“I came back to Busan to win.”
Lotte Giants foreign hitter Jack Rex (30) joined as a substitute foreign player in the second half of last year and showed overwhelming league dominance. Although he was a small sample of 3 months, he showed all his capabilities while adapting to the new league quickly even within the small sample.
Rex, who joined DJ Peters as a substitute foreign player last year, recorded a batting average of 3.3 (72 hits in 218 at-bats), 8 homers, 34 RBIs and 32 runs in 56 games, an OPS of .905. It was evaluated that his power was sufficiently verified, but there were question marks in his accuracy and defense, but he dispelled all concerns himself and proved that he was a top-level hitter in the KBO league. He did his part regardless of the leadoff and center line. He was also a reliable hitter in clutch situations with a scoring position batting average of 4.49.
The three-month proof led to a skyrocketing ransom price. Last year, Rex signed a contract with Lotte and received an annual salary of $313,000 at the time of this year’s contract, but signed a new contract this year for a total of $1.3 million. The conditions are a contract fee of $200,000, an annual salary of $1 million, and an incentive of $100,000. Even after playing for only three months, he became the highest-paid foreign hitter following last year’s outfielder Golden Glove Samsung Jose Pirella’s $1.7 million (down payment of $100,000, annual salary of $1.2 million, and incentive of $400,000).
His performance in the KBO League led to an offer in the United States. However, he did not leave Lotte fans. He was a Rex who was sincere in communicating with Lotte fans, such as sharing SNS posts of Lotte fans even in the off-season. He said, “Lotte fans are very interested in baseball. The energy and fighting spirit of the fans are really overflowing. It was really surprising. I also share it often because I want to communicate and give a feeling of being together.” But for Lotte’s victory, I came back to Lotte and Busan.” 바카라
Regarding the reason why he was able to quickly adapt to the KBO, he thanked his colleagues, saying, “Other players accepted me a lot and took good care of me.” He continued, “I think I was able to adapt quickly because Lee Dae-ho took good care of me and taught me about Korea.”
However, Lee Dae-ho retired. Rex, who plays full-time, must fill the gap in Lee Dae-ho’s long hitting power and productivity. Lex says he will fill in with his teammates while doing his own. He emphasized, “It is not important for me to change alone. The team is the most important. My role will not change. If I continue to do what I have been doing, I will be able to make the team win.”
Although he showed sufficient ability last year, concerns about the full-time season have not completely disappeared. But Rex was confident enough. Last year’s Minor League and KBO League performances combined were the best season. Right before coming to Lotte, he recorded a batting average of 3.3 1 in 34 games (40 hits in 121 bats), 6 homers, 21 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.000 in Triple A in Triple A. hit) left a not bad record with an OPS of .559.
He said, “I originally did well enough in the United States last year, and that continued to Korea,” he said. “He showed confidence.
Then, he asked for support, saying, “Our Lotte players are working very hard and training hard this year. I hope the fans will send a lot of interest and support.”