'31 home runs + salary freeze even after winning KS.' LG Austin, 'Why' Did you take care of new foreigners? 'I want to fill Kelly's vacancy even a little bit"

*This content was translated by AI.

LG Twins foreign hitter Austin Dean (33) wanted to follow in the footsteps of his former teammate and senior team member Casey Kelly (38).

Austin recently met with reporters at the 2026 LG Spring Camp in Ishikawa, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, and said, "This camp was generally satisfactory. I felt like we all shared the same goal, and I was very happy and impressed, especially with the efforts shown by the young players," he said with a bright smile.

Austin, who is already in his fourth year in the KBO, seems to be familiar with Korean. When asked how he felt about the camp, he answered immediately without an interpreter and even winked, saying, "I'm right, right?"

Austin said, "I think this camp was the best since I came to LG. Director Yeom Kyung-yeop was also very satisfied with the progress. I was also very happy with the mindset and overall team atmosphere that everyone had in camp as a veteran leader," he said with a smile.

Austin, who joined LG in 2023, has already won two Korean Series titles. Despite his sudden injury last year, he led LG to the top spot in the regular season with a batting average of 0.313 (133 hits in 425 at-bats), 31 homers, 95 RBIs, 82 runs and three steals, and a 0.393 slugging percentage of 0.595. Even though he was injured in the Korean Series, he contributed to the championship with a stable defense.

The surprise happened after the season. A headache for the winning team every year is player salary negotiations, and Austin, who has performed well, chose to freeze it with a total of $1.7 million ($300,000 down payment, $1.1 million in annual salary, $300,000 in incentives). Compared to the 2025 contract, LG also kept the total amount and treated it by lowering incentives and raising guaranteed salaries.

Austin felt more sorry for 28 games he did not play last year than for the salary freeze. Having lost nearly 10kg this winter, he said, "Losing weight has been something I've had to do throughout my career. Of course, it was hard, but I made a bigger effort last year because I was disappointed in myself about my physical condition," he said flatly.

He said, "As I came to the camp, I felt that my physical condition was much better and the club also liked it. It was a pity that I couldn't play many games last year because I didn't take good care of my body. This year, I want to contribute to the championship by joining the stadium more for the team's victory.

It is also true that Austin's decision made it easier to renew contracts with three foreigners. After re-signing with foreigners, LG General Manager Cha Myung-seok told Star News on the phone, "There was no problem with the contract process with foreign players. Austin said he had no problem with the salary freeze at all, and Tolhurst said he wanted to try a little more in Korea and challenge the U.S.," he said.

This is the first time Austin has played with the same players for two consecutive seasons. He said, "I'm really happy to be with Chirinos and Tolhurst again this year. I like Chirinos and the process of getting to know Tolhurst was really cool. In particular, I was very happy that Tolhurst enjoyed his time in Korea and wanted to come back," he said with a smile.

Chirinos, in particular, is a very good player personally. He also worked hard in this camp and set an example for young players. The same goes for Tolhurst. Another good thing is that the three of us blend really well with LG. The team members received us really well, so we wanted to stay part of this team as well. I'm sure we'll all perform better than last year," he said with strength.

It would have been difficult without Austin, who played a good role as a bridge between new foreign players and domestic players. Many club officials think of Kelly, who played for LG for the past six seasons, watching Austin take care of even new foreigners. Austin responded, "Kelly was a really legendary player at LG and one of my best friends. Our son Dallas still likes to play with Kelly's children," he responded.

"When I first came here, Kelly set me a great example of what a foreign player should do. In fact, I still feel it is difficult to fill Kelly's vacancy. I really hope Kelly can live up to the incredible achievements she left for LG, but it's really not easy," he said with an awkward smile.

At the same time, he said, "I want to play that role here for as long as I can. "I'm going to do my best to follow Kelly's footsteps because I think everything with LG, our fans, the Korean baseball culture and the atmosphere of the baseball stadium, is fun and special to be able to play baseball in front of fans," he renewed his determination.

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*This content was translated by AI.