Doosan Bears slugger Yang Seok-hwan (32), who remained with the baseball team, is expected to serve as the captain of the Bears next season.

“After signing a free agent contract, I spoke with manager Lee Seung-yeop, and he asked me to take over as captain,” Yang said to reporters after the ‘2023 Magumagu Real Glove Award’ ceremony held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on Jan. 1. “I answered in the affirmative.”

“A lot of good things happened to me this week,” Yang said, adding, “The club treated me well, so I will do my part by posting 30 home runs and 100 RBIs in the new season.”

Yang, who hit .281 with 21 home runs and 89 RBIs in 140 games in 2023, signed a four-year, $7.8 billion free agent contract with Doosan on March 30.

The total value of the four-year contract is up to 6.5 billion won, and after the four years are up, the club and player can agree on a two-year, 1.3 billion won extension.

Yang vowed to earn more money by performing at his best for four years.

“Coach Lee Seung-yeop joked, ‘I’m only half-congratulating you because you haven’t reached 10 billion won,'” he laughed, adding, “I told him that I would reach 10 billion won in four years.”

Yang’s new challenge has already begun.

“I’ll start technical training in the middle of this month, and I’ll be traveling to Australia next month (for spring training) to get my body up to speed,” he said, “so I’ll be ready for the start of the new season a little earlier.”

Meanwhile, his Doosan teammates at the ceremony welcomed Yang’s retention.

Outfielder Jung Soo-bin said, “I decided to stay with Yang until he retires.”

Infielder Heo Kyung-min said, “Yang Seok-hwan is a player who can play the role of a captain well,” and encouraged him to achieve his goals of 30 home runs and 100 RBIs.” 토토