The executive committee reaffirms its positive view on the Asian quota Salary and starting positions, etc. are undecided
Shirakawa, 4 runs allowed in Doosan debut
Professional baseball has decided to submit the agenda for introducing an Asian quota to the board of directors.
The heads of the 10 professional baseball teams and the KBO office held an executive committee meeting at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Dogok-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 16th to discuss current issues.
The executive committee has virtually agreed to introduce an Asian quota for players from the Asian continent, separate from the current three foreign players per club, and has passed the final decision to the board of directors, a gathering of the presidents of the 10 clubs.
If professional baseball adopts the Asian quota, it will be the last of the five major professional ball sports in Korea to do so.
Professional basketball and professional volleyball are operating an Asian quota, and women’s professional basketball has also decided to operate an Asian quota starting next season and selected players.
Professional soccer changed its rules from operating an Asian quota to selecting a quota for foreign players ‘regardless of nationality’ this season.
It appears that the outstanding performance of Keisho Shirakawa, a right-handed pitcher from the Japanese independent league who debuted in the KBO League as a ‘replacement foreign player’ for a low salary and played for two teams, SSG Landers and Doosan Bears, pulled the trigger for the introduction of the Asian quota.
Although the general managers of the 10 clubs agreed on the premise of introducing the Asian quota, there are many obstacles in the specifics.
These include how much the annual salary will be, which position the players will be selected for, whether to include players from Japan, Taiwan, and Australia in the selection, and whether to have a tryout (open player selection) or a free agent contract with the club.
In particular, the issue of starting positions is an issue that requires close consultation with the Korea Professional Baseball Players Association.
Considering that most teams want to select pitchers with an Asian quota, three out of five starting pitchers can be filled with foreigners, along with the two existing foreign pitchers.
If we do this, we cannot avoid criticism from the players’ association that it is hindering the growth of domestic pitchers.
The executive committee also discussed the suggestion made by the 10 team managers during the All-Star break to not schedule doubleheaders in June, but no conclusion was reached.
Each team manager insists that doubleheaders should not be played in June, which is comparable to the hot summer months (July to August), considering the players’ physical decline, etc. KBO does not play doubleheaders in the hot summer months.
However, it was not immediately accepted because the prevailing view was that it was difficult to predict the rainy season period and amount of rainfall each year due to climate change.
Considering that last year’s season ended in mid-November due to a series of cancellations caused by frequent rain, the KBO office moved up the start of this year’s regular season by more than a week to March 23 and scheduled doubleheaders at the beginning of the season to prevent games from piling up. 안전놀이터