In this file photo from Oct. 23, 2024, Kim Do-yeong of the Kia Tigers celebrates after hitting a solo home run against the Samsung Lions during Game 2 of the Korean Series at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 270 kilometers south of Seoul. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean baseball league will hand out its regular-season MVP award and the top rookie prize, among other trophies, in an annual ceremony next week.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Thursday that the 2024 KBO Awards ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Lotte Hotel World in Seoul.
Leaders of major hitting and pitching categories will receive trophies, and the league will also recognize top defensive players at each position for the second annual KBO Fielding Award.
The ceremony will then honor the best rookie and the MVP of the 2024 season.
The KBO already announced 18 candidates for the MVP award on Oct. 2, with leaders of major pitching and hitting categories earning automatic nominations.
Kia Tigers third baseman Kim Do-yeong is widely considered the favorite for the MVP trophy after authoring a historic campaign in his third season.
Kim had 38 home runs and 40 steals to narrowly miss out on only the second 40-40 season in league history. The 21-year-old also set the single-season record by scoring 143 runs. He batted .347 and drove in 109 runs to rank among the leaders, while topping the league with a .647 slugging percentage and a 1.067 on-base plus slugging (OPS). Kim is the youngest player ever with at least 30 homers and 30 steals in a season.
Among the six Rookie of the Year award candidates, also unveiled on Oct. 2, Doosan Bears closer Kim Taek-yeon is expected to be the winner. He led all freshmen with 19 saves, a league record by a rookie pitcher coming straight out of high school. The 19-year-old pitched to a 2.08 ERA across 65 innings and struck out 78 batters.
Leaders of the major statistical categories will each receive 3 million won (US$2,150), as will the Rookie of the Year winner. The MVP will get a Kia EV9 SUV.
(Yonhap)
