Doosan Bears second baseman Kang Seung-ho (30) ranked first in the non-FA fielders’ performance for the second consecutive year. Among fielders who were eligible for salary negotiations, he recorded the largest increase. Some may be surprised or tilted their heads, but it is true.
Kang had a batting average of 0.265 (111 hits in 419 times at bat), seven homers, 59 RBIs, 51 runs scored, and an OPS of 0.703 in 127 games last year. Although he was limited to non-FA fielders, his figures do not feel good enough to rank No. 1. Upon closer inspection, he ranked fifth in batting average and hits, tied for fifth in homers and OPS, and fourth in RBIs among batters who met the requirements in his team. Although he was among the top players in general, none of the teams ranked first among FA players.
Doosan ranked first with a combined total of 11.18 billion won for the top 40 players in 2023 announced by KBO. The figure has become important since the introduction of the salary cap system since last year, with only 244.63 million won left on the upper limit of the salary cap of 11.42638 billion won.
It was because of the large number of FA contractors. Ahead of the 2021 season, he has been spending a lot of money in the long term by catching Heo Kyung-min (4+3 years, 8.5 billion won), Jung Soo-bin (six years, 5.6 billion won), and Yang Eui-ji (4+2 years, 15.2 billion won) ahead of the 2023 season. Ahead of the 2022 season, he signed a four-year contract with big gun Kim Jae-hwan at 11.5 billion won, and this winter, he left big gun Yang Seok-hwan at 7.8 billion won for 4+2 years. Five players, including Heo Kyung-min, Jung Soo-bin, Yang Eui-ji, Kim Jae-hwan and Yang Seok-hwan, are at the top of the major batting indicators, while others are veteran Kim Jae-ho, whose FA contract expired last year, and foreign hitter Jose Rojas, who failed to renew his contract this year, are on the list.
Ransom refers to the value of a player. It is true that Kang has performed the best except for high-paying FA contractors who are the main players in the team for two years. Thanks to this, his annual salary has been steadily increasing. His annual salary increased from 115 million won in 2022 to 200 million won (73.9 percent increase rate) last year, and he recorded the highest increase in his team with 85 million won increase.
In the new year, Kang Seung-ho succeeded in raising his salary as he ranked first in the fielders’ performance. However, the scale of the increase is not as large as last year. Although his previous salary increased to 200 million won, the detailed records have fallen little by little compared to last year. He achieved his first 10 home runs in 2022 and fell far short of the 20 home runs he set as his goal last year. In addition, coldly, this No. 1 ranking was earned not because Kang Seung-ho was very good, but because most of the fielders were sluggish. This is why Kang cannot and should not be satisfied with the present. Except for Kang Seung-ho and Rojas, none of the non-FA fielders met the at-bats.
There were quite a few fielders who showed potential last year. Infielder Park Joon-young, Park Ji-hoon, and outfielder Hong Sung-ho have begun to stand out in batting. Park has displayed quite stability not only in batting but also in defense, and has emerged as a candidate to compete for the main shortstop in this season. Looking at the situation so far, Park is the player Kang Seung-ho should be most wary of in order to maintain the title for three consecutive years. Existing quarterfinalists including Kim In-tae, Park Gye-beom, and Lee Yoo-chan suffered from injury or sluggish performance last year. 헤라카지노주소
Kang could have lost his position as the main second baseman to Lee Yoo-chan last year. When Kang’s defense was shaky in the early part of the season, Lee took over as the main second baseman by making full use of his defensive strengths, and Kang even had time to reorganize himself in the second division due to trouble in batting. However, the 144-game season is a physical battle, and Kang, who was far ahead in batting, completely defeated Lee from the middle of the season and regained the starting title.
In order to have a stable season as a starting second baseman this year, the team should seek stability in defense while increasing its batting advantage. “Hur Kyung-min and Yang Seok-hwan are the starting pitchers in the field,” Doosan’s defensive coach Cho Sung-hwan said while leading last year’s closing camp training. Kang will have to compete as starting second basemen starting from next month’s spring camp in Sydney, Australia. Lee Yu-chan and Oh Myung-jin are mentioned as candidates for competition.
Kang Seung-ho had a turning point in his baseball career when he came to Doosan as compensation player for infielder Choi Joo-hwan, who transferred to the SK Wyverns (currently the SSG Landers) as a free agent, ahead of the 2021 season. His overall performance in three seasons with Doosan is 374 games with a batting average of 0.258 (300 hits in 1,164), 24 homers, 158 RBIs and 0.698. If the past three years have been a time to grow from backup to the starting lineup, he should take another leap forward to become a player who is not lagging behind or can surpass those who have high-priced FA contracts. That is what Doosan expects from Kang.