I welcomed the renewal of the manager's contract, saying,

I welcomed the renewal of the manager's contract, saying,

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Kwak Do-gyu (21, KIA Tigers), who welcomed the news of coach Lee Bum-ho's renewal, said, "Now the baseball life has unfolded," has made his own life with a remarkable salary increase rate.

The KIA Tigers of the professional baseball announced on the 22nd, "We have completed contracts with 44 people excluding pitcher Kim Sa-yoon among 45 people who are eligible to renew their salary in the 2025 season."

While Kim Do-young earned 500 million won (468,815 U.S. dollars) by raising his salary by 400 percent, Kwak Do-gyu was the "winning left-hander" in the pitching team. Kwak signed a contract worth 120 million won (120,730 dollars), up 263.6 percent (87 million won) from the previous 33 million won (33,055 dollars), and has risen to the ranks of the top paid players in three years since his debut as a pro. The baby tiger, which started at the lowest annual salary of 30 million won (27,540 dollars) and received 33 million won (33,055 dollars) last year, has created a twist story.
Kwak Do-gyu, who left the high school, achieved his dream of becoming a professional player by ranking 42nd in the fifth round of KIA in the 2023 Rookie Draft. In his first year of debut, he realized the high wall of the first team with an 8.49 ERA without winning or losing 14 games, but in recognition of his potential, he conducted customized training with his colleagues such as Jung Hae-young, Lee Eui-ri, Yoon Young-cheol, and Hwang Dong-ha to increase his speed and improve his ball power for 33 nights and 34 days toward the Driveline Baseball Center in Seattle, USA in December 2023.

The training had significant impact. In his second year, he has become a must-winner of the Kia Tigers in 71 games, recording four wins, two losses and two saves with 16 holds and an earned run average of 3.56 (22 earned runs in 55 ⅔ innings). In addition to that, Kwak also displayed robust pitching in the Korean Series, with two wins and no loss in four games with an earned run average (self-imposed goal in four innings), and stood as a left-hander in just two years since his debut.

His crazy performance in his second year led him to join the national team for the first time in his career. After the end of the season, Kwak joined the Premier 12 national team led by coach Ryu Joong-il and gained experience in international competitions.

According to Kia, Kwak has become the hero of the Tigers' highest increase in pitchers' salary in this contract. He has set a new record for his team, surpassing Yang Hyeon-jong in 2015 and Choi Ji-min (233.3 percent) in 2024.

The driving force behind the 2.6-fold increase in annual salary is his mental strength. Kwak said during the convocation of the national team last year, "I have no basis for my confidence. Actually, I am very anxious. I am also worried about how bad it would be if I am not good at playing like this. However, there is less chance than expected that bad things will happen. As a pitcher, I have a high probability of doing well. No matter how good the batter is, he or she wins the game with 70 percent probability. Probability is on my side."

"I always try to remember only good things. If you give a lot of walks and say that you are weak against right-handed hitters, you forget it, but if you say that you are strong, you read it well. You have confidence by separating good from bad," he said.

Kwak welcomed then-coach Lee Bum-ho's renewal as if it were his job, and received support from Kia fans as well. "I was so happy (to hear the news). I bragged to (Choi) Jimin right away. Being with a good coach is my baseball life and my team is on a path to good direction," Kwak said. "I'm so happy." 토토사이트

However, judging from the results of his salary contract for the 2025 season, Kwak's baseball career does not seem to have blossomed solely because of Lee Bum-ho. Kwak confidently paved the way for his career with his skills.