The Reason Why Lee Jeong-hu’s Ransom Price Soared
The Reason Why Lee Jeong-hu’s Ransom Price Soared… Data System·WBC·Kelly’s Success
ESPN: “Asian players’ salaries are sky high… something unthinkable in the past” Cited as three reasons for the skyrocketing salaries, “MLB teams collect various data easily”
A major feature of this winter's Major League Baseball (MLB) Stove League is that the value of players from the KBO League of Korean Professional Baseball and the NPB of Japanese Professional Baseball has soared.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (25), a right-handed pitcher who played for Japan's Orix Buffaloes, signed a 12-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers worth $325 million (about 432.9 billion won), setting a new record for the largest contract in history through the posting system (private competitive bidding), broke the record for the largest guaranteed amount for a pitcher in MLB history. 스포츠토토
Lee Jeong-hoo (25), who was a key player for Kiwoom Heroes, also set a new record for the highest posting amount ever for a Korean.
Lee Jung-hoo signed a six-year contract with the San Francisco Giants worth $113 million (KRW 150.5 billion), exceeding Ryu Hyun-jin's contract size (6 years, $36 million in 2013).
In the past, it was unimaginable to see Asian players who had never played in MLB enter the U.S. for more than 100 billion won.
On the 13th (Korean time), ESPN explained the changed treatment of Asian players in an article titled 'Why MLB signs large contracts with international free agents (FA)' and said, "In 2001, Ichiro Suzuki signed a three-year, 1,000 contract contract with the Seattle Mariners.
“The contract was for $4 million.
Even considering inflation, the contract is only worth $24 million,” he said.
The media said, “Ichiro is a player who is confirmed to be inducted into the Hall of Fame,” and “If he enters the MLB this year, he would have been able to sign a contract worth at least $150 million.”
ESPN analyzed three reasons why the prices of Asian professional baseball players have skyrocketed.
First, environmental reasons were cited.
MLB teams can now easily find information on players playing in Korean and Japanese professional baseball.
ESPN explained, "The player's skill evaluation system has grown exponentially, creating certainty for recruiting players."
Rod Blunck, senior advisor at Octagon, a large agency in North America, said, “I can feel that the distance between the international markets has become very close,” and “10 years ago, it was difficult to see athletes from all over the world play, but now (through the Internet, etc.) “You can see everything,” he said.
In particular, it has become possible to easily obtain data that was difficult to imagine in the past, such as pitcher's pitch rotation speed, release point, and hitter's exit speed.
Professional teams in Korea and Japan widely use various baseball data collection equipment, such as Trackman and Hawkeye, to provide player data.
Yamamoto's agent, Joel Wolff, explained, "Now every MLB team can be analyzed as if (Asian players) played in the United States just yesterday."
The increase in international competitions such as the World Baseball Classic (WBC) and Premier 12 where players can directly see their skills has also played a role in causing the prices of Korean and Japanese players to soar.
ESPN explained, “MLB teams can be outlined through data and gain confidence through international competitions,” and “Lee Jung-hoo surprised scouts and executives by recording 6 hits in 14 at-bats and an on-base percentage of 0.500 in the 2023 WBC.”
The performance of foreign players who returned to MLB after playing in Korean and Japanese professional baseball also played a significant role in increasing the value of Korean and Japanese professional league players.
Merrill Kelly (Arizona Diamondbacks), who played for the SK Wyverns (now SSG Landers), emerged as the team's ace after returning to the big leagues, and Myles Michaelus (St. Louis Cardinals) also played in Japanese professional baseball before returning to MLB and showing great performance.
As players who played in Asia successfully settled in MLB, the perception of MLB clubs toward the Asian league began to change.
MLB clubs now believe that the success of Asian players may be more a matter of adaptation rather than skill.
ESPN said, “Asian players are working hard to help them adapt well to diet, travel distance, and living abroad,” and added, “Clubs also provide various conveniences to help players feel comfortable.”
