The team has recruited Patrick Wisdom, a new foreign batter with 88 home runs in the KIA Tigers' Major League. Shim Jae-hak, Kia's general manager, met Wisdom at the last Major League Winter Meeting and made efforts to recruit him. There was a reason why there was a photo of the signing with the Kia Tigers wearing a t-shirt and a cap.먹튀검증
KIA officially announced on the 26th that it will recruit Wisdom for a total of $1 million, including a down payment of $200,000 and an annual salary of $800,000. It took some time during the medical test process due to cross-validation of domestic and foreign institutions, but the news of the Wisdom contract was reported before the end of the year.
KIA kept thinking about replacing existing foreign hitter Socrates Brito with a new one after putting him on the 2025 suspension list. In the end, the club internally concluded that a big change, not maintaining the status quo, should be made in order to challenge for the second consecutive win in 2025. KIA's general manager Shim Jae-hak attended the Major League's winter meeting, which was held in early December, to recruit Wisdom.
"I didn't intend to invite Wisdom to the Asian stage. He was going to play in the Mexican league and then try to become a major league player again. However, he met with the CEO of the agency during the winter meeting to persuade him. He stressed that our team is a champion and we need Wisdom to become the champion next year as well."
Shim said, "We have repeatedly promised to create an environment where Wizdom can be satisfied. And Wizdom also asked James Nail about the KBO League environment. As Wizdom has three children, he seems to have been worried about his advance to the Asian stage. He must have been relieved to hear what Nail said."
Wisdom is a power-hitter and right-handed infielder with a robust physique measuring 188 centimeters tall and weighing 99 kilograms. During his seven seasons in the Major League, Wisdom played in 455 games and posted a batting average of 0.209, 274 hits, 88 homers, 207 RBIs and 192 runs. During his seven seasons in the Minor League, Wisdom played in 439 games and posted a batting average of 0.253, 391 hits, 89 homers, 277 RBIs and 248 runs.
Wisdom played in 75 games for the Chicago Cubs in the 2024 season and finished the season with a batting average of 0.171, 27 hits, eight homers, 23 RBIs and 16 points. Wisdom achieved more than 20 home runs for three consecutive years in the 2021-2023 season on the Major League stage. Wisdom also had an outstanding slugging power that recorded the most 28 home runs in a season, as well as an above-average baserunning speed and compliance throwing ability.
General manager Shim said, "I would love to play with NC Davidson because he has good basic power, but he is a style that is capable of producing fast barrel hits first of all. I heard there are many strikeouts, but the bat did not go out on a bad ball, but there was a lot of swing and miss on the ball entering the zone. I thought that if I came to the KBO League stage, my batting average could rise a little more. I watched the Mexican League games myself, and I felt more confident in recruiting because I thought the level of the opposing pitchers was higher than that of the KBO League."
Kia expects to strengthen its position at the first base and stabilize its overall infield defense by recruiting Wisdom. "Based on the overall WAR (contribution to wins compared to substitutes) for the first baseman position in the 2024 season, our team ranked eighth in the league. It was the lowest number among all our positions, and I think Wisdom can fill the gap. And if Wisdom becomes the first baseman, we can expect to stabilize its overall infield defense," Shim said.
Meanwhile, Wisdom also drew attention by wearing the Kia Tigers' winning t-shirt and cap in its official contract photo. "I kept mentioning Wizdom's royalty to him from the beginning. We are the champion team and will continue to aim for the champion. We wanted to show that we are such a team, so we sent the winning t-shirt and cap in advance before taking the contract photo," Shim said with a smile.