In the 2024 season, two weeks after the opening, the joys and sorrows of ultra-high-salary players in the early season of the season are mixed.

According to data released by the KBO (Korea Baseball Organization) ahead of this season, a total of 16 players (11 hitters and 5 pitchers) received more than 1 billion won in net annual salary.

The highest salaries are Hanwha Ryu Hyun-jin and LG Park Dong-won, who receive 2.5 billion won in annual salary side by side. This is followed by Samsung's Koo Ja-wook and KT's Ko Young-pyo with 2 billion won, Doosan's Kim Jae-hwan with 1.5 billion won, and Lotte's Park Se-woong with 1.35 billion won.

It's still early in the season, so we have to wait and see, but the team's performance is also in the same vein depending on the performance of the high-paid players who have to lead the team.

Among players with an annual salary of more than 1 billion won, LG's Park Dong-won has shown the best performance so far. Park Dong-won has played in 13 games, hitting .381 with three homers and eight RBIs, and is making brilliant contributions to defending champion LG's winning rate of more than 50%. Above all, considering that Park's position is the catcher, his annual salary of 2.5 billion won is not a waste.

Park Min-woo (1 billion won), the champion of NC`s No. 1 ranking, is also a must-see. Having played in 12 games, Park already had multiple hits in five games, and in particular, he swept six hits and four RBIs from 11 times at bat in three consecutive weekend games against the SSG, spearheading his team's winning streak.

Lotte veteran Jeon Joon-woo (1.3 billion won) is also wielding a fierce bat. Although he was concerned due to his considerable age when signing the contract last year, he has elevated his physical condition since the beginning of the season. If Jeon had not performed well, Lotte could have faced a more gloomy early season.

On the pitcher's side, SSG Kim Kwang-hyun (1 billion won) is doing well for his name. However, after continuing his good pitching in two consecutive games since the opening, he was replaced early due to a sudden injury against Doosan on the 4th, raising fans' concerns.

When there is light, there is darkness.

Ryu Hyun-jin (2.5 billion won) of the Hanwha Eagles, who had high expectations, has a problem with his jagged pitching condition. He displayed powerful pitching by allowing two runs in six innings at the match against KT on April 29, but has yet to win his first game of this season as he suffered a nine-run blast in 4.1 innings at the match against Kiwoom on April 5. The Hanwha Eagles will have to give Ryu 17 billion won for the next eight years starting from this season.

Most of the ultra-high-salary pitchers including Ryu Hyun-jin are also in a slump. Ko Young-pyo (2 billion won) of KT had his worst day ever with nine runs in four innings in his first game of the season with a multi-year contract. Since then, he has successfully recovered his reputation by winning six scoreless innings in the match against KIA on the 2nd.

On the other hand, SSG Park Jong-hoon is in a difficult position to play the starting role as last year's slump continues to this day. Among the hitters, Lotte Yoo Kang-nam and KT Hwang Jae-gyun (above 1 billion won) are struggling with a batting average of around 10%, making fans grab the back of their necks.

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