▲ In this file photo from Nov. 12, 2020, Ju Kwon of the KT Wiz pitches against the Doosan Bears in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 3 of the Korea Baseball Organization second-round postseason series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. (Yonhap)
▲ Ju Kwon of the KT Wiz speaks to reporters before attending a salary arbitration hearing at the Korea Baseball Organization headquarters in Seoul on Jan. 25, 2021. (Yonhap)
▲ In this file photo from Nov. 9, 2020, Ju Kwon of the KT Wiz pitches against the Doosan Bears in the top of the seventh inning of Game 1 of the Korea Baseball Organization second-round postseason series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. (Yonhap)
▲ Cho Chan-gwan, head of baseball operations for the KT Wiz, enters a conference room at the Korea Baseball Organization headquarters in Seoul to attend a salary arbitration hearing with the team's relief pitcher, Ju Kwon, on Jan. 25, 2021. (Yonhap)
▲ In this Nov. 30, 2020, file photo provided by the Korea Baseball Organization, Ju Kwon of the KT Wiz gives a speech after receiving the trophy as the league's holds leader during the KBO Awards ceremony in Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

KBO pitcher-salary arbitration

KBO relief pitcher wins salary arbitration

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) -- KT Wiz reliever Ju Kwon became only the second South Korean baseball player to win a salary arbitration case on Monday, with an independent panel of arbitrators siding with the right-hander for a landmark victory.

Ju will make 250 million won (US$226,780) in 2021, instead of the 220 million won that the Wiz had offered him. Ju, 25, led the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) with 31 holds and posted a 2.70 ERA in a league-high 77 appearances in 2020, while making 150 million won.

He sought a 100 million won raise, but the Wiz insisted they couldn't pay him more than 220 million won based on their own calculation of Ju's value.

Ju decided to file for salary arbitration earlier this month, becoming the first player in nine years to do so.

Previously, 97 players had filed for arbitration but only 20 ended up going to hearings, with the 77 others settling before going to the panel.

Current LG Twins manager Ryu Ji-hyun had been the only winner before Ju's victory. Prior to the 2002 season, the Twins sought to cut Ryu's pay from 200 million won to 190 million won. The 1994 Rookie of the Year demanded 220 million won and got his wish.

The KBO said its panel was made up of five individuals with "a deep understanding of operations of professional sports teams." There were three attorneys, one sports management professor and one physical education professor. The KBO said Ju and the Wiz had recommended one individual each but didn't identify which ones they were.

Joo Jung-dae, an arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the world's top sports tribunal, served as the head of the panel. Joo said the panel reached "as transparent and logical a conclusion as possible based on objective criteria."

In the KBO, players with at least three seasons of experience who aren't free agents can apply for an arbitration hearing if they and their team can't agree on the amount of a new contract.

One full season equates to at least 145 days spent on the active roster. And until they hit free agency -- after eight seasons for four-year university grads and nine seasons for high school grads -- KBO players must keep signing one-year deals with their current teams. Ju was drafted out of high school before the 2015 season and completed his fifth full season in 2020.

In the early days of the KBO, taking the club to arbitration was considered a direct challenge to authority. Players weren't even allowed to be represented by agents until 2018. Clubs could simply bully their way through contract talks. There is still no players' union in the KBO.

Teams have softened their edges over the years, and more and more players are standing up for themselves. Still, in a baseball culture steeped in hierarchical tradition with teams controlling players' rights for as many as nine seasons, players don't have much leverage in arbitration cases.

Given that history, Ju's victory represents a significant step for players' rights.

Before Ju, the last player to even file for a hearing was former Twins outfielder Lee Dae-hyung in 2012.

Lee made 140 million won in 2011, but the team wanted to slash his pay to 85 million won after a down season. Lee wanted 120 million won but chose to accept the club's offer before going to arbitration.

The most recent arbitration hearing before Monday came 10 years ago, and it also might have been the most famous case.

Lotte Giants slugger Lee Dae-ho was voted the MVP in 2010 after capturing the batting Triple Crown as the leader in batting average, home runs and RBIs. Lee also topped the KBO in hits, runs scored, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Lee made 390 million won that year.

For 2011, the Giants offered Lee 630 million won for the largest year-to-year salary increase in club history. But Lee, who wasn't yet a free agent, demanded 700 million won. The arbitration panel sided with the Giants. Lee became a free agent after 2011 and spent the next five seasons in Japan and Major League Baseball.

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]