Concerns are already raised over the KBO League's Asian quota system, which will be implemented starting next year. The main reason is whether the Korea Baseball Organization will be able to strengthen its competitiveness due to the regulation that it is a member of the Asian League.안전놀이터

The KBO held the first board meeting in 2025 on the 21st and finalized major regulations and league regulations amendments. Among them, the Asian quota system, which is first introduced, attracted attention. However, this system took time to prepare and decided to be implemented from 2026.

The introduction of the Asian quota itself has been discussed constantly. It has become a common occurrence in Korean sports due to falling international competitiveness and low birthrate. The Asian quota is being actively implemented in other four sports: the V-League of Professional Volleyball, the KBL of Professional Basketball, and the K-League of Professional Football. Since the establishment of the 10-team league, there have been constant talks about deteriorating quality of professional baseball, and hence the Korea Professional Baseball Players Association has also expressed positive response to the introduction of the Asian quota itself.

The Asian quota system, which will be introduced this time, will be subject to all Asian nationals (based on countries belonging to the Asian Baseball Federation BFA) and Australian players. The club can have a total of four players, including three existing foreign players, and all of them can play in one game. Replacement of players is possible only once a year, and with the introduction of the system, KBO League entries will be increased from the current 28 registered-26 players to 29 registered-27 players. A club official said that the players' association did not oppose it much because the number of entries itself would be added.

However, there are quite a few officials who feel regret over the provision in the Asian quarter player standard that stipulates that the Asian quarter player shall be limited to one player who was formerly in the Asian League or who was in the relevant year. At the same time, the KBO sought to protect Korean players by adopting a policy that it would not be possible to recruit dual-national players with nationality from non-Asian countries. Position of Asian quarter player is irrelevant.

For example, he cannot bring in players like Shintaro Fujinami (31) who belongs to the Seattle Mariners minor league team, not the Asian League. Fujinami was called a rival of Shohei Ohtani (31) of the Los Angeles Dodgers in high school and is still a right-handed fireballer who throws fast balls up to 165 kilometers per hour.

In the end, it is argued that the Asian quarter can be effective only when Japanese, Taiwanese and Australian players belonging to the U.S. minor leagues can be brought in.

"I think Keisho Shirakawa (24), who played for Doosan last year, is at a high level," said overseas scout B of the KBO. Another overseas scout C of the KBO club also said that Shirakawa is realistic (from the Japanese independent league). "Taiwanese players are not realistic because Taiwanese clubs charge high transfer fees. As Australian players do not specialize in baseball, I am not sure whether they will be able to play full time of 144 games," said overseas scout C.

Shirakawa first knocked on the door of the KBO league through SSG Landers last year. He played as an ace for the past three years as a member of the Tokushima Indigo Sox in the Japanese independent league. Even after joining SSG, he allowed two runs and 10 strikeouts in six ⅓ innings (against the NC Dinos on June 21, 2024), living up to expectations, before moving to Doosan. However, he only had two quality starts (more than six innings as a starter and less than three earned runs) in the final 12 games, and left with four wins and five losses and an ERA of 5.65 in the final 12 games, 46 strikeouts in 57 ⅓ innings, WHIP (per-inning allowance) of 1.60 and a batting average of 0.263.

"The introduction of the Asian quota itself is effective," said KBO Scout D, who mainly dealt with overseas parts. He also agrees that dual nationality players cannot be qualified and up to 200,000 U.S. dollars is a maximum. There are many players who do their best for baseball even at 200,000 dollars. However, it is a bit frustrating that they can only play in the Asian league."

"Actually, it's not easy to bring in a Taiwanese professional league player within $200,000. I have to ask the Taiwanese team to pay me a few million won for a buyout, but they won't. In Australia, baseball is at the level of a club, not a professional. The players have never played more than 30 games a year, and they don't play baseball under constant supervision, so the risk is really high," he explained.

In the end, the Japanese independent league is expected to be a realistic alternative. The official also admitted, "Shirakawa was the top-level among them." However, he was concerned that $200,000 would be high enough for a limited player pool as it is now, which could create a bubble.

"There may be a better player in the Japanese independent league than Shirakawa. If you look closely, you will find a player who is suitable for Korean baseball," Scout D said, expressing his determination, "We will look for one anyway." "KBO has 10 teams. It is not easy to find 10 good Asian quarter players. Rather, they can bring in a player worth 70,000 dollars for 150,000 dollars or 200,000 dollars after competing against each other. This is contrary to the original purpose of introduction."