"If you decide to retire..." 20 years of professional career and a batting average of .300 revived! End of thirties, looking to extend active duty
Kim Jae-ho (38, Doosan), who is showing off his skills as good as his heyday, leaving behind the disappointment of the past two years in the last year of his three-year FA contract and his 20th year as a professional. As a result of participating in the spring camp with the mind of a rookie, you can see an extension of active duty, not retirement, at the end of your 30s.
Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop met with reporters at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 10th and praised veteran Kim Jae-ho's commitment to doing his part by forming a table setter with Jung Soo-bin.
Coach Lee said, "I like Kim Jae-ho so much. The defense is very solid and he is giving the desired hit in the desired situation. As Kim Jae-ho takes the No. 2 position, the batting lineup seems to be well-organized, he said. "He is a 39-year-old veteran in Korean age. I have to manage it, but I have no choice but to play every day due to team circumstances. However, in a way, Kim Jae-ho is the only alternative, and the player is doing too well," he praised.
Kim Jae-ho signed his second FA contract with Doosan for three years and 2.5 billion won in January 2021. The last two years have been less than expected. In the first year of the contract, he suffered from controversy over "eat and run" as he was sluggish with a batting average of .25 in 102 games last year, following a .29 batting average in 89 games. Over the past two years, more than half of the contract period, he suffered a slump with a batting average of .212, shattering the pride of a genius shortstop.
Kim Jae-ho prepared harder than anyone else for the 2023 season, which may be the end of his career. It started with the Australian Spring Camp. Since the warm-up, he has been in the first line and shouted fighting, and he has spared himself as a young genius shortstop did in the past when he trained in defense. It was Kim Jae-ho who sweated heavily to turn the booing of the past two years into applause.
However, Kim Jae-ho gave up his shortstop position to his juniors in a severe slump at the beginning of the season. He suffered a slump in batting average of .167 for a month in April and was the first shortstop resource to be notified of his transfer to the second division on May 5. At that time, Kim Jae-ho's extension to active duty was unexpected.
The cancellation of the first division served as an opportunity to awaken Kim Jae-ho's genius shortstop instinct. After his comeback in May, he started with a monthly batting average of .273, and after announcing his revival with .325 in June and .303 in July, he is still hitting .375 hard in August. It's not just a blow. He shows off his defense far ahead of Park Gye-beom, Lee Yoo-chan, and Ahn Jae-seok, and faithfully does his part even in operational situations as a veteran. Kim Jae-ho's season performance is reminiscent of his heyday with a batting average of .38 and 12 RBIs in 50 games.
Coach Lee said, "I was most worried about shortstop position this year. Until the early and mid-season, no one was in position. However, Kim Jae-ho, who was the last player in the competition, is playing a good role. Wasn't Kim Jae-ho the first shortstop to go to the second division? "Kim Jae-ho has worked really hard since the spring camp." I don't know if he was trying to achieve a successful conclusion or if he wanted to extend his active duty, but he moved well as an example from the camp. "I waited silently even though the opportunity came at the end," he said. 스포츠토토
He declined to comment on the possibility of extending Kim Jae-ho's active duty. For now, he/she said that the first priority is to spend the last year of the contract without injury. Coach Lee said, "If I decided to retire after this season, would I do this hard now?" and added, "First of all, the remaining 50 games are important." Kim Jae-ho is sacrificing and playing a good role for the team, and I hope he will do well until the end of the season without losing his physical strength."
With his current skills and abilities, he is expected to be able to play the role of field commander of Doosan Infield next year when he turns 39. Kim Jae-ho said at the Australian spring camp in February, "My first life is baseball, and everyone will want to live that life for a long time." So do I. "I want to make a season that is cheered by all Doosan fans this year," he said.