Salaries for Foreign Players

In Japan they [foreign players] are millionares.

Korea is up to 2 million (that is the max) with an annual 10% increases allowed.

Taiwan is around 96,000.

This is taken from the KBO website:

Foreign players

Each team may contract with up to two foreign players who are free agents in their home country per season. Maximum salary per player, including all bonuses, must be under $200,000 USD. A player whose salary was $200,000 USD last season may be allowed a 10% increase.

I had a post on February 4, 2004 entitled "Chong Highest Paid Player in KBO History" [Link] with the following information:

"Park Song-wu wrote in the February 3, 2004 Korea Times [Link] that Chong Min-tae signed a 2004 contract worth 740 million won ($620,000) with the Hyundai Unicorns. This is the highest annual player salary in Korean Baseball Organization history, surpassing the 630 million won that Lee Seung-yeop received last year."

Chong Min-tae has the highest salary in Korea with $620,000 US. I don't know where the $2 million figure came from. Some of the foreign player salaries for the KBO:

Jay Davis: $150,000 (with $70,000 signing bonus)
Edwin Hurtado: $150,000 (with $30,000 signing bonus)
Al Martin: $100,000 (with $100,000 signing bonus)
Troy O'Leary: $200,000 (released by Samsung Lions)
Angel Pena: $130,000 (with $70,000 signing bonus)

Is this the same Al Martin who played in the majors for the Pirates and Mariners (among other teams)?

Does anyone know why Troy O'Leary was released? I always thought that he was a solid player when he played in the big leagues.

Yes, it is the same Al Martin (pseudo USC football player).

Troy O'Leary wasn't playing up to the Lions' expectations so Samsung released him to avoid paying the full salary.

Thanks for answering my questions.

Wow, Al Martin used to be a decent player in the big leagues. I always wondered what happened to him. I'm kind of surprised he ended up in Korea. Not only is he a pseudo football player, he was busted for being a polygamist when he played in the majors. His excuse? "Well, I didn't think the other marriage counted."

- In Japan they [foreign players] are millionares.

This is a misconception. Not all foreign players in Japan are millionaires. Some are like Tuffy Rhodes, but most foreign players don't make millions in the NPB.

With the Korean salaries, I meant to put 200,000. I don't know why I put "2 mil." I have only known a few, and most of the foreigners sign a 2 or 3 year contract if they prove themselves, and it is worth a million or more.

All of this information is wrong! Whoever posted the article saying that they must be paid under $200K USD found false information. Plenty of players are making $500K and up.

Also, the 2 foreign players rule is wrong! It's 4 foreign players. There can be even more than that, too, but only 4 at a time are allowed to be on the active roster.

Normally I see some pretty decent information on this site, but in this thread there is much false information.

- Normally I see some pretty decent information on this site, but in this thread there is much false information.

The "Around Asia" and "Nichi-Bei" sections are the two I rarely comment on, since I don't know much about baseball outside of Japan. (And, no, I don't pay attention to the players in MLB beyond seeing their headlines.) If someone were to post that only two foreign players were allowed in NPB, I'd be quick to point out that that's incorrect.

It's nice when people post their primary sources. Dan-san, to whom it appears you're replying, sited the KBO site for his information, but didn't privide a link. If it were in Korean, I couldn't very well verify the information anyway. But I have no personal knowledge about the number of foreign players allowed in KBO, nor the maximum salary, so I take his word for it until someone else provides conflicting evidence.

Your corrections are most welcome. Primary sources for, for example, when the foreign player limit was increased, would be especially welcome, in English or Korean (as others here can read it, I'm sure). The page Dan-san was referring to may simply be outdated, even on an official site, making it an honest mistake.

Googling a bit, I've found reference to three foreign players allowed on the top team in 2001 [Link - Stars and Stripes], four foreign players participated in the 2004 Korean All Star game [Link - The Sun Herald], and two foreigners signed in Korea for under USD 200,000 in 2003 [Link - Korea Times] (which, unfortunately, doesn't confirm or deny any a limit).

Your indirect observation is correct: The data here is only as good as what is posted, and some of it is incorrect. I don't catch it all, especially in this particular section. Your corrections are much appriciated to keep things correct. Please continue, and if you can, provide a primary source.

Thanks.

In the KBO, any first year foreign player can make only a maximum salary of $200,000 USD. A player's salary who was $200,000 USD the last season may be given an 10% increase. [Link - Official KBO Site - in English]

A couple of years ago, teams in the KBO were allowed to have more than 2 foreign players on a team. Currently, KBO rules state that only 2 foreign players are allowed to be on a team.

Check out "About Draft and FA [official KBO site - in English] for more details about this.