“We could sign another contract” First time ever to hit 30 billion! Choi goes beyond 500 home runs and looks to 600
SSG Landers' Choi Jung, 37, has signed a contract that will go down in history.
SSG announced on the 6th that it has signed free agent Choi Jung, the team's symbol and franchise star. He signed a four-year, 11 billion won ($3 billion in signing bonus and $8 billion in annual salary), fully guaranteed contract. With this contract, Choi will be able to continue his active career until 2028, opening the upcoming Cheongna era with the organization,” the team announced.
Choi is an iconic franchise star who joined SK (now SSG) as the first overall pick in the 2005 rookie draft and played for SSG for 20 years. He has been the league's leading home run hitter in his KBO career, batting .2293 with 495 home runs, 1561 RBIs, 1461 runs scored, 178 stolen bases, and a .922 OPS in 7892 games. This year, he broke the KBO's all-time home run record, surpassing the 467 home runs hit by Doosan's Lee Seung-yup during his career. He is five home runs away from becoming the first player in KBO history to hit 500 home runs.
Choi turned 37 years old this season, and despite his age, he showed no signs of rust. In 129 games, he batted .291 (136-for-468) with 37 home runs, 107 RBI, 93 runs scored, and a .978 OPS, ranking third in the league in home runs, ninth in RBI, and fifth in OPS. There were speculations that a team could target Choi, who is eligible for Class C free agency after the season, but SSG was able to secure him with a fully guaranteed contract worth 11 billion won.
Choi said, “First of all, I want to thank the club for opening the negotiation table with such good conditions. This is the team I've grown up with since I was a rookie, and it's my favorite team. It took a long time to negotiate, but I had a strong desire to stay. I'm glad that the contract was finalized in a good way. It feels good. I would like to apologize to the fans for the long negotiation period, and I will do my best to play for the team during the contract period,” he said.
Choi, who had signed two previous free agency contracts in November 2014 for four years worth 8.6 billion won and a six-year maximum contract worth 10.6 billion won in 2018 for a cumulative total of 19.2 billion won, ranking fourth on the all-time list after Yang Ji (Doosan, 27.7 billion won), Kim Kwang-hyun (SSG, 23.6 billion won), and Kim Hyun-soo (LG, 23.3 billion won), quickly moved to the top of the list with a cumulative total of 30.2 billion won with the four-year, 11 billion won contract. He also became the first player in KBO history to exceed 30 billion won in free agency contracts.
Choi said, “In a way, I'm really proud and honored of myself, and I think it's the result of my hard work without any major injuries. I will not rest on my laurels and will do my best to become a better player in the future,” he said.
SSG President Kim Jae-hyun said in an interview before the signing, “This may not be the last contract for Choi Jung-jeong. I might do it one more time. I hope to sign one more contract. I have 17 years of professional experience and nearly 40 years of baseball experience, but it's not easy to meet a player like him. I hope he continues to play well in the future,” said Choi, wishing him a long career.
Choi is on pace to break the KBO's home run record and is expected to hit 500 home runs next season. “I have five left, so if I don't break it next season, it will be an accident,” Choi said. ”So I want 500 home runs to come naturally, and I want it to be a record that comes naturally while playing.” “My bigger goal is 600 home runs. I'm more motivated now that I have a goal. It makes me want to do better. I will play harder with a goal of 600 homers rather than 500 homers,” he said.
Fans were ecstatic that Choi will remain SSG's franchise star forever. Fans are eagerly waiting to see what else Choi will accomplish in the rest of his career.
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