Park Chan-ho, who has proven his evolution, will he challenge to become the ‘best shortstop’?
One of the trends that can be glimpsed from the 2022 KBO League Korean Series to the Stove League is ‘difficulty in nurturing a shortstop’. 카지노 Kiwoom Heroes challenged SSG Landers, who finished first in the regular season in the Korean Series last year, but finished runner-up with 2 wins and 4 losses. In the postseason, Kiwoom alternately used two young shortstops, Kim Hwi-jip and Shin Jun-woo, but had to be satisfied with the runner-up due to the anxiety of the accompanying defense. Kiwoom re-recruited Russell, a foreign player who played in 2020, and takes over as the main shortstop again.
The Lotte Giants recruited free agent Noh Jin-hyeok for a total of 5 billion won over 4 years to make up for the shortstop weakness that they have suffered for many years. In other words, it means that Lotte admitted to failing to develop a shortstop internally. After the end of the 2023 season, the LG Twins signed a six-year contract worth 12.4 billion won with main shortstop Oh Ji-hwan, who will qualify for the second FA. LG eliminated in advance the possibility of a free agent transfer for Oh Ji-hwan, the best shortstop in the league who won the Golden Glove last year. This series of contracts reaffirmed just how valuable a shortstop is.
The KIA Tigers are a team that does not worry about shortstops. This is because Park Chan-ho, who joined in 2014, is proving his growth step by step. Park Chan-ho has been the KIA’s main shortstop since 2020. After the end of the 2019 season, second baseman Ahn Chi-hong obtained FA qualification and transferred to Lotte. As Kim Seon-bin, who was the starting shortstop, was converted to second baseman, Park Chan-ho took over as shortstop. There were also views that questioned whether Park Chan-ho could settle down in the most difficult position in the infield.
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