Ariel Miranda of the Doosan Bears pitches against the LG Twins in the top of the third inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 24. (Yonhap)
Ariel Miranda, the Cuban-born pitcher who won South Korean baseball's MVP award while setting a new strikeout record this year, will be back for another season.
The Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Friday they have re-signed Miranda to a new one-year deal worth up to $1.9 million. The left-hander will make $1.6 million in salary and $300,000 in signing bonus.
In his first KBO season, Miranda led the league with a 2.33 ERA and 225 strikeouts, two more than the previous single-season record set by the late Lotte Giants legend Choi Dong-won in 1984. Miranda fell one category shy of winning the pitching Triple Crown, as he finished tied for fourth in wins with 14.
Miranda was voted the regular season MVP last month and also grabbed a Golden Glove earlier this month. He was also voted the winner of the Choi Dong-won Award, the annual prize given to the best pitcher in South Korean baseball.
Miranda also led all pitchers with 6.67 in wins above replacement and tied for the league lead with 21 quality starts -- an outing in which a starter goes at least six innings and holds opponents to three or fewer earned runs.
Miranda accomplished all of that while making $800,000. His new contract is the second-largest signed by a returning foreign player so far this winter, behind only the $2 million pact for NC Dinos' starter Drew Rucinski. (Yonhap)
