Kim Hye-sung's annual salary is in full swing, Kiwoom style and assignment

Kiwoom released a press release and officially announced on the 22nd that it has completed salary contracts with all 44 people eligible for the 2024 season's salary contract (excluding rookies, fostering, military holdovers, FA, non-FA multi-year contracts, and foreign players). It is the third time in the KBO League that it has completed salary negotiations in 2024 after SSG, which concluded salary negotiations in 2024 early last year, and LG, which recently completed salary contracts with all those eligible for renewal by completing its winning non-commitment.

The most notable player is Kim Hye-sung, a key infielder of the team and a brilliant second baseman for the national team. "Kim Hye-sung broke the record for the highest annual salary in the eighth year in the history of the KBO League. Kim Hye-sung signed an annual contract at 650 million won, an increase of 230 million won (54.8 percent), surpassing Na Sung-bum's previous highest annual salary of 550 million won (54,000 U.S. dollars). "This is the highest increase and highest annual salary among those who are eligible for the contract in the team," Kim said in 137 games last season, leading the team's batting lineup with 186 hits from 556 times at bat, seven homers, 104 runs and 57 RBIs, and a batting average of 0.335 overall. He was the center of the infield and won the Golden Glove Award for the third consecutive year," he said.

◆ He is already the best second baseman in the league... He is the king of annual salary in his eighth year and challenges to the Major League

Kim Hye-sung, who graduated from Dongsan High School and was nominated in the second first round (7th overall) by Nexen (currently Kiwoom) in 2017, debuted in the first division in 2017 and played in 16 games, and has grown into a star since 2018, becoming the team's main infielder. In 2018, he recorded a batting average of 0.270 in 136 games, an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.695 and 31 steals, and in 2019, he continued to grow by recording a batting average of 0.276, an OPS of 0.691, and 20 steals in 122 games.

In 142 games in 2020, Kim Hye-sung recorded a batting average of 0.285, an on-base percentage of 0.345, a slugging percentage of 0.399, an OPS of 0.744, seven home runs, 61 RBIs, 80 runs, and 25 steals, and was evaluated as slowly opening his eyes even in the offense. His evaluation gradually increased on the utility that can play both shortstop and second baseman, and his defense skills, which are increasingly finding stability. Kim Hye-sung also became the first to rank 100 million won in annual salary since his debut, up 30 million won from 70 million won in 2019.

Kim Hye-sung signed a contract with an annual salary of 170 million won in 2021, and faced an inflection point. 2021 is the year when Kim Ha-sung, the team's main shortstop, advanced to the Major League by signing a four-year, $28 million contract with San Diego. Kiwoom needed a substitute, and Kim Hye-sung was waiting behind Kim Ha-sung, just as Kim Ha-sung was added to Kang Jung-ho. For Kim Hye-sung, who has mainly played at second base, he had a good opportunity to skyrocket his value.

The evaluations on his team were mixed in 2021. For starters, he has shown that his position as shortstop is not easy as he made many mistakes in defense. It was not easy for Kim to adapt himself to the season, either. However, he displayed remarkable performance in offense. In 2021, Kim played in 144 games to achieve his first .300 batting average (.304), and posted an OPS of 0.744 with an on-base percentage of 0.371 and a slugging percentage of 0.367. According to statistics website Stattiz, Kim's on-base plus slugging were not very good in objective scoring capacity due to his lack of on-base plus slugging compared to his overall batting average. From 2017 to 2020, his adjusted scoring capacity (wRC+) was all below 100. This means that he was below the league average.

In 2021, however, his wRC+ rose to 106.2, demonstrating his first-ever scoring capacity. His annual salary for 2022 also jumped from 170 million won (120,000 dollars) to 320 million won (320,000 dollars). Confident in his offense, Kim moved back to second base in 2022, relieving the burden on his defense and playing hard. He recorded a batting average of 0.318, an on-base percentage of 0.373, a slugging percentage of 0.403, an OPS of 0.776 and a wRC+ of 123.9 in 129 games, gradually breaking away from his image as a fast-tracked hitter. His annual salary for 2023 has jumped from 320 million won (320 million dollars) to 420 million won (320 million dollars).

In 2023, Kim showed his best performance in both offense and defense, and is now arguably the best second baseman in the league. Kim had a batting average of 0.335, an on-base percentage of 0.396, a slugging percentage of 0.446, an OPS of 0.842, seven homers, 57 RBIs, 104 runs, 186 hits, and 25 steals in 137 games last year. He broke his career high records in hits, homers, runs scored, and OPS all. With his career high ranking at 142.1, he has grown into a player with the best performance in the center infield, rather than a player with poor offensive productivity.

Kim Hye-sung, who had previously been recognized as the league's most growing infielder, has emerged as a top-class infielder by elevating his offense, which had been pointed out as a weak point. His contribution was recognized as an annual salary. Kim Hye-sung, who received 420 million won (390,000 dollars) last year, signed a contract of 650 million won (620,000 dollars) this year, breaking the record of the highest annual salary for a player in his eighth year in the KBO as Kiwoom explained. Na Sung-bum broke the previous record by receiving 550 million won (520,000 dollars) in 2019.

A player's value is explained by his or her annual salary. This salary negotiation can symbolize how high Kim Hye-sung's value is. Kim Hye-sung has displayed some difficulties in defense at shortstop, but he tends to boast excellent defense at second base. In various figures, he has continued to show positive performance at second base since his debut, compared to negative performance at shortstop position. On top of that, he has fast feet to contend for the title of stolen base. He has stolen more than 20 bases for six consecutive years since 2018, and in 2021, he also stole more than 46. Kim's flagship skill is more evident not only in stolen bases but also in base running. He is praised as the league's best in speed when he comes home from second base.

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