▲ Lee Dae-ho (left) and Lee Seok-hwan, CEO of Lotte Giants, are taking a commemorative photo after completing the free agency contract on the 29th. (yunhap news)
On the 29th, Lotte announced that it had signed a contract with Lee Dae-ho, a free agent (FA), for a total of 2.6 billion won (a contract fee of 800 million won, an annual salary of 800 million won, and a winning option of 100 million won each year).
Lee Dae-ho said, “I’m really sorry to the fans because the contract was late,” and “But I’m glad I can deliver good news just before the start of Spring Camp (February 1).”
He said, “Through this contract, I became active as a’Lotte Man’ for 17 years, and the club has been paying a lot of attention to it,” he said.
Lee Dae-ho will finish his career as an active player by 2022 wearing a Lotte uniform.
“There was no disagreement over the size of the contract while discussing the contract,” said Lee Dae-ho. “The meeting itself was late and the news was delayed due to coordinating the retirement period.”
He then revealed his goal, “I only want to retire from active duty after winning the Korean Series within two years.”
Lee Dae-ho said, “We put the winning option in this contract. There is an option on the condition of donating 100% of the 100% donation to the underprivileged neighbors of the team when winning the team. I will do everything I can to win the team. I want to convey all the know-how I have for my juniors. I will do my best to help the director and the manager.”
Lee Dae-ho, who joined Lotte in the second round of the rookie draft in 2001, played 1715 games in his career for 15 seasons, hitting 0.309, 332 homers and 1,243 RBIs.
Last season, he scored 110 RBIs and took on the role of a central hitter. With a career of 332 homers and 1243 RBI, it is the club’s record number one.
Lee Dae-ho is planning to join the spring camp at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 1st of next month.