Hwang Jae-gyun (36), who is now an active “KT Man,” told the behind-the-scenes story of his transfer to the FA (free agent) in the past. Hwang recently appeared on Lee Dae-ho’s YouTube channel and told the story of his transfer to the KT Wiz ahead of the 2018 season. “He plays really well. He plays hard when he plays with Lotte,” said Lee. “That’s how I feel, especially when I change teams to FA or through trade.”

Hwang joined the Hyundai Unicorns 24th overall in the third round of the 2006 rookie draft, before moving to Lotte in 2010 through a trade. Since then, Hwang has jumped to the third baseman position and maintained Lotte’s hot corner. He played a leading role in winning the 2014 Incheon Asian Games and the 2015 Premier 12. After finishing the 2016 season, Hwang became a free agent and experienced the big leagues by joining the San Francisco Giants of the U.S. Major League. After spending the 2017 season in the U.S., he transferred to KT for a four-year contract worth 8.8 billion won (4.4 billion won in down payment and 4.4 billion won in annual salary) ahead of the 2018 season.

Hwang Jae-gyun said, “(Before the 2018 season) Lotte came out as an internal FA, including (Kang) Min-ho, (Son) A-seop, and me. Honestly, how can they catch all three? That was when I came back from the U.S. and I asked my agent to go to Busan and meet Lotte. I had been contacted by KT before that, but I was not seeing him because I thought I should talk to Lotte first.” 온라인경마

“The agent entered (the Lotte club) and within 10 minutes, he called again. When I asked him why he had already come out, he said, ‘He is not going to catch you because he is focusing on the internal FA.’ Later, when I was negotiating with KT, an article came out that Hwang Jae-gyun wanted a club in the Seoul metropolitan area, so he couldn’t even set up a negotiation table. That’s when Lotte fans started cursing at me. They came to my SNS and went crazy. Even if he said no, he didn’t believe me.”

“Lotte fans will trust you now,” Lee said. “Since we’re telling you how we feel, it’s right for you to tell us exactly what you feel. Other juniors are also appearing here to tell them what’s in their hearts. You really wanted to come to Lotte first, and Lotte always came first.”

Then Hwang Jae-gyun said, “That’s right. Over the past seven years, Lotte fans have shown enthusiastic and undeserved love. It was also fun to play baseball with the players at Lotte,” adding, “Honestly, Minho and Aseob must have come before me. Back then, Lotte was like that. I don’t know what (Park) Jun-hyuk would do now, but he did then.” Recently, Lotte appointed Park Joon-hyuk, the team’s new leader, to announce his new start. Lotte fans have high expectations for Park, who is capable and reputable in the baseball world. Hwang Jae-gyun said, “Since then, I met a good team called KT and won the title. I am so happy to be here at KT now.”