Kiwoom Heroes is known as the team that boasts the best cost-effectiveness among the 10 KBO teams.
Heroes, the only one of the 10 teams without a parent company, had to be self-sustaining and minimize unnecessary spending because they could not receive reliable funding.
The same was true of contracts with players, which account for a large portion of the club’s spending. Recruitment of large free agents worth from billions of won to as many as 10 billion won was reluctant, and there were many cases where the players could not be caught.
In addition, when core resources tried to advance overseas, they actively supported them rather than blocking them. This is because the income earned through posting is considerable. In fact, Heroes sent three players, Kang Jung-ho, Park Byung-ho, and Kim Ha-seong, to the major leagues, and earned $23.377 million (about 29.2 billion won) in posting income alone. The total annual salary of the Heroes team in the 2022 season is about 5.6 billion won, so through these three people, they have secured about 5-6 years of live ammunition.
Nevertheless, Heroes are also excellent. After its establishment in 2008, it was in the lower ranks in the early days, but results began to emerge in 2013, and over the next 10 years, all but one (2017 season) showed signs of advancing to the postseason. Although they have not yet won a championship, they are known as a strong team representing the KBO League, including advancing to the Korean Series three times.
The total annual salary of Heroes last year was 5.625 billion won, ranking 9th out of 10 clubs. However, the team’s performance was runner-up in the Korean Series and once again succeeded in producing the best cost-effectiveness.
However, it is not a team that just saves money. 온라인바카라
In 2012, when the club’s financial situation was difficult, the Heroes succeeded in re-recruiting Lee Taek-geun, who was a franchise star but transferred to LG, as a free agent. At the time, the total amount of the contract was 5 billion won for 4 years, which was the second highest in history, and both the baseball world and fans were surprised by the unexpected spending. And with Lee Taek-geun’s contract as the starting point, the ransom price skyrocketed in the FA market.
Even in renewing contracts with his existing players, he took care of the increase rate more clearly than any other clubs for players with excellent grades.
Park Byeong-ho, who commanded the league in the 2010s, received an annual salary comparable to that of most free agents, and now Lee Jung-hoo is taking over. Lee Jung-hoo, who became the MVP last year, receives an annual salary of 1.1 billion won, up 350 million won from last year. Excluding special cases such as multi-year contracts with free agents and returning to overseas groups, it is the first time in history that a single-year contract has exceeded 1 billion won.
In addition, last year, Lee Yong-gyu, a transfer student, was renewed for a 300% increase to 400 million won. Considering that Lee Yong-kyu was pushed to retire from Hanwha just a year ago, this is an amazing rebound. In other words, Heroes is a team that gives a large salary increase regardless of age and seniority if a player performs well.
The fact that it offers a higher annual salary compared to other clubs can come as a clear motivation and enhance the players’ sense of purpose. Therefore, players earn more than what they did. Of course, in the opposite case, the cutting edge cannot be avoided.
The end result of the risky tightrope is a great success. The problem of how to fill the gap where shortstop Kang Jeong-ho was missing was solved by Kim Ha-seong, who appeared right away, and Kim Hye-seong, who appeared like a comet after Kim Ha-seong left, won the shortstop Golden Glove. And the team has been playing fall baseball for five consecutive years.
