San Diego Padres new shortstop Xander Bogatz is from Aruba, a small island in the southern Caribbean Sea. The Dutch land is classified as a dry, maritime climate zone with little temperature difference throughout the year.

Bogatz said he dreamed of moving to the Padres while he was with the Boston Red Sox because the climate in San Diego was similar to his hometown.

The San Diego Union-Tribune, a prominent newspaper in the San Diego area, said on the 27th (Korean time), ‘San Diego is the place Bogarts has long dreamed of as an ideal home. The first place he played the All-Star Game was at Petco Park, and he remembers the experience as quite pleasant. He also liked that the climate was similar to Aruba. But he never thought the Padres would be interested in him,’ he said.

It was in 2016 that the All-Star Game was held at Petco Park. Bo Gatz, a newcomer to San Diego, enjoyed his first All-Star Game, but most of all, he was impressed by the similar climate to his hometown.

He had the idea that one day he could become a free agent and he could go to San Diego. However, in 2019, San Diego had to give up ‘that dream’ when it promoted big-time prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. to the major leagues. As soon as Tatis made his debut in the major leagues, he showed off his hot bat skills and quickly rose to become a top-class hitter.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the day Tatis made his major league debut, Bogarts decided to stay longer in Boston.

After the 2019 opener against the Seattle Mariners, Bogaerts called agent Scott Boras to his lodgings and informed him that he would extend his contract with Boston. At the end of that year, he could have become a free agent, but he decided to sign a long-term contract with Boston and enjoy a comfortable career in case he couldn’t go to San Diego카지노. A few days later, Boston announced that it had signed Bogarts to a six-year, $120 million contract extension. In 2019, the contract was already signed for $12 million, and it was a long-term contract that will take effect from 2020.

However, it is said that Boras made a suggestion here. To add an opt-out clause after the third season in the contract. This, in the end, became a ‘God’s move’. Last year was the third season of the contract, and Bogatz played in 150 games, showing his skills with a batting average of 0.307, 15 homers, 73 RBIs, 84 runs scored, and an OPS of 0.833, confidently opting out.

“At the time, I didn’t know exactly what kind of player I was. I wasn’t sure about myself. I think I’m a good player, but I didn’t know I would become the player I am today. I think it’s thanks to the good coaches and players I met in Boston.” “But I didn’t know that San Diego would contact me. I was a little surprised. San Diego wanted a player with the winning mentality and experience. It’s a long-term thing to do, but I thought it was very valuable,” he explained why he accepted San Diego’s offer. did.

However, when San Diego signed a free agency contract with Bogatz for 280 million dollars (about 365 billion won) in 11 years in December of last year, it was said that there was too much ‘excess power’. It was because there was already Kim Ha-seong, who has excellent defense, and Tatis Jr., who will return soon, at shortstop. However, San Diego general manager AJ Preller unconditionally promoted the signing of Bogarts. Adjusting the position of Kim Ha-sung and Tatis was the next problem.

“Our club focused on Bogarts because we were looking for the right fit for the team and the power we needed to rise to the top,” said Preller.

Eventually, with Bogatz coming in, Kim Ha-seong moved to second base, and Tatis moved to the outfield as originally planned.