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| KIA Tigers reserve FA shortstop Park Chan-ho (left) and center fielder Choi Won-joon. It is considered the biggest candidate to shake up the upcoming FA market. Sports Chosun DB |
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KIA Tigers reserve FA duo shortstop Park Chan-ho (30) and outfielder Choi Won-joon (28) are sweating hard dreaming of a big hit. The two players will be tasked with lighting up the KIA's batting line.
Park Chan-ho and Choi Won-joon are likely candidates for this season's table setters. Park Chan-ho recorded 341 at-bats as the No. 1 hitter last year, even though he is a shortstop with a heavy defensive burden, and he will continue to lead the offense this year as long as there is no unexpected incident. Choi Won-joon remembered receiving good reviews when he was used as a strong second hitter last summer. Last season, he recorded 167 at-bats as a ninth hitter and 155 at-bats as a second hitter, but this year, he is more likely to help the upper lineup.
KIA manager Lee Bum-ho picked Kim Do-young (22), the MVP of last season, as the third hitter of this season. He considered the second batter because of his good ability to perform the operation and his fast feet, but he thought Kim Do-young should take over as the third hitter in order for the team's batting lineup to become a little stronger. Park Chan-ho and Choi Won-joon are expected to take on the task of setting a solid table in front of Kim Do-young, the league's current best hitter.
Coach Lee said, `Which player is a little better in the second batting order. Also, I will decide the first and second by looking at things like whether I will be in better condition or not. I think it would be okay for (Park) Chan-ho, (Choi) Won-jun, and (Kim) Sun-bin to use them when they are in good condition, or I think it would be okay to stick them in and let them do their part on the spot. First of all, there are players who can hit 30%, so I'll happily think about it" he said.
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| KIA Tigers Park Chan-ho training at Irvine Spring Camp in the United States. Photo courtesy = KIA Tigers |
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| KIA Tigers Choi Won-jun training at Irvine Spring Camp in the United States. Photo courtesy =KIA Tigers |
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As preliminary FA this year, Park Chan-ho and Choi Won-joon have enough driving force to aim for the career high season. KIA actively defended itself by raising a large amount of money for both Park Chan-ho and Choi Won-joon in this year's salary negotiations. As such, both players are likely to be the biggest fish in the upcoming winter FA at their respective positions. Park Chan-ho signed for 450 million won, up 150 million won from 300 million won, and Choi Won-joon stamped for 400 million won, up 180 million won from 220 million won.
Park Chan-ho batted .307 (158 for 515), stole 20 bases, scored 61 RBIs, scored 86 points, and posted an OPS of .749 in 134 games last season. With his first career shortstop Golden Glove, he won the shortstop defense award for the second consecutive year following 2023, raising his stock price. Park Chan-ho, who recorded his first career batting average of 300 in 2023, is planning to challenge for the third consecutive year this year.
In 136 games last year, Choi Won-joon succeeded in rebounding with a batting average of 0.292 (128 hits in 438 at-bats), nine homers, 21 steals, 56 RBIs, 75 points, and an OPS of 0.791. In 2023, when he returned from military service from Sangmu, he was sluggish with a batting average of 0.255 (61 hits in 239 at-bats), but he set the stage for the FA jackpot by jumping back to the main outfielder last year. Choi Won-joon is trying to minimize the vacancy of Socrates Brito, who broke up with KIA after last season as the main center fielder this year.
Will Park Chan-ho and Choi Won-joon be able to shake up the FA market during the spring camp by proving the value that coach Lee can trust and use as the built-in first and second batters.
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| The game between Doosan and KIA at Gwangju KIA Champions Field on the 15th, and KIA Park Chan-ho and Choi Hyung-woo are talking during batting training. Gwangju = Reporter's book@sportschosun.com/2024.05.15/ |
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| A match between KIA and Lotte at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 21st. KIA Choi Won-joon, who is doing batting training. Gwangju =Song Jeong-heon, Reporter Song@sportschosun.com/2024.08.21/ |
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
