The board of directors of the KBO has decided to introduce the Asian quarter system from 2026 season on Wednesday. The system targets players from countries belonging to the Asian Baseball Federation (BFA). Excluding Korea, the number of member countries amounts to 23 countries including Japan, Taiwan, China and Iran. However, there is one country that is not affiliated with the BFA but is also included in the Asian quarter. It is Australia.안전놀이터

●5 people

There is a reason why all eyes are on Australian players. Excluding Japan, which produced many Korean-Japanese players in the early days of professional baseball, the number of cases where foreign players were recruited in the past was the largest among the 24 countries that were eligible for the Asian quarter. The total number of Australian players in history is five, which is more than that of Taiwan (three). In the case of Taiwan, except for Wang Wei-jung (former NC Dinos), both were ethnic Chinese.

Most of the Australian players were outstanding. Chris Oxspring is a good example. Having played for the LG Twins, the Lotte Giants, and the KT Wiz, he pitched in 136 games during the five seasons (2007-2008, 2013-2015) in the KBO League, posting 49 wins and 40 losses with an ERA of 3.90. Then came closer Brad Thomas (2008-2009), who played for the Hanwha Eagles in two seasons, and starting pitcher Warwick Suffold (2019-2020). Thomas made 44 saves in total, and Suffold achieved double-digit wins for two consecutive seasons while also playing for the World Baseball Classic Australia team. Shane Bennett (former Doosan Bears, 2001), and Travis Blackley (former KIA Tigers, 2011) were also Australian players who visited the KBO League.

●$200,000

However, it is hard to guarantee that the number of Australian players visiting the KBO League will continue as before. This is because the maximum cost that each club can spend on recruiting for the first time is not as high as that of ordinary foreign players. KBO explained, "The maximum cost for a new Asian quarter player is 200,000 dollars including salary, down payment, special contract, and transfer fee." It is possible to raise the annual salary by 100,000 dollars when renewing the contract, but it is a big difference from ordinary foreign players who have a cap of 1 million dollars when recruiting for the first time.

By looking at past cases, we can estimate the direction of future development to some extent. For Saupold, he signed a contract with Hanwha for up to 1 million dollars and up to 1.3 million dollars a year later ahead of the 2018 season. Prior to that, Okspring signed a contract with KT for a total of 350,000 dollars after the 2014 season. It remains to be seen how many "foreign player-level Australian Asian quarter players" will flow into the KBO league.