The LG Twins have virtually signed a lifelong contract with infielder Oh Ji-hwan (32).
On the 19th, LG agreed to a multi-year contract with Oh Ji-hwan, the club’s first. The contents of the contract are very large, reaching a total of 12.4 billion won (10 billion won in guarantee, 2.4 billion won in options) for six years from 2024 to 2029.
You need to take a closer look at the terms of the contract. First, Oh Ji-hwan signed his first free agent contract ahead of the 2020 season. At the time, he signed a contract worth 4 billion won for 4 years, and the contract ends at the end of this season. Accordingly, the LG club moved quickly and gave Oh Ji-hwan a long-term contract before he was requalified as a free agent.
Some say that the amount is excessive. The 12.4 billion won contract will begin next year when Oh Ji-hwan is 33 years old and will end at the age of 39, when his retirement is nearing. In other words, since Oh Ji-hwan is not young, it is pointed out that 6 years is too long regardless of the amount.
This can lead to concerns about aging. It is an established theory that most beasts explode their potential in their mid-20s and spend their prime from their mid-20s to early-mid 30s.
In fact, the combined record of shortstops in the KBO League from 2000 to 2022 was no different. Looking at the total contribution to victory (WAR, stats) of all shortstops compared to replacement players, they start to hit their potential at the age of 23 to 24, jump to the top ranks at the age of 25 to 26, and show off their best skills from the age of 27 to 33.
And from the age of 34, the aging curve begins to come, and after the age of 36, the phenomenon of rapidly declining skills as a backup player appeared. 온라인카지노
Oh Ji-hwan’s long-term contract starts at the age of 34, so this is why there are voices of concern. Some voices say that a long-term contract like Doosan Heo Gyeong-min should have been signed, but an option should have been granted for the contract period like 4+3 years.
However, the market situation developed very favorably for Oh Ji-hwan, and as a result, the ransom was able to jump significantly.
Currently, there is no shortstop resource in the KBO league that can be called the so-called S class. Both Kang Jeong-ho and Kim Ha-seong, who were called the ‘Peace King’ and showed unrivaled skills at the shortstop position, both left for the major leagues, and Kim Jae-ho, who has excellent defensive skills, is unable to stop his skills from declining as he is in his mid-30s.
In other words, in the current league, there is no shortstop better than Oh Ji-hwan, and if he appeared in the free agent market after this season, many teams would have jumped into the recruiting predominance. And LG announced to the whole world that it would go to the end with the franchise star by offering a long-term contract to block it in advance.