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Choi Hyung-woo signs record W10 bil. deal with Kia

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By Baek Byung-yeul

Choi Hyung-woo

Free agent outfielder Choi Hyung-woo signed a record-breaking four-year deal worth 10 billion won ($8.5 million) with the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Thursday.

The 10 billion won deal is comprised of a 4 billion won signing bonus and 6 billion won in total salary, the Tigers said. The 33-year-old slugger had played for the Samsung Lions for 11 seasons, recording .314 of batting average with 1,309 hits including 234 home runs, 911 RBIs, 705 runs. This season, he led the league in batting (.376), hits (195) and RBIs (144) to be named as the MVP runner-up.

“I am determined to play my part for the Kia Tigers. I am thankful to the Tigers for recognizing me,” Choi said in a statement. “I am sorry to part with the Lions. I would like to express my gratitude to the Lions and fans that have supported me.”

With the agreement, Choi became the highest paid player in the history of the KBO, beating out Park Sok-min who inked with the NC Dinos with a four-year deal worth 9.6 billion won last year.

Choi also became the Cinderella story of the KBO. Though he made his professional debut as a catcher with the Lions in 2002, he was released after the 2005 season, only recording two hits in seven at bats for four seasons.

But Choi never gave up his quest to play professional baseball. He joined the National Police baseball team during his two-year compulsory military duty and was picked up by the Lions again after displaying a dominant performance in the second division of the KBO League.

Joining the Lions from the 2008 season, he proved his worth leading the team in home runs with 19 and RBIs with 71, winning the Rookie of the Year award. He then established himself as one of the most productive hitters in the league and had his breakthrough season in 2011 leading the league in home runs (30), RBIs (118) and an on-base-plus-slugging percentage (OPS) of 1.044.

Choi’s future at the Tigers is determined to be bright. While recording 70 wins, one draw and 73 losses to rank fifth this season, the team hit the third most home runs with 170 but was placed sixth in runs (803).