*This content was translated by AI.
It's an era of non-FA multi-year contracts. There is an active movement to tie them up before they are released as free agents, and preliminary FA Jihoon Choi (29, SSG Landers) is also at the center.
Jihoon Choi, who joined the SK Wyverns (SSG) in the second and third round of the 2020 rookie draft, has been a key player since his debut, maintaining his position as the center fielder of the team for six seasons.
A situation where you are eligible for FA at the end of this season. The SSG squad has left the first spring camp for Florida on the 23rd to train, but the club has yet to announce the results of the salary negotiations. The decisive reason is that the negotiations with Jihoon Choi on a non-FA multi-year contract have not been finalized.
Jihoon Choi got on a flight to the U.S. on the 19th through Incheon International Airport with veterans such as Lee Sung-yong, Choi Jung, Kim Kwang-hyun and Kim Jae-hwan. It was not irrelevant to the non-FA negotiations.
Jihoon Choi, who appeared with short hair, said, "I wanted to go in a little early and prepare leisurely. I thought it would be better to go to a warm place early than to keep it in the cold," he said of the negotiation situation, adding, "I'm trying not to think about it because the camp is starting. I heard that the agent and the club continue to negotiate, but I think if you go and exercise well, you'll get a good result," he said.
If an agreement cannot be reached due to differences in thoughts in multi-year contract negotiations, it can be valued in the FA market after the end of next season. This is why this season's performance is more important. But Jihoon Choi decided to erase the complicated thinking.
"On the contrary, I try to think more comfortably without thinking like that," he said. "I think I'll be bothered when I go into the season, but I'm only going to focus on exercising when I go to camp."
Jihoon Choi, who has adjusted to the Florida climate and time difference in advance, is training harder than anyone else. Even in the pitch-black darkness, Jackie Robinson Training Center is shining with bright lights every day, and Jihoon Choi starts training early in the morning more than anyone else.
According to the SSG club, Jihoon Choi said, "If you don't come out early, it's not easy to fully digest the training I want. The camp schedule is so tight, and if you add extra training, you don't have enough time," he said. "So I go to bed right after dinner for early morning exercise. I usually wake up around 4 a.m. and head straight to the training center. I'm constantly building my body every day," he said.
Players, including Jihoon Choi, start training very early, and the training part coaches move one step quickly to work at 5:30 a.m. to prepare for training, and welcome players one by one from 6 a.m. The training area is already full around 6:30 p.m. This culture, in which veteran players lead by example and juniors follow, is gradually becoming a voluntary training culture unique to SSG Landers.
In all 144 games in 2022, he played a career-high with a batting average of 0.304 31 steals and a career-high score of 0.789 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS), leading the team to win the wire-to-wire integration, which was somewhat disappointing in the next three seasons. He also gave up the leadoff position he had been in charge of last season.
Even though it is a situation that deserves to be greedy, the Jihoon Choi holds his mind together. Nevertheless, Jihoon Choi is not greedy. I think it will only be better than last year. "I leave the camp every year with the mindset of 'Let's do one more than last year'. I think it will be the same this year and every year," he said. "I think I will exercise in the camp this year to do one more thing than last year. It bothers me when I hold something high. I think it's a successful season if we do one more each," he said.
A healthy body is the biggest asset. He played 789 games in six seasons since his debut. In other words, he has played 131 games on average this season. First of all, you can help the team only when you play. Jihoon Choi said, "My goal is to make sure that I can play well throughout the year without getting hurt like last year," and vowed, "We don't know what will happen to baseball, so we're going to prepare for a year that will allow our team to go higher than last year."
<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>
*This content was translated by AI.
