Last month, the KIA Tigers signed a contract with infielder Seo Geon-chang (35), a free agent, for an annual salary of 120 million won. Seo Geon-chang played for the LG Twins until last season, but was released after the season. Wanting to extend his playing career, he decided to go to Gwangju at KIA\'s offer.
With the addition of Seo Geon-chang, KIA further strengthened its second baseman power. Veterans Kim Sun-bin (35) and Seo Geon-chang are expected to create a clear synergy effect in the long-term race. Of course, there is one premise here. This is a rebound in Seo Geon-chang’s ‘hitting accuracy’.
Seo Geon-chang is a player who left a strong impression on baseball fans during his time with Nexen Heroes (now Kiwoom). In particular, in the 2014 season, he appeared in 128 games and was selected as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the pennant race with a batting average of 0.370 (201 hits in 543 at-bats), 7 home runs, 67 RBI, and 135 points.
However, Seo Geon-chang also could not avoid the evil spirit of injury. He overcame the cruciate ligament rupture injury well in 2015, but his performance declined sharply due to a calf injury in 2018. In the middle of the 2021 season, he was eventually traded to LG and even changed his uniform.
After wearing the LG uniform, Seo Geon-chang continued to fail to utilize his unique ability, accuracy. Raising the batting average, which has fallen to the low to mid-200s, is an urgent priority for the 2024 season.
The best precedent to refer to is the revival of Ko Jong-wook (35), who had a successful season in Heroes. Like Seo Geon-chang, Ko Jong-wook went to SK Wyverns (currently SSG Landers) after Nexen and has been wearing the KIA uniform since the 2022 season. During the 2021 season at SSG, his batting average stayed in the mid-202s (0.267), but after taking a new opportunity at KIA, he raised his batting average to the late 200s. He recorded a batting average of 0.296 (80 hits in 270 at-bats) in 114 games in the 2023 season.
Seo Geon-chang is very desperate because this is a difficult opportunity to seize. He must demonstrate his strengths again in order to capitalize on his current opportunity. Whether his active duty will be extended after the 2024 season also depends on his rebound.
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