S. Korean slugger signs with Japanese club

By Kim Boram
SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean slugger Kim Tae-kyun will play for
Japan's Chiba Lotte Marines starting next year under a three-year
multi-million-dollar contract, the club said Friday.
Kim reached the deal with the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league for a
total of 550 million yen (US$6 million) plus optional bonuses that will be
further negotiated, Marines' chief Ryuzo Setoyama said at a press conference in
Seoul.
The 27-year-old infielder, declared a free agent at the end of the 2009 season,
has played for the Daejeon-based Hanhwa Eagles for nine years since his debut
with the eight-member Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) in 2001.
The 2001 rookie of the year will be the 11th South Korean player to field in the
NPB, following Yomiuri Giants first-baseman Lee Seung-yeop and Yakult Swallows
right-hander Lim Chang-yong.
Kim, who hit .310 with 188 home runs and 701 RBIs through his nine-year KBO
career, also played a major role in raising South Korea to the final of the World
Baseball Classic (WBC) in March, finishing .345 with three homers.
Led by American manager Bobby Valentine until the end of the 2009 season, the
Lotte Marines finished fifth in the NPB's Pacific league this year.
brk@yna.co.kr
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