“My uncle is leaving, but be a hero to Lotte fans.”
This is the heartfelt thoughts of Lee Dae-ho (41), a great senior, conveyed to Han Dong-hee (24) of the Lotte Giants.
It’s been 6 years since his debut. There is no longer the umbrella of ‘Big Boy’. It is a year of new challenges for Han Dong-hee.
Han Dong-hee’s annual salary for the 2023 season, announced on the 30th, is 192.6 million won. It was only a 12% increase from last year’s 172 million won.
This is because Han Dong-hee became the main character of the ‘Performance Incentive Contract’ that Lotte introduced from this year.
Lotte proposed performance incentives to the players prior to the annual salary contract this season. Instead of lowering the guaranteed salary a little, he expected that if he achieved the option with grades, he would be motivated enough to receive a much higher salary than before.
Among the Lotte players, there are only two people who have chosen incentive contracts. Han Dong-hee and Lee Hak-joo. Han Dong-hee can receive an annual salary of up to 266.8 million won this season if he wins all the incentives related to his performance.
Han Dong-hee’s unique intentions for this season are revealed. Since his debut in 2018, the modifier ‘Lee Dae-ho’s successor’ has always followed him. It is a label that will continue in the future.
Since he started to stand alone, he must be reborn as the first Han Dong-hee. It is an amount of regret, but the current annual salary of close to 200 million won is not a small amount. Excluding free agent seniors such as Jeon Jun-woo, Jung-hoon, An Chi-hong, and newly recruited Roh Jin-hyuk and Yoo Gang-nam, it is the overwhelming highest among beasts.
Last year, Han Dong-hee’s performance was a batting average of 3.7, 14 homers, 65 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.817. OPS and WAR (contribution to victory versus substitute players, based on stats) have steadily improved, and it is clear that the performance is at a high level. However, it is true that he does not live up to expectations. It is a stepping stone season to go beyond the team and be reborn as the league’s leading hitter.
Head coach Park Heung-shik said of Han Dong-hee this year, “30%, 30 homers and 100 RBIs.” It is also a personal sexual goal that Han Dong-hee has emphasized every year.
If Park Se-woong is the pitcher representing Lotte, Han Dong-hee is the hitter. Han Dong-hee is a player who will carry on the genealogy of Lotte’s signboard hitter, which has been passed on to Kim Min-ho, Kim Eung-guk, Ma Hae-young, and Lee Dae-ho.
The expectation of the club and fans is that Han Dong-hee solves the weakness of the third base defense and plays an active role in erasing Lee Dae-ho’s shadow at bat. If that’s the case, he’s well worth a shot at a non-free agent multi-year deal.
Lee Hak-joo, whose position was unstable due to the recruitment of free agent Noh Jin-hyuk, also chose an incentive contract. Lee Hak-joo’s guaranteed annual salary is 72 million won, but depending on his grades, he can receive up to 96 million won. 온라인카지노