Successfully appointed the head coach, something fans had desperately wanted. What kind of gift will the club give?
On the 20th, the Lotte Giants announced the appointment of coach Kim Tae-hyung as the 21st head coach. The contract period is 3 years and the total amount is 2.4 billion won (600 million won down payment, 600 million won annual salary).짱구카지노
9 years ago. Lotte experienced a painful free agent outflow.
Franchise pitcher Jang Won-jun qualified as a free agent and left the team by signing a contract with the Doosan Bears for a total of 8.4 billion won.
Jang Won-jun, who joined Lotte in 2004, has made a name for himself as a steady, though not flashy, pitcher. He has achieved double-digit wins every year from 2008 to 2014 (excluding his time with the 2012-2013 Police Baseball Team).
At the time, Won-Jun Jang was an ‘inaugural gift’ to Doosan. It was coach Kim Tae-hyung who took the helm at Doosan ahead of the 2015 season. At the time, a Doosan official explained, “With the appointment of a new manager, we believed that the starting pitcher should be clearly set.”
Jang Won-jun gave wings to coach Kim Tae-hyung, a ‘beginner’s coach.’ In 2015, Jang Won-Jun recorded 12 wins and 12 losses, and also won 3 games in the fall baseball season, standing at the top of the Korean Series for the first time in 14 years since Doosan’s 2001.
Won-Jun Jang became a key player in Doosan’s ‘comprehensive championship’ with 15 wins in 2016, and recorded double-digit wins for eight consecutive seasons until 2017. Doosan’s recruitment of Jang Won-jun was like the key that opened the door to the dynasty.
Lotte has not been invited to fall baseball for six consecutive years. This season, they climbed to first place at the beginning of the season, but after the middle of the season, there were more days of defeat than victory. In the end, the ranking dropped day by day and settled at 7th place.
This is the point where voices calling for change continued. Manager Kim, who led Doosan to the Korean Series for seven consecutive years from 2015 to 2021, was evaluated as the ‘right person’.
As Lotte had to give the team’s franchise star as an inauguration gift nine years ago, it is now time for Lotte to think about a gift as well.
Coach Kim looked at Lotte Power, saying, “There are many attractive players among the young players.” However, there is a difference between a ‘promising player’ and a guaranteed card.
There are no ‘super-large free agents’ this season. However, it is evaluated that one or two players who will fill the team’s strength, such as bullpen pitchers and infield sluggers, stand out.
At the same time, Jeon Jun-woo and Ahn Chi-hong cannot neglect the crackdown on internal resources that other teams also covet. Jun-woo Jeon played an active role as a key player in the team, showing off his health with a batting average of .301 2-3 and 17 home runs in 138 games this season, and Chi-hong Ahn with a batting average of .209 2-0 and 8 home runs in 121 games.
What kind of gift will Lotte give to the ‘contractor’ who will quench the thirst that has accumulated for 31 years since 1995?