“It didn’t mean that I would leave Lotte and go to another team.” 스포츠토토
‘FA non-contract’ left-handed pitcher Kang Ri-ho (33, former Kang Yoon-gu) opened his mouth in front of the fans. Kang Ri-ho revealed his position surrounding his free agency contract through his Instagram live broadcast on the 3rd.
Kang Ri-ho declared free agency at the end of last season, but he did not receive interest from other teams and negotiations with his original team, Lotte, did not go smoothly. In the midst of this, as it became known that Kang Ri-ho’s side asked Lotte to “release the reservation right after signing a one-year contract,” questions about his position grew. Lotte caused speculation that it was his will to leave.
First, Kang Ri-ho said on the broadcast that day, “Before I applied for FA, I talked to the general manager. Then, the general manager said, ‘What are you thinking? ‘I said and applied for FA’,” he said, talking about the process of applying for FA.
In fact, questions were raised about Kang Ri-ho’s FA application, which had been performing poorly recently. Kang Ri-ho said, “Every baseball player has a dream of becoming a free agent. Because of that, I have been able to come by enduring so far.” I was not good and my position in the team disappeared. However, I ended up filling the free agency. That said, I wondered if it would be meaningful to play a game once a week even if I was a free agent. Besides, since it is a C grade, there are no compensated players and the salary is low, so ‘they need me’ If there is a team that does it, let’s do FA’
Kang Ri-ho then explained the reason why he asked Lotte to release the reservation right after the one-year contract, even if it cut the annual salary.
“Korea’s FA system is a system where you have to negotiate an annual salary again if you don’t sign a 4-year contract. Even if you sign a 1-year contract, you have to negotiate again. Kang Ri-ho said, “I didn’t mean to leave Lotte and go to another team. I didn’t hate Lotte, and I didn’t have a bad relationship. I thought if I did well for a year, Lotte would catch me on better terms.”
Kang Ri-ho also explained the content of the interview with a media outlet. Regarding the content that he only came out as a one-point relief and felt like a consumable, Kang Ri-ho said, “I never said the word expendable. Rather, I want to be a consumable. I want to play all 144 games.” I used the expression a lot, but it didn’t mean that I was embarrassed. It means that I was embarrassed that I couldn’t play baseball.”
His whereabouts have not yet been determined. Kang Ri-ho expressed his will to continue his career as a player, revealing that he is seeking a way out not only in the KBO league but also in independent baseball teams, Mexico and Taiwan. Indeed, it raises questions about what uniform Kang Ri-ho will wear in front of fans again this year.