"YONG KYU needs to come back." He still has presence even after 60 games...Heroes are worth 200 million won because they're 40-year-old pillars

"YONG KYU needs to come back." He still has presence even after 60 games...Heroes are worth 200 million won because they're 40-year-old pillars

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Kiwoom Heroes outfielder Lee Yong-kyu (40) did not even enter the 2024-2025 FA market. He is eligible for the FA for the second consecutive year following the 2023-2024 FA market, but he did not apply. He had more frequent injuries during the 2024 season. He underwent rehabilitation due to minor injuries early in the season, and ended the season on Aug. 7 with a fractured right foot on Drew Anderson's curve against the Gocheok SSG Landers.메이저사이트

In 60 games, he recorded 56 hits in 183 at-bats for a batting average of 0.306, one homer, 12 RBIs, 27 runs and two steals, and his OPS of 0.801 has posted a batting average of 0.182. He returned to the .300 mark for the first time in eight years following his .352 batting average in 2016 when he was playing for the Hanwha Eagles. However, his performance volume declined due to his small number of games he played in.

In fact, his performance has continued to decline since joining the club in the 2021 season. He is now in his 40s. It is natural. However, Lee does not apply for an FA, and the club continues to embrace such Lee. Even according to the annual salary contract list released on Tuesday, Lee's annual salary is the same as last year at 200 million won this year.

The 200 million won is the second-largest amount after Song Sung-moon (300 million won) among single-year contractors, excluding FA and non-FA contractors. Although the team's payroll is very low, there is a reason why Lee Yong-kyu is still a No. 2 salary. Kiwoom has highly valued Lee Yong-kyu's work ethic in recent years.

Since Lee is not a captain, he does not tend to play his part in front of juniors. However, he always does his part behind the players. He is always in sync with his blue teammates and performs training just as he does without missing a single thing. When his teammates approach him, he would say something.

While Kim Hye-sung and Song Sung-moon, who have been real leaders, have led a lively atmosphere in front of the team, Lee has been a quiet but strong pillar. Manager Hong has thus tended to keep Lee in the first division for some time, even if he does not play in games. However, he stayed in the first division for 82 days and 119 days amid the trend of using more young players over the past two years. Nevertheless, when he was in the first division, he certainly put weight on the dugout.

Kiwoom is a young team. However, it has consistently recruited veterans for the past year or two. Players who are recognized as good walkers, good people, and good seniors and juniors even gave them a non-FA multi-year contract, even if they do not have outstanding performances. Even though the contract amount is not billions of won, they gave the team a contract that they can take more pride in. Some veteran multi-year contractors were criticized by fans due to their poor performance, but that is just a piece of cake.

Lee Yong-kyu returns home after recovering from his injury, as General Manager Ko said. However, his playing career is almost over. Frankly, he is not hoping for a great performance like he was in his prime at age 40. Even Kim Hye-sung has left, but this team has to drag young players to death or death.

However, there is also a role that Lee Yong-kyu can play and must play in it. Kiwoom did not overlook its importance. You can see why Lee receives 200 million won and the 2025 season.