'Retirement' Choo Shin-soo and Kim Kang-min - 'Release' Go Hyo-joon - 'FA' Choi Jung? Will the SSG wire-to-wire winners leave one by one
'Retirement' Choo Shin-soo and Kim Kang-min - 'Release' Go Hyo-joon - 'FA' Choi Jung? Will the SSG wire-to-wire winners leave one by one
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The main players of SSG Landers, who won "Wire to Wire" just two years ago, are disappearing one by one.
SSG ended the 2024 season in sixth place with a 3-4 loss in the fifth-place match (tiebreaker) against KT Wiz on the 1st.
With the regular season ending, Choo Shin-soo, the "captain," naturally took off his uniform. Choo, who decided to retire after the end of the 2024 season while discussing career paths with SSG in December last year, played in 78 games this year due to shoulder injury, posting a batting average of 0.281 (71 hits in 253 times at bat), five homers, 38 RBIs, and five steals with an OPS of 0.776.
On the 2nd, a day after Choo Shin-soo's last game, news of the retirement of "Better" Kim Kang-min (Hanwha Eagles) was reported. Kim Kang-min announced his intention to retire along with Jung Woo-ram and Lee Myung-ki, taking off his uniform as Hanwha's last team.
Kim Kang-min, who joined the SK Wyverns (currently SSG) as the 18th player in the second round of the 2001 Rookie Draft and played as a one-club man representing the KBO League for 23 years until the 2023 season, was not listed on SSG's 35 protected players list in the second draft held in November last year. In the end, Kim Kang-min, who received a surprise nomination from Hanwha, settled down and chose to play active for another year, and ended his career quietly with a batting average of 0.224 with one home run, seven RBIs and an OPS of 0.585 in 41 games this season.
After the retirements of Choo Shin-soo and Kim Kang-min, who were born in 1982, the news of the release of Ko Hyo-joon, who was born in 1983, was reported on Saturday. Ko started his professional career at Lotte in 2002 and spent his heyday at SK, then returned to SSG in 2022 after playing for the KIA Tigers, Lotte, and LG Twins, and served as a key player in the bullpen for two seasons. However, he left a disappointing performance of two wins, one loss and five holds with an ERA of 8.18 in 26 games this season, and he could hardly avoid being released. Ko, who has not announced his intention to retire, is expected to continue his willingness to extend his active duty.메이저놀이터
Three veteran players in their 40s contributed greatly to SSG's win in wire-to-wire win in the regular season and the Korean Series title just two years ago. Choo, who returned to the KBO League in his second season, served as the starting leadoff, posting a batting average of 0.259 with 16 homers, 58 RBIs and 15 steals in 112 games with an OPS of 0.812.
Playing the role of backup outfielder, Kim Kang-min showed a solid performance with a batting average of 0.303 with five home runs and 18 RBIs in 84 games with an OPS of 0.824. He hit a dramatic tying home run in the first game of the Korean Series and a walk-off come-from-behind three-run home run in the fifth game, earning the honor of being the oldest MVP of the Korean Series.
Ko successfully rejuvenated in the 2022 season and played a key role as a left-handed bullpen for SSG with one win and seven holds and an ERA of 3.72 in 45 games. In the Korean Series, he pitched cleanly in two games (one ⅓ inning) without allowing any runs, contributing to SSG's victory.
The possibility of breaking up with another veteran player is rising. Choi Jeong is the "homer king." Choi Jeong, who joined SK as the first draft pick in 2005 and played as a one-club man for 20 years, is a "living legend" who hit 495 home runs, the most in a KBO league career.
This year, Choi Jeong, who spent the 37-year-old season, showed the best performance in the league with a batting average of 0.291, 37 homers, 107 RBIs and an OPS of 0.978 in 129 games without any sign of the so-called "aging curve." Choi Jeong, who received such outstanding report card, is set to become the third FA this winter. Choi Jeong has already shown loyalty by choosing to stay with his team in two FA's, but many stories are being told ahead of this FA. This is because no news has been made yet of the signing of a multi-year contract until the end of the 2024 season.
SSG had previously signed multi-year contracts before key players such as Park Jong-hoon (five-year and 6.5 billion won), Moon Seung-won (five-year and 5.5 billion won), and Han Yu-sum (five-year and 6 billion won) were released as free agents. However, he did not make any gesture to Choi Jeong, the symbol of SSG, throughout this season.
With the regular season ending like this, the situation is moving strangely. If Choi Jeong is put on the market when the FA announcement is made after the Korean Series, multiple clubs may compete to recruit Choi, who is still showing off his skills. Choi Jeong is classified as a C grade, which does not require giving up compensation players, which is a highly coveted resource for a team that needs to strengthen its third baseman.
It is hard to imagine Choi wearing a team uniform other than SSG. However, nothing is eternal in the professional world. The last team of 23-year-old one-club man Kim Kang-min, who was expected to remain as the "beast" of SK-SSG, was also Hanwha, not SSG. Fans are paying keen attention to whether another of the members who led the team's victory two years ago will leave the SSG.