It has disappeared in recent years, but in fact, Kiwoom Heroes used to announce the next season's salary for players who had symbolic performances just before the offseason or received meaningful nominations such as Rookie of the Year and MVP. The money raised the morale of the players.

When it comes to Kiwoom, it is true that it is inevitably labeled as a "money-strapped club." He has enjoyed cost-effective contracts and recruitment, and there has been a tendency to be reluctant to make huge investments. However, the ability to create and prove proper value for money was also among the best in the league.

The value of a baseball team eventually comes from players. While Kiwoom preferred pragmatism in the FA and foreign markets, it invested generously in players who showed achievements on their own to increase its value. In this way, the team went from unknown to star, and from star to superstar.

As a result, Kiwoom will start with Kang Jung-ho in 2015, Park Byung-ho in 2016, Kim Ha-sung in 2021, Lee Jung-hoo in 2024, and send Kim Hye-sung to the Major League in 2025. This is not the end. In the meantime, they are doing their best to create the second Kim Ha-sung, Lee Jung-hoo, and Kim Hye-sung by selecting and nurturing players. Expectations are high that someone will come out someday.

Lee Jung-hoo (26, San Francisco Giants) has almost the highest annual salary record. His salary in the 2023 season, the last of his career in the KBO League, was 1.1 billion won (1.5 million U.S. dollars). He is the highest annual salary in his seventh year and the highest annual salary in a single-year contract before becoming an FA. In fact, he has broken the record for the highest annual salary continuously since his second year. (Of course, other players later broke some of the highest annual salary records.)

The fact that Lee Jung-hoo broke the annual maximum annual salary is all the driving force behind his stellar performance in the next season is a leap forward. However, professional players are money. Lee Jung-hoo must have started preparing for the season at least every year with a clear sense of morale. In fact, there is a strong belief among Kiwoom players that "If I show you what I show you, you get opportunities and rewards." Lee Jung-hoo said this on his YouTube channel recently, asking his juniors to play baseball harder.

The same applies to Kim Hye-sung. According to Kiwoom's announcement on Tuesday, the team has broken the annual salary of Na Sung-bum, the best left-handed hitter in the Korean pro baseball league, for his eighth year. He will be paid 650 million won (627,940 U.S. dollars). It is an honor and pride event for Kim. Is there any more certain event to be held in terms of motivation? That's how much he paid off. Kim Hye-sung finished preparing to run properly in the last season before entering the Major League.

One year ago, Kiwoom surprised the industry by investing 2.5 billion won for four years in the FA market and 2 billion won for four years in Lee Hyung-jong. During the season, the team even gave Lee Won-seok an extension of 1 billion won for 1+1 year. These incidents made it clear that the team does not unconditionally reject veterans without spending money.

It should be seen that Kiwoom spends money well, befitting a professional player. In addition, Kiwoom earns as much as it spends. It earned 42.20,2015 dollars in transfer fees when it created five big leaguers. It does not lose money and takes care of both profitability and justification. In a way, it is a club that shows the way for Korean professional sports to move forward.

안전놀이터