SSG Landers successfully completed an FA contract with Choi Jeong (37), which was the biggest homework in the Stove League. The club, which was under tremendous criticism from fans for the dismissal of Kim Won-hyung and the departure of Kim Kang-min exactly one year ago, succeeded in appeasing public opinion by solving immediate challenges.토토사이트

SSG announced on the 6th, "We signed an FA contract with Choi Jeong on the terms of a four-year total of 11 billion won (3 billion won in down payment, 8 billion won in annual salary) and full guarantee."

Choi Jeong is a franchise star who is like a symbol of the "Incheon Baseball" lineage that leads to the SK Wyverns and SSG. He played a leading role during the reign of SK with manager Kim Sung-keun, and even now, there is no batter in SSG who calmly hits better than Choi.

Choi has displayed good performance and outstanding teamwork as he became the top home run champion (495) in the KBO league. Choi, who is constantly striving for training and games without changing his facial expression, is enjoying immense love from Incheon fans.

The club, which recognized Choi Jeong's value, declared an all-out war to catch Choi Jeong. Choi Jeong also tried to stay at SSG as much as possible.

Recently, when KBO announced the list of FA players including Choi Jung, there were concerns among SSG fans, but the worst case of franchise star's departure did not occur.

In a meeting with Choi Jung on the 4th, the club said it would sign a contract in the form of an FA on the 6th after meeting virtually most of the negotiation conditions, and confirmed and announced the contract as announced in advance.

Most SSG fans have also received favorable responses since the announcement. Some are worried about Choi Jung's long-term absence due to injury or what if the "aging curve" comes, but there are more compliments that he treated the club's top franchise star with absolute respect.

Compared to this period last year, the temperature difference between fans toward SSG clubs is even greater.

SSG, which had a warm winter after winning the wire-to-wire integration in 2022, replaced head coach Kim Won-hyung with two years left on his contract after he was eliminated from the semi-playoff in 2023.

Since then, franchisee Kim Kang-min has been removed from the second draft protection list, and public sentiment exploded when the Hanwha Eagles nominated him.

Fans gathered in the community protested by sending more than 50 condolence flowers with complaints against the club to SSG Landers Field at the end of November.

In the previous season, the baseball stadium, which was full of joy of winning, turned into a funeral hall, giving off a shabby atmosphere.

Public opinion about Lee Sung-yong, who was hired instead of Kim Won-hyung, was not very favorable.

In particular, as coach Lee failed to advance to the postseason in sixth place this season, contrary to his promise to catch two rabbits of performance and development, public criticism against the coach and the front desk was infested.

In this situation, if the club missed Choi Jung, it had to face public opinion that was too much to handle, but he took a breather as he finished the contract without any noise.

However, he still has homework to do. He negotiated with Noh Kyung-eun who entered the FA market. Born in 1984, Noh became the "Hold King" with 33 holds this year despite his untimely age. He is definitely a resource for the bullpen, which is essential for SSG.