Will the second appearance show a different side? Choi Won-tae, the '7 billion FA' of the Samsung Lions in professional baseball, will face the defending champion KIA Tigers on the 2nd.

Choi Won-tae signed a contract with Samsung in December last year with a signing bonus of 2.4 billion won, an annual salary of 3.4 billion won, and incentives of 1.2 billion won, totaling 7 billion won in aggregates. Choi Won-tae, who graduated from Seoul High School, started his professional career after being selected first overall by Nexen Heroes in 2015. Until last year, he appeared in a total of 217 first-team games, recording 78 wins, 58 losses, and an earned run average of 4.36.

Choi Won-tae achieved double-digit wins for three consecutive years from 2017 to 2019, and as a specialist starter, he has made more than 20 starts and pitched over 100 innings for eight consecutive years from 2017 to last year.

Choi Won-tae can mix various pitches, including four-seam fastballs, two-seam fastballs, cutter fastballs, sliders, curves, and change-ups, and his strong point is stable control. In particular, his ability to induce ground balls is highly evaluated, making him a suitable pitcher for Daegu Samsung Lions Park, which favors hitters.

On the 25th, Choi Won-tae held his transfer announcement ceremony against the NC Dinos. He struggled somewhat with 6 hits allowed, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts, and 4 runs over 5 innings, but received help from the lineup and recorded his first victory of the season.

Manager Park Jin-man noted, "Starting pitcher Choi Won-tae seemed to feel a bit of pressure as this was his first appearance after the transfer, but he appeared to gradually find his pace. I believe he will show a better performance in the future."

In front of the home game against NC on the 27th, Choi Won-tae treated the team to pizza to celebrate his first win, saying, "Since it was my first victory after moving teams, I wanted to share the joy with my teammates. I will work hard to participate in many games this year and accumulate many wins."

Samsung wrapped up a weekend three-game series against Doosan with 2 wins and 1 loss, thanks to the ace trio of Ariel Hurado, Won-tae In, and Denny Reyes effectively fulfilling their roles. If Choi Won-tae and left-handed pitcher Lee Seung-hyun show stable performances, they will truly build a complete starting lineup.

There is a reason why the team must win the first match against KIA. Samsung struggled against KIA last year, with 4 wins and 12 losses. If they don't seize the momentum in their first encounter of the season, they may not be able to overcome their inferiority this season either.

This is why Choi Won-tae's second appearance of the season is significant.

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