KT caught even Park Byung-ho… Integrated 2nd consecutive win challenge start

KT Wiz, who won the combined championship in the 2021 season, took on internal free agents Jang Seong-woo and Hwang Jae-gyun, followed by Park Byeong-ho, laying the foundation for their second consecutive victory.

On the morning of the 29th, KT announced that it had signed a 3-year contract with free agent Byeong-ho Park for a total of 3 billion won. The conditions are a down payment of 700 million won, an annual salary of 2 billion won, and an option of 300 million won.

It is the first time in 4 years that KT has hired an outside FA. After signing a four-year contract with Hwang Jae-gyun, who returned from the United States after the 2017 season, for a total of 8.8 billion won, there has been no external free agent recruitment. This is the first outside FA recruitment since 2019 when Lee Kang-cheol took over as manager.

Previously, KT succeeded in cracking down on internal FA and minimized power leakage.

The players released as free agents at KT this winter are catcher Seong-woo Jang, infielder Jae-kyun Hwang, and catcher Do-hwan Huh. KT signed a four-year, 4.2 billion won contract with main catcher Jang Seong-woo on the 20th, and signed a four-year total of 6 billion won with Hwang Jae-gyun, who was captain this year, on the 27th.

Recruitment of Park Byeong-ho was the ‘last puzzle’ for KT, which is dreaming of a second consecutive defeat. This is a reinforcement of power to fill the vacancy of Yuhan-jun, who retired after the 2021 season.

Despite his 40-year-old age this year, Yuhan-jun contributed a batting average of 0.309, 5 homers, and 42 RBIs to KT’s overall victory. Although it was not an outstanding performance, he showed the stature of a veteran at every important moment, and played a role in holding the center of the team in the dugout.

Yuhan-jun’s presence at the end of the season stood out even more.

The driving force behind KT’s win this season was a solid mound. This year, KT took second place in the team ERA category with 3.67.

In the second half of the fierce ranking battle, KT Mound boasted a stronger appearance. KT’s team ERA in the second half was 3.14, ranking first among the 10 clubs.

However, KT, who seemed to be at the top of the regular season, could not avoid the pursuit of other teams at the end of the season. The pitching team did their part, but it’s because of the overall slump in the batting line.

It was Yuhan-jun’s fighting spirit that brought vitality to the slack line. He took the lead by showing off head-first sliding and sprinting at the risk of injury.

KT manager Lee Kang-cheol also expressed his gratitude, saying that Yuhan-jun’s unselfish play was an opportunity to wake up the other line.

KT searched for a player who could play the role of Yuhan-jun. We also considered signing an outfield giant who appeared in the free agent market. However, as the market overheated, the ransom price soared, making it difficult to recruit.

KT turned their attention to Park Byeong-ho, who had received relatively little attention, and succeeded in signing him.

Park Byeong-ho has batted 0.223 and 0.227 for the past two years, but he is still a player who can hit ‘one shot’. Despite his low batting average, he hit 21 homers in 2020 and 20 homers in 2021.

If Park Byeong-ho is added to the recently recruited foreign batter Henry Ramos and Kang Baek-ho, who is indispensable in KT’s central batting line, the weight of the central batting line will be further increased. A synergistic effect can be expected as the checks and checks of the opposing pitchers are dispersed.

When Park Byeong-ho, who boasts a stable first base defense, is put into defense, Kang Baek-ho, who previously played first base, can relieve the burden of physical strength. An environment where Kang Baek-ho can focus more on hitting is also created.

He has experienced the American stage and has a lot of experience in autumn baseball, so the role of mentor for young players is something to be expected from Park Byung-ho.

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