![[프로야구] ‘One-club man’ Choi Jeong opens the era of FA total 30 billion won](https://img.newspim.com/news/2024/11/06/2411061547038690.jpg "[프로야구] ‘One-club man’ Choi Jeong opens the era of FA total 30 billion won")
[서울=뉴스핌] Sports reporter Jang Hwan-soo = Choi Jeong (37), the all-time home run king in the professional baseball KBO league, remained at SSG and ushered in the ‘free agent (FA) total 30 billion won era’ for the first time in history.
On the 6th, SSG signed a free agent contract with Choi Jeong for a total of 11 billion won (down payment 3 billion won, annual salary 8 billion won) for four years. 11 billion won is the full guaranteed amount that does not include options based on performance. Initially, a non-FA multi-year contract was expected, but during the price adjustment process, the contract was concluded as a free agent with a down payment possible.
Choi Jeong-eun signed a four-year contract with SK, the predecessor of SSG, for 8.6 billion won at the end of 2014, when he first qualified as a free agent. Ahead of the 2019 season, he qualified as a second free agent and signed a six-year contract worth 10.6 billion won. On this day, 11 billion won was added over 4 years, bringing the cumulative FA total to 30.2 billion won. With this, Choi Jeong surpassed the 27.7 billion won held by Doosan catcher Yang Eui-ji and rose to first place in this category.
Choi Jeong, who completed the contract, expressed his feelings, saying, “I am grateful to the fans who have always supported me. Now that I have successfully completed the contract, I will do my best to tighten my shoelaces again to achieve my team and individual goals.”
SSG said, “Choi Jeong contributes a lot to the performance, but he is leading by example in training and daily life as a veteran player,” and added, “This contract will have a good effect on team chemistry. We will open the Cheongna era with Choi Jeong. “He said.
With this contract, Choi Jeong-eun will remain as a ‘one-club man’ wearing only one team’s uniform, SSG (including SK), until 2028, when he turns 41. Choi Jeong, who is over 35 years old and is a C grade (paying 150% of the previous year’s annual salary to the original club) that does not require compensation players in the FA grade, could have hit the jackpot if he appeared in the free agent market, but he remained loyal to SSG.
Choi Jeong, who was selected in the first round by SK in 2005, was loved by fans as a representative slugger of the KBO League and synonymous with sincerity for 20 seasons until this year. In total, he appeared in 2,293 games and had a batting average of 0.288 with 2,269 hits (6th), 495 home runs (1st), 4,197 bases (1st), 1,561 RBI (2nd), 1,461 runs (1st), and 1,037 walks (5th). It’s being recorded. It is a moving piece of history that is breaking records in all offensive categories except for stolen bases.
This season, he set a new record for the most home runs in his career, becoming the first player to hit double-digit home runs in 19 consecutive seasons. He is also tied for first place with the most Golden Glove awards among third basemen.
