Four players from the NC Dinos, who were severely punished for violating the quarantine rules in July 2021, had a sharply diverged baseball life after 1 year and 6 months.
Park Min-woo, who obtained free agent (FA) qualification, hit the jackpot, while Lee Myung-gi and Kwon Hee-dong are completely ignored in the free agency market. Park Seok-min succeeded in renewing the contract, but his salary was drastically cut.
On the 27th, NC announced that it had completed contracts with 62 contract renewal candidates for the 2023 season. Among the 62 people, the name that caught the most attention was Park Seok-min.
Park Seok-min stamped for 50 million won, which was reduced from 700 million won to 650 million won. He had the disgrace of having the highest annual salary reduction rate (93%) in the KBO league, but he should have been grateful for the chance to make a comeback.
Park Seok-min caused a stir by having a drink with Park Min-woo, Lee Myung-ki, Kwon Hee-dong, and outsiders while staying at the Seoul away accommodation for an away game against the Doosan Bears in July 2021. 스포츠토토
He violated the quarantine rules, and as a result, a new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) was confirmed, resulting in an unprecedented situation in which the league ended the first half schedule early.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) imposed a 72-game suspension on them, and the NC club also decided on its own discipline. Park Seok-min could not play 50 games, and Park Min-woo, Lee Myung-gi, and Kwon Hee-dong could not play 25 additional games.
Park Seok-min returned in June of last year, but played only 16 games, batting average 0.149 (7 hits in 47 at-bats), and not a single home run. His worst performance put his career on the verge of ending, but coach Kang In-won decided to give Park Seok-min a chance.
At least Park Seok-min got a chance to continue running, but Lee Myung-gi and Kwon Hee-dong’s future is uncertain. The two, who exercised their FA rights after the end of last year’s season, remain uncontracted for two months. There is no progress in negotiations with the original club NC as well as other clubs, so his career as a player may end.
Unlike them, Park Min-woo succeeded in signing a long-term contract. NC clubs that missed internal free agents such as Yang Eui-ji (Doosan Bears), Won Jong-hyeon (Kiwoom Heroes), and Roh Jin-hyuk (Lotte Giants) gave Park Min-woo a large contract worth 14 billion won in total for 5+3 years.
There is no special treatment. Park Min-woo’s contract period of 8 years is the longest free agent period ever, and the total amount of 14 billion won is also Yang Eui-ji (4+2 years 15.2 billion won), Kim Gwang-hyun (4 years 15.1 billion won), Lee Dae-ho (4 years 15 billion won), Na Seong-beom (6 years 15 billion won) ), and ranks fifth in history.