The gust of rookies in 2022 was not as strong as 먹튀검증 expected. Hanwha Eagles Moon Dong-ju and KIA Tigers Kim Do-young received a lot of attention from the time they joined, and that interest continued until the regular season, but the 2022 rookie king composition became a confrontation between ‘used’ rookies, and in the end, Doosan Bears Jeong Cheol-won won the honor of rookie king.
The level of activity of newcomers in 2022 can be seen by looking at the annual salary in 2023. Among rookies who started with a minimum annual salary of 30 million won, the ones with the highest annual salary this year were Park Young-hyun of KT Wiz and Lee Jae-hyun of Samsung Lions.
As a result of the annual salary announcements made by each club until the 30th, Park Young-hyun and Lee Jae-hyun side by side renewed the contract for 60 million won, a 100% increase this year, recording the highest increase among newcomers in 2022.
After graduating from Yushin High School, Park Young-hyeon, who wore a KT uniform as the first choice, steadily grew up while staying in the first team. He went out in the pursuit group in the beginning, and even on the 20th in early May, he was adjusted in the 2nd group, but after that, he survived in the 1st group until the end and stepped up to the winning group. In the regular season, Park Young-hyun, who appeared in 52 games and recorded an average ERA of 3.66 with 1 loss and 2 holds, surprised many by recording 2 saves in 2 innings in the 2nd game of the semi-playoff against Kiwoom Heroes.
Park Young-hyun, who was recognized for his performance in his first year, recorded a 100% increase rate and received the highest annual salary among 2022 rookies.
Lee Jae-hyun played in 75 games last year and recorded a batting average of .235 (54 hits in 230 bats), 7 homers and 23 RBIs, showing his potential as an infielder for Samsung’s future.
KIA Kim Do-young also receives an annual salary of 50 million won, an increase of 20 million won. Kim Do-young, who was in the spotlight as the first batter in the opening game amidst his great performance in the demonstration game, realized the wall of being a professional. Still, the KIA gave him a chance to play consistently, and Kim Do-young played in 103 games and showed his potential by recording a batting average of .237 (53 hits in 224 bats), 3 homers, 19 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.
Moon Dong-ju, who started the 2022 season with great expectations, could not show his presence due to two injuries.
Moon Dong-joo, who only came up to the 1st team in May due to an injury, recorded 2 holds as a relief pitcher. went down to Moon Dong-ju, who came up in September and started in three games, recorded his first win in his debut with 7 hits, 8 strikeouts and 4 runs (3 earned runs) in 5 innings against SSG Landers on October 3, his last appearance, promising the 2023 season. His season performance was reflected in his 2023 salary. Moon Dong-joo signed for 33 million won, up 10% (3 million won).