professional players is determined by their annual salary. Players do their best in every game to increase their ransom. An outstanding player with star quality touches a lot of money that ordinary people can’t imagine, and the amount is revealed to the whole world. As a result, the salary is linked to the pride of the players.
Ahead of the 2023 season, 10 clubs have virtually completed negotiations on player salaries. Players who performed the best were treated appropriately, but those who caused controversy or failed to meet the club’s expectations could not avoid being cut. 메이저놀이터
Last season’s MVP, Lee Jeong-hoo (25), signed a stamp of 1.1 billion won, writing a new history in terms of annual salary. Excluding special cases such as free agents (FA), multi-year contracts, and returning overseas players, Lee Jung-hoo is the first to receive an annual salary of over 1 billion won for a one-year contract. Lee Jung-hoo broke the record for the highest annual salary for five consecutive years from 2019, his third year. The 750 million won received by Lee Jeong-hoo last season is 350 million won more than the 400 million won Ryu Hyun-jin received from Hanwha in 2011. Here, the annual salary signed this year is twice as high as the highest annual salary of 550 million won in the 7th year recorded by Kim Ha-seong in 2020. Lee Jeong-hoo, who is challenging to advance to the major leagues in the US at the end of the 2023 season, expressed his feelings about completing his contract, saying, “I want to repay you with a win.”
Kiwoom Ahn Woo-jin (24) and LG Ko Woo-seok (25), who have established themselves as starting and finishing players representing the league, are also likely to smile when they see their salaries. Ahn Woo-jin, who won the Golden Glove as a pitcher, earned 350 million won, a 133.3% increase from last season’s annual salary of 150 million won. Go Woo-seok, the save king who received 270 million won last season, will receive 430 million won, up 59.3%. Doosan rookie king Cheol-Won Jeong finished negotiations with 100 million won, up 233.3% from 30 million won.
SSG, who won the overall championship, also ended the salary negotiations happily. Choi Ji-hoon, Kim Min-sik, Choi Kyung-mo, Oh Won-sik, and Choi Min-joon’s annual salaries have more than doubled, and Jeon Eui-san, who showed potential as a wildcat this season, increased his salary by 200% from 30 million won to 90 million won. In addition, LG Kim Yun-sik, Moon Bo-kyung, Moon Seong-ju, Lotte Hwang Seong-bin, Hanwha Kim In-hwan, Doosan Kwak-bin, KIA Lee Jun-young, Hwang Dae-in, and Lee Chang-jin also have their ransom more than doubled in a year.
On the other hand, KT Kang Baek-ho (24), a ‘genius hitter’, lost his pride by cutting his salary. Kang Baek-ho, who received 550 million won last season, stamped for 290 million won. This is because he only played 62 games last season due to injury. Kang Baek-ho, who joined the spring camp belatedly, pledged to restore his honor, saying, “I will show that annual salary is not everything.”
Park Seok-min (37) became the player whose annual salary was cut the most in the league. Park Seok-min, who received 700 million won last season, will play the 2023 season for 50 million won. Park Seok-min, who was punished for violating quarantine rules, returned last season and had a batting average of 0.149 in 16 games. Park Seok-min even thought about his retirement, but NC coach Kang In-kwon decided to give Park Seok-min a chance to recover. Ha Joo-seok (29), who was suspended for 70 games for drunk driving, received 100.9 million won, down 50.2% from 200.9 million won.
LG Song Eun-beom (39) was unable to sign the contract. Song Eun-beom, who injured his knee in the 2021 season, returned last season, but was sluggish enough to be excluded from the postseason entry.