Relieved with salary arbitration victory, KBO pitcher wants to move forward

▲ Ju Kwon of the KT Wiz (L) speaks to reporters before attending a salary arbitration hearing at the Korea Baseball Organization headquarters in Seoul on Jan. 25, 2021. (Yonhap)

▲ In this file photo from Nov. 10, 2020, Ju Kwon of the KT Wiz pitches against the Doosan Bears in the top of the seventh inning of Game 2 of the Korea Baseball Organization second-round postseason series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. (Yonhap)

▲ In this file photo from Nov. 12, 2020, Ju Kwon of the KT Wiz pitches against the Doosan Bears in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 3 of the Korea Baseball Organization second-round postseason series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. (Yonhap)

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Relieved with salary arbitration victory, KBO pitcher wants to move forward

SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Yonhap) -- A salary dispute with his club had been keeping KT Wiz reliever Ju Kwon up at night.

It was finally resolved Monday evening, with the 25-year-old right-hander enjoying a landmark victory. Ju was looking forward to getting a good night's sleep for a change.

After leading the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) with 31 holds and posting a 2.70 ERA in a league-high 77 appearances last year for the playoff-bound Wiz, Ju had sought a 2021 salary of 250 million won (US$227,900). That'd be a 100 million won raise from 2020, but the Wiz only offered him 220 million won.

Ju decided to file for an arbitration hearing earlier this month, and then became only the second player out of 21 hearings to win his case. The first winner, current LG Twins manager Ryu Ji-hyun, earned his victory 19 years ago.

"I was a nervous wreck. It was something I hadn't done before," Ju said, when reached on the phone late Monday. "It was tougher than getting on the mound. Now that it's all over, I am going to sleep better tonight."

Though 97 players before Ju had filed for an arbitration hearing, 77 of them bit the bullet and took the team's offer before even getting to that stage. There were times, in the not-so-distant-past, when taking the club to arbitration was considered a direct challenge to authority.

Players weren't even allowed to be represented by agents until 2018. This time, Ju had his agent by his side making the case for the pitcher at the hearing.

Ju said he received text messages of support from fellow players before Monday's hearing. And though the dispute was portrayed as "David vs. Goliath" with Ju as the heavy underdog, Ju said he didn't see the Wiz as his foe.

"I'm honored and proud to be the first winner in 19 years, but I'd like to thank the club for making this possible," Ju said. "They respected my rights as a player and allowed me to file for arbitration."

Ju's victory will likely open gates for other players to take the arbitration route in the future.

Asked what kind of advice he'd give to fellow players, Ju said, "I would tell them it's well within our rights to go to arbitrations and that they shouldn't stress over it."

But Ju admitted he had some second thoughts about his own decision to take the team to the hearing.

"I asked myself, 'Should I really do this over 30 million won?'" Ju said. "Some people said, 'The team is already offering you a lot of money with 220 million won.'"

And it was ultimately messages from fans that pushed Ju, who endeared himself to Wiz fans as a steady workhorse.

"I didn't realize I'd pitched so much until I looked deeper into my numbers," Ju said. "I knew I'd given so much to the team and I decided I deserved to be paid for that."

With spring training starting next Monday, Ju said there are no hard feelings between himself and the club.

"I am going to do what I am supposed to do," Ju said. "We made the postseason for the first time last year and we'll try to take the next step and win the Korean Series. I'll try to pitch even more this year than last year."

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