Despite the appeal for a self-release apology from the shock, the aftermath is strong...Can Kim Jaehwan make the same choice
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Doosan Bears fans' angry fan sentiment toward veteran slugger Kim Jae-hwan (37) seems to have hardly subsided.
Kim Jae-hwan signed a two-year contract with SSG Landers on the 5th for a total of 2.2 billion won. The guarantee amount, including 600 million won in down payment and 1 billion won in annual salary, is only 1.6 billion won. 600 million won is an option, and it is known that the difficulty of achieving it is quite high.
Kim Jae-hwan's transfer was an example not seen in the past. When Kim Jae-hwan agreed to an 11.5 billion won FA contract with Doosan four years ago, he added a slightly unusual opt-out clause. When the four-year contract ended, if negotiations with the original team Doosan broke down, it was a condition to release the transfer without compensation. It was agreed upon by the club and the players, but 'self-release' was not accepted positively.
If Kim Jae-hwan applied for FA according to the standard, grade B compensation could have been an obstacle when transferring. Kim Jae-hwan's annual salary this year was 1 billion won, so the compensation was very large. It's a very welcome clause for a veteran player.
Kim Jae-hwan's abandonment of the FA application this year was actually a transfer signal. Doosan persuaded Kim Jae-hwan to stay until just before he was released from the list of players on hold, and offered a 2+1 year, 3 billion won contract, but Kim Jae-hwan shook his head.
Once you look at the size of the contract with SSG, it has been proven that money was not the top priority. Kim Jae-hwan himself explained after signing a contract with SSG, and as was known to the industry earlier, leaving the pitcher-friendly Jamsil Baseball Stadium was the top priority. Kim Jae-hwan himself seems to be aiming for a contract with SSG, which uses the most batter-friendly home stadium in Korea, judging that it is difficult to hit more home runs in Jamsil.
Kim Jae-hwan had only 10 home runs in 2023, 29 home runs in 2024, and 13 home runs this year. The player himself seems to have been under a lot of stress because his strength, the home run, did not come out.
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Kim Jae-hwan continued "The feeling of sorry and guilt for those who believed in me and supported me over the past few years in Doosan made it harder for themselves. Whenever I faced fans, colleagues, and club employees who regret me for disappearing the home run hitter, I felt heavy, and it was painful to see myself disappointed in myself. I couldn't get out of my mind that I didn't want to disappoint and put pressure on many people anymore," he said, appealing that the change was necessary.
Even with Kim Jae-hwan's apology and explanation, angry fans are not easily soothed. Because I lost a one-club man anyway.
Kim Jae-hwan joined Doosan in the fourth place in the second round of the 2008 draft and has been an undisputed No. 4 hitter since 2016. Kim Jae-hwan's explanation that it was a break-up for the sake of continuing his career is not accepted because he was a leading hitter with 276 home runs.
Players have not been disclosed, but more contracts are known to include opt-out provisions such as Kim Jae-hwan. It is difficult to hide the provisions and transfer them.
Everyone watched Kim Jae-hwan, who was the first to invoke the clause, not understood by various explanations and apologies. Will there be another player who will bravely follow Kim Jae-hwan. In his apology, Kim Jae-hwan said, "I agonized so much that I couldn't sleep comfortably throughout November." he vented.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
