After his first season with the Saitama Seibu Lions was done in 2023, David MacKinnon figured he’d be back with the Japanese club for another year.One thing led to another, and MacKinnon ended up with another Lions team in Asia — the Samsung Lions in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).As tough as it was for the American first baseman to leave Japan, MacKinnon says it was “an easy decision” to sign with the KBO’s Lions.”Not too often does the team just start with the maximum amount,” MacKinnon told Yonhap News Agency on Thursday at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, after returning from spring training in Japan. In December, MacKinnon signed for $1 million, the maximum amount for first-year foreign players in the KBO.

“So I just felt like you go where you’re wanted in free agency,” MacKinnon added. “I’ve got nothing bad to say about Japan. I very much enjoyed my time in Japan, but I felt more wanted by Samsung, and it was an easy decision at that point. You go where you’re wanted, and you go where you feel like you’re going to have the best chance to excel. And I feel like that’s here.” It only takes a quick glance at MacKinnon’s social media feed to see how much he did enjoy his time in Japan. And the feeling was apparently mutual, with many Japanese fans expressing their disappointment in not seeing MacKinnon back with Seibu and wishing him the best in Korea in the new season.The business side of baseball got in the way of MacKinnon’s return to Japan, but the player said he was ready to move on.”I think free agency is tough in general. You can’t knock Seibu for not wanting to bring me back, and they can’t knock me for leaving,” he said. “It’s just how free agency works, and I enjoyed my time there.I enjoyed my teammates, the coaches and the fans. Everything was awesome. I wish it ended differently, but there’s 슬롯게이밍 nothing bad to say about it. I thought I was going to go back, and I’m excited for the upcoming year here.”