This is a swift decision. SSG Landers, which failed to advance to the postseason due to lack of one win, finished composing foreign players even before December arrives. Guillermo Herredia was awarded the highest salary for a foreign hitter in history.
Following the recruitment of Mitch White, a Korean-born player, he renewed his contract with Drew Anderson on Thursday to create a fastball one-two punch. On top of that, he also renewed his contract with Herredia, the No. 1 player in batting average, to maintain the central position of his team’s lineup. While six teams have yet to confirm foreign players, SSG has accelerated its pace.
SSG finished composing foreign players on Saturday. Herredia once again took the batter’s box, which was the last puzzle. In addition, it is a huge contract worth 1.8 million dollars based on the total amount. The company has secured 1.6 million dollars in compensation and 200,000 dollars in compensation for performance. It is also the highest paid ever for a foreign batter. The previous record was 1.7 million dollars for Darin Ruff in 2019 and Jose Pirella last year. The previous record was 1.4 million dollars for Ruff and 1.3 million dollars for Pirella.
In her second year, Herredia signed a contract worth 1.5 million U.S. dollars (down payment of 150,000 dollars, annual salary of 1.15 million dollars, incentive of 200,000 dollars) and became the “highest paid foreign player” along with LG Casey Kelly, KT William Cuevas, and Doosan Raul Alcantara. She will receive a huge amount of nearly 2 million dollars next year.
“Eredia, who has been a foreign hitter since the 2023 season, will continue to accompany SSG for three consecutive years with excellent work ceremonies as well as excellent hitting and defense at the top of the league,” SSG said.
In 136 games in the 2024 season, Herredia led the team’s central batting line with better performances than in the 2023 season in various batting indicators, including a batting average of 0.360 (No. 1 in the league), 195 hits (No. 2 in the league), 118 RBIs (No. 3 in the league), 21 home runs, and 0.937. In addition, he achieved the most hits and RBIs in a single season in the club’s history and became the team’s first hitting king, showing outstanding performance in the club’s history. In particular, he achieved the record of “30 against all teams” for the first time under the 10 KBO teams, showing the highest batting ability in the league.
He also maintained the “KBO Defensive Player Award” for the second consecutive year in defense. After winning the honor last year, Herredia was honored as the best defender in left field for the second consecutive time. In defense index, she earned 75 points of voting and 12.5 points in defense record score that reflects UZR and official record, earning 87.5 points overall. She overtook Koo Ja-wook (Samsung) who earned 72.5 points for the second place and Cho Ha-sung (Doosan), who took the third place with 70 points.
After signing the contract, Herredia said, “I am so happy and excited to be with you for three consecutive years. I will play with my teammates next season and show them better performances. I will always thank my beloved Incheon fans and do my best to repay them with a victory next season.” 바카라사이트
SSG also announced its contract to become a foreign pitcher on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, it signed a 1 million-dollar contract guarantee with White, who is famous for his “Korean ancestry” and “Park Chan-ho lookalike.” On Wednesday, it renewed its contract with Anderson for a total of 1.2 million dollars (1.15 million dollars per year, 50,000 dollars in incentives). “We have completed the formation of a one-two punch for foreigners with top-rated ball power in the league,” SSG said.
Thus, SSG completed its formation of foreign players before November is over. SSG is the only team that has officially finished its formation of foreign players until July 25. Doosan replaced both foreign pitchers. It also hired Cole Irvin and Thomas Hatch. Hanwha has renewed its contracts with Ryan Weiss. Samsung announced the renewal of its contract with Denny Reyes and Lewin Diaz. Kia, LG, KT, Lotte, NC, and Kiwoom have yet to announce their contracts.
SSG had a winning rate of more than 500 percent this year, but failed to join the team in fall baseball. It posted a winning rate of 0.507 with 72 wins, two draws and 70 losses, but tied with KT for the first time in its history as the fifth-ranked tiebreaker. SSG had to end the season lonesomely as it lost 3-1 until the top of the eighth inning but came from behind to lose 3-4. It has accelerated its process of reorganizing its roster by sending Oh Won-seok, who had worked hard as a starting prospect, to trade ahead of next year’s season. By completing the formation of foreign players quickly, it will be able to enter 2025 with high expectations.
