The humiliation of the No. 1 hit in '1.4 billion → 100 million' history, 'AGAIN 2023' Son Ah-seop dreams of Ha Joo-seok... Unanswered "Towards 3,000 Hits"

*This content was translated by AI.

Four years ago, he signed a four-year total of 6.4 billion won with the NC Dinos (2.6 billion won in down payment, 3 billion won in annual salary, and 800 million won in options). Even excluding options, it is around 1.4 billion won per year. However, Son Ah-seop (38, Hanwha Eagles), who had not signed a contract for more than 10 days after his team left the spring camp, had no choice but to sign a one-fourth salary.

Hanwha said it signed FA Son Ah-seop on the 5th. The terms of the contract are one year and an annual salary of 100 million won. Since last year's annual salary reached 500 million won, it was 80% cut, and when you think about the contract four years ago, it was actually equivalent to receiving an average of 1.4 billion won per year. It is no less than a 93 percent cut.

With the compensation reaching 750 million won, no team wanted a 38-year-old hitter, and Son Ah-seop, who expressed his willingness to extend his active duty, had no choice but to accept the cold reality, but his pride was inevitably hurt.

Son Ah-seop is a representative teaching hitter in the KBO League, ranking fifth in the batting average with a career batting average of 0.319, while playing 19 seasons. He was traded to Hanwha during the season last year and posted a batting average of 0.288 despite his somewhat disappointing performance. Among the players who have played more than 100 games, he ranked second in the batting average in his team.

The problem was productivity. He had to create more RBIs or runs because he could not add much power to the team in his main or defense, but he only scored 50 RBIs and 39 runs, and his on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS), which is much more important than simple batting average in modern baseball, was only 0.723. This is the ninth number among the main players. This is why it was not possible to give more than 100 million won to a 38-year-old player who did not contribute much to defense and running base.

The situation was different between Choi Hyung-woo (43) and Kim Hyun-soo (38). They moved to Samsung Lions and KT Wiz, respectively, and stamped a total of 2.6 billion won for two years and 5 billion won for three years. There is something in common that they are not quick in their feet and cannot help much in defense, but their OPS was 0.928 and 0.806, which was a big difference from Son Ah-seop.

After signing the contract, Son Ah-seop said, "Thank you to the club for choosing me again," adding, "I joined the camp a little late, but I made my body well." I will do my best to help the Hanwha Eagles fly high again in the 2026 season," he said.

In any case, we have to acknowledge the reality. The next step is to prepare well for the season. In the outfield, center field players with good defense, such as Oh Jae-won, along with Moon Hyun-bin and Jonathan Peraza, are expected to get a chance, and Kang Baek-ho is likely to get priority in the designated hitter position.

If you spend a similar year, this situation could be repeated next season. At that time, you may have to think about retirement regardless of your real intention.

Teammate Ha Joo-seok (32) is a good example. Despite being qualified as an FA a year ago, Hanwha brought Shim Woo-joon (31) to the position and spent up to 5 billion won for four years. Ha had to sign a contract for up to 110 million won in the FA Mia crisis. Although he was not invited to the first-team spring camp due to the delayed contract, he played as the main second baseman this season and recorded a batting average of 0.297 with four home runs, 28 RBIs and 34 runs and an OPS of 0.728. He was still young compared to Son Ah-seop and was recognized to have played a role in the infield defense, and after the end of the season, he rose 122.22% to 200 million won.

Son has a clear goal. Currently, he is ranked No. 1 in hits with 2,618 hits, and at the same time, he is maintaining his position and achieving 3,000 hits for the first time in history. It seems that it will take three years in reality to do so.

What is more important than next year's salary is whether or not to extend the active duty. It can be expected only when it shows a clear improvement from last year. Dreaming of the same rebound in 2023. In his first year of signing a four-year, 6.4 billion won contract with NC, Son Ah-seop hit 0.277 and OPS 0.714, which was poorer than last year. Son Ah-seop, who sweated hard while visiting Kang Jung-ho Academy after the end of the season, eventually became the first hit king of his career with a batting average of 0.339 the following year. With a high batting average and a remarkably high on-base percentage (0.393), the OPS also rose to 0.836.

It is time for another surprising rebound, if not the batting king. For a clear goal of 3,000 hits, it has become a task that must be achieved, not just a simple wish.

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*This content was translated by AI.