Kiwoom Heroes infielder Song Seong-mun (29) made clear once again that he will not go to the major leagues on a minor league contract.
Song said in an interview on the third at the Goyang National Baseball Training Center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, during the 2025 NAVER K-BASEBALL SERIES national team training, "The decision about going to the major leagues is being considered by the U.S. agency. There is only one thing for me to do. It is to wait."
Selected by Nexen in the second draft of 2015, fifth round (49th overall), Song has played 824 KBO League games with a .283 batting average (2,889 at-bats, 818 hits), 80 home runs, 454 RBIs, 410 runs, 51 stolen bases and an OPS of .778. Through 2023 he had not lived up to expectations, but in 2024 he blossomed into an MVP-caliber infielder.
This year he played 144 games with a .315 batting average (574 at-bats, 181 hits), 26 home runs, 90 RBIs, 103 runs, 25 stolen bases and an OPS of .917, proving his skills for a second consecutive year. In August he signed a six-year contract with Kiwoom that aggregates 12 billion won. But at the time of the contract the club agreed to allow him to go abroad if he wanted, and Song will challenge the major leagues this winter through posting.
With the 12 billion won guarantee in his contract, Song has said several times that he will not go to the major leagues unless he is offered better terms than that. He meant that he will not go simply to challenge the major leagues on a minor league contract. In the interview he again explained, "I feel the same and I'm at an age now. The team also naturally would not want to let me go unless the conditions are good. In a way, posting is the club doing a favor for the player. In that respect, my interests and the club's interests aligned."
Kiwoom has sent the most players from the KBO League to the major leagues. Kang Jung-ho, Park Byung-ho, Kim Ha-seong (Atlanta), Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco) and Kim Hye-seong (Dodgers) succeeded in reaching the major leagues. Song also received a lot of advice from close seniors and juniors.
Asked if he was doing any special preparation to get ready for the major leagues, Song said, "There is nothing special. Everyone says that no matter how much you prepare, going and gaining experience there is what matters. They told me you adapt by experiencing failures and successes. Honestly, if you could prepare by imagination alone, anyone could do well without an adjustment period. Baseball is not like that, so I will first shore up the areas where I was lacking and polish and train while preparing."
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