The LG Twins, which won the combined championship for the first time in 29 years, announced the completion of the 2024 salary contract on the 19th. By winning both the regular season and the Korean Series last year, they were able to solve their resentment of winning the unified championship for the first time in 29 years, and the "winning contributors" were also able to face a warm winter. Although the salary cap was burdensome, LG did not forget the contributions of the leading players as it prepared to exceed the upper limit of the salary cap.
Outfielder Hong Chang-ki has become the highest paid non-FA player in his team, with a 70 percent increase from 300 million won to 510 million won. Moon Bo-kyung, the third baseman, also marked 300 million won, up 76.5 percent from 170 million won. Moon Sung-joo, who jumped to the main left fielder who joined the professional league from the brink of being selected in the 10th round as a college graduate in the draft, also saw a 110 percent increase from 95 million won to 200 million won. In the pitching lineup, Yoo Young-chan, who made a surprise appearance as a must-win group and was selected to fill Ko's absence from the Major League, will receive an annual salary of 31 million won to 85 million won. He recorded the highest increase rate in his team at 174.2 percent.
Among fielders, neither Moon Sung-joo nor Moon Bo-kyung had the highest rate of increase. Shin Min-jae, a "long-time runner" who started his career as a second baseman after twists and turns, was the star of the highest rate of increase for fielders. Shin, who was paid 48 million won last year, went up 139.6 percent to 115 million won. He was rewarded with a surprise performance last year when he made his first annual salary of around 100 million won.
He had a rough time since his debut as a pro. He joined the Doosan Bears as a training player in 2015, but he failed to play in any single game in the main league and transferred to LG through the second draft in 2018. Since then, he played in 195 games until last year. Most of them even played as pinch runners. He was given the role of pinch runner by banking on his strength in playing fastballs, but failed to display his strength to the best of his ability. He stole 22 bases through last year, but failed a whopping 13 times. His success rate of stealing bases was only 62.9 percent.
He failed to display competitiveness of the pinch-runner himself. He was an infielder but failed to secure a clear position as well as an outfielder. Time was ticking with his position diminished. He played only three times at 14 games in 2022. "It will not be easy for Shin to play the role of a pinch-runner," said Yeom Kyung-yeop, who took office after the 2022 season.
As such, Shin's future plunged into fog. He needed to display competitiveness as a runner-up and a pinch runner, but Seo Kun-chang hit hard as the main second baseman in an exhibition game last year. While doing his third attempt as an FA, Seo Kun-chang recorded an OPS of .859 with a batting average of 362 (17 hits in 47 times at bat) in 13 exhibition games. Seo started the season as the main second baseman.
However, as soon as the regular season began, Seo suffered a slump and was unable to escape from the slump. After Seo moved to the second division, Shin Min-jae took over the baton of the main second baseman. Shin did not miss the opportunity to become a starting pitcher, which he had come through difficulties. He displayed strong batting performance and outperformed expectations in defense. Most of all, he became a player who sought to become the champion of stolen bases by maximizing his strengths in fastballs.
Although Seo Kun-chang failed to recover his condition in the second division, he no longer considered second baseman, manager Yeom Kyung-yeop. Shin Min-jae solidified his position as the main second baseman and eventually became a player who handled the last out count of winning the Korean Series.
He had a batting average of 277 with 28 RBIs, 47 runs scored, and 37 stolen bases OPS of .653 in 122 games. He was about to win the title of stolen base, but ended the season as the second runner-up to Doosan Bears' Jung Soo-bin (39). He failed to play properly due to physical deterioration and hamstring injury that he encountered during the first full-time season at the end of this season. His batting average of .300 collapsed, and he regrettably lost the top spot to Jung Soo-bin.
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