The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League is drawing attention to Kang Baek-ho (KT Wiz), who is having the worst preliminary free agent season in the United States.
On the 13th (Korean time), the official social media account of Paragon Sports International uploaded news and photos of the contract with Kang Baek-ho, stating, "Paragon Sports International is very pleased to have signed Korean baseball star Kang Baek-ho to our team. We look forward to great performances in the future."
John Heyman, a prominent columnist for the New York Post in the United States, also reported through his personal social media account that "Paragon Sports has signed a contract with Kang Baek-ho and is seeking opportunities to enter Major League Baseball this winter."
Kang Baek-ho, a hitting prodigy for KT, received considerable attention this year ahead of the preliminary free agent season, with his market value mentioned at 10 billion won. Since he is not on a posting system but a free agent, there were discussions about his potential to enter Major League Baseball. Kang Baek-ho, who has expressed his dream of going abroad since the beginning of his career, also received an inquiry for identity verification from the Major League Baseball office along with Kim Hye-sung (Los Angeles Dodgers), who successfully entered the big leagues on October 31 last year.
Indeed, Kang Baek-ho finally regained his status as a hitting prodigy after a long wandering last year. He participated in all games (144 games) for the first time since his debut and achieved a batting average of .289, with 159 hits, 26 home runs, 96 RBIs, 92 runs scored, and an OPS of .840, contributing to the team's miraculous playoff advancement. After hitting 25 home runs for the first time in six years since his rookie season (29 home runs), he exceeded 95 RBIs for the first time in three years since the 2021 season (102 RBIs).
Kang Baek-ho, who opted to re-sign with KT following the identity verification request from Major League Baseball, is in a different situation this year. He has added an option for overseas advancement in the upcoming stove league by signing with Paragon Sports, a global agency associated with Christian Yelich, who won the National League Most Valuable Player award in 2018. Of course, signing with a local agency does not guarantee entry into the big leagues, but this contract allows him to make his presence known in the home of baseball.
However, the concern is Kang Baek-ho's performance this year. He has recorded poor statistics during his preliminary free agent season with a batting average of .255, 10 home runs, 39 RBIs, and 23 runs scored over 62 games. Dealing with injuries and poor performance in the first half, he finished the first 43 games with a batting average of .255, 7 home runs, and 23 RBIs, and in the second half, leading up to the recent game against the Suwon LG Twins, he had a batting average of .254, with 3 home runs and 16 RBIs in 19 games. The fact that he has climbed to a batting average of .359 with 3 home runs and 12 RBIs in August provides some comfort.
This year marks Kang Baek-ho's eighth year as a professional player. However, the lack of a definitive position is also a hindrance. He has won the Golden Glove award as a first baseman twice, but recently, he primarily serves as a designated hitter while occasionally donning a catcher's mask. On the surface, it may appear that he can showcase his versatility as a first baseman, catcher, designated hitter, and outfielder, but a closer look reveals that his performance is ambiguous across different positions.
Nevertheless, John Heyman highly valued Kang Baek-ho by saying, "He is set to become a complete free agent without posting. He is a left-handed power hitter capable of playing first base and designated hitter, as well as potentially taking on a third catcher role. He has a career batting average of .300 in the KBO League and was the first overall pick in the KBO League rookie draft."
Kang Baek-ho graduated from Seoul High School and entered professional baseball as the first overall pick in the second round of the KT draft in 2018, recording a career batting average of .304, 980 hits, 131 home runs, 543 RBIs, and 522 runs scored over 8 seasons. His achievements include being named the Rookie of the Year in 2018, selected as an All-Star three times (2018, 2019, 2020), and winning the Golden Glove award as a first baseman twice (2020, 2021).
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