi-hong was effectively pushed out of the second base position. In the end, Kim was selected by KIA and Ahn Chi-hong was put on the market.

Ahn Chi-hong was not the kind of player who would make a splash on the market, and Lotte, unable to find a starting second baseman, reached out to him. Needing to prove himself again, Ahn was willing to sign a 2+2 contract. The initial contract was only worth 2.6 billion won for two years (1.42 billion won in down payment, 580 million won in total salary, and 600 million won in incentives), although the 2+2 could be worth up to 5.6 billion won. After two years, there was a mutual contract extension clause (mutual option) between the club and the player, and if both sides agreed, the contract could be extended for up to two more years and up to 3.1 billion won.

Ahn had to prove himself again in his first two years under pressure

But in his two years with Lotte, he established himself as a stalwart veteran and solved Lotte’s second base woes. In the middle of the 2021 season, before his two-year contract was up, the team agreed to a two-year, $3.1 billion extension. It didn’t take long for the four-year, $5.6 billion deal to be finalized.

In his four seasons with Lotte, Ahn resurfaced. While he lacked the explosiveness of his Kia days, he was a fixer and a solid producer, making him indispensable to Lotte. In 496 games over four seasons, he batted .299 with 511 hits, 40 home runs, 257 RBI, 27 doubles, 187 walks, 210 strikeouts, and a .791 OPS. He was the epitome of a quiet leader, willing to sacrifice at first base as well as second base, and even served as captain in the final season of his contract. Eventually, Ahn hit the jackpot again when he became eligible for free agency for the second time. Lotte, feeling the pressure of the salary cap, was unable to retain him as his price had risen. Ahn Chi-hong left Lotte and signed a 4+2 year contract totaling 7.2 billion won. The first four years of the contract totaled 5.5 billion won (4.7 billion won guaranteed, 800 million won incentive) and included a mutual option. If the mutual option is exercised, another two-year contract totaling KRW 1.7 billion (KRW 1.3 billion guaranteed, KRW 400 million incentive) will be added. In the end, Ahn Chi-hong was able to increase his value through two transfers, signing a contract at the same time as the free agency market opened.

Kim Sun-bin followed in Ahn’s footsteps during his first free agency period.

In his first four years of free agency, starting in 2020, he played in 474 games and 1975 at-bats, batting .388 with nine doubles, 213 home runs, 189 runs scored, 17 stolen bases, and a .757 OPS. He averaged 120 games and 494 at-bats per year. 카지노사이트 순위 It was a long drawn-out process, but at the end of last year, KIA made a final offer to Kim and he responded, signing his second free agent contract.

After four years, Kim had virtually no choice but to stay, but Ahn Chi-hong was where he wanted to be, and he turned the tables on the market in his first free agency, increasing his value.