Final Meeting Hanwha Eagles Still Need Kim Kang-min and Respect his Wishes

The controversy over Kim Kang-min is hot. SSG and Kim Kang-min faced an awkward situation as Hanwha nominated Kim Kang-min (41)

the 'symbol of Incheon baseball in the 2000s', who played only for the predecessor SK Wyverns and SSG Landers from 2022 to 23.

First of all, Hanwha is still expressing the same position regarding Kim Kang-min. 

Hanwha nominated Kim Kang-min because it absolutely needed him, and continues to state that it respects his wishes.  토토사이트

In fact, Hanwha still highly valued Kim Kang-min. I sincerely hoped that his outfield defensive ability

body management, and winning DNA would be transplanted to the Hanwha Eagles. 

Also, Hanwha's outfielders are considerably weaker than their infielders.

The newly recruited Peraja also has quite weak defense compared to his offensive power. 

Therefore, Kim Kang-min's value is bound to be greater at Hanwha compared to other clubs. 

In reality, his usage range will be much greater, but even if he is only used as a major defensive player, Kim Kang-min's value is sufficient for Hanwha.

A Hanwha official said, “We nominated Kang-min Kim because our team desperately wanted him. However, he is one of the veteran players representing the KBO.

I will have a conversation with Kim Kang-min and I will respect and honor his wishes as much as possible.

At the same time, we plan to explain why we nominated him and his necessity at today's meeting.

Hanwha selected Kim Kang-min as the 22nd overall pick in the fourth round of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) second draft held on November 22.

SSG, who had excluded Kim Kang-min from the list of 35 protected players, was embarrassed, and soon fans also sharply criticized the club's easygoing behavior.

We were discussing retirement, extension of active duty, and even the timing of the retirement ceremony with Kim Kang-min, so I had no idea that another club would nominate Kim Kang-min. 

The SSG club explained, “Because we were actively promoting generational change, it was difficult to include Kim Kang-min in the 35-man protected player list.”

However, fans are not convinced by this. 

In fact, I am not convinced that Kim Kang-min was omitted from the 35-man list when first- to third-year professional players are automatically protected. 

In addition, quite a few clubs marked players who were not on the list of protected players but were scheduled to retire 'recognizably' and passed them on to other clubs.

However, there was no sign next to Kim Kang-min's name saying 'player scheduled for retirement or under discussion.'

For example, Hanwha appointed Jung Woo-ram as a playing coach before the second draft was held, preventing 'nomination by other clubs.

SSG also did not want the discussion about Kim Kang-min's retirement to become known to the outside world, saying

Please wait until the timing of the retirement ceremony is confirmed.

However, after the situation escalated, there was a considerable outcry over his backing out, saying, "I didn't know he would be nominated."

In fact, key players such as Kim Gwang-hyun and Han Yu-seom expressed their doubts about the SSG club's handling of the matter through social media. He left a message that directly attacked the club.

Hanwha plans to add Kim Kang-min's name to the pending player list if Kim Kang-min agrees to an extension. 

This means that after November 25th, Kim Kang-min effectively becomes a ‘Hanwha player.’

Hanwha has grounds to request an ‘extension of active duty’ for Kim Kang-min. He also plans to give ample courtesy. 

SSG is no longer qualified to make any demands on Kim Kang-min.