In this file photo from Sept. 19, 2024, Yang Eui-ji of the Doosan Bears rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Kia Tigers during a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Veteran Doosan Bears catcher Yang Eui-ji will have to wait at least another year to tie the South Korean baseball record for most Golden Gloves.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on Wednesday unveiled a list of nominees for the annual Golden Glove awards, presented to the best overall players at 10 positions: pitcher, catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop, three outfielders and designated hitter (DH).
One glaring absence was Yang, who split his time as catcher and DH in 2024 and ended up not meeting the Golden Glove criteria for either position.
Position players must have either led the league in at least one offensive category or have appeared in their fielding position for at least 720 innings. All batters who had at least 297 plate appearances as DH automatically qualify for the DH category. That’s two-thirds of the minimum plate appearances to qualify for the batting title.
Yang, 37, logged 608 1/3 innings behind the plate and only had 161 plate appearances as DH this year. He still put up good offensive numbers, with a .314 batting average, 17 home runs and 94 RBIs.
Yang has won eight Golden Gloves as catcher, already a record for that position, and one Golden Glove as DH. Only Lee Seung-yuop, former Samsung Lions slugger and Yang’s current manager with the Bears, has won more Golden Gloves than Yang with 10.
Without Yang, seven catchers have been nominated, with Kang Min-ho of the Samsung Lions, a six-time Golden Glover, being the only previous winner. Yang had a higher batting average and more RBIs than any of the seven finalists.
The KBO also said there are 26 nominees at pitcher, five at first base, six at second base, eight at third base, seven at shortstop, 19 at outfield and three at DH spots.
Starting pitchers must have thrown at least 144 innings, the minimum to qualify for the ERA title, and relief pitchers must have recorded at least 10 wins, 30 saves or 30 holds.
Golden Glove winners will be chosen by media members, with online voting scheduled to run from Wednesday to next Monday, and will be announced during the annual ceremony on Dec. 13 in Seoul.
The 2024 Korean Series champions Kia Tigers and the 2023 champions LG Twins have the most nominees with 10 each.
One of the Tigers’ 10 nominees is third baseman Kim Do-yeong, who was named the regular-season MVP on Tuesday. He led the league with a .647 slugging percentage and a league-record 143 runs scored, while finishing just two homers shy of a 40-40 season with 38 homers and 40 steals.
Kim also led all third basemen with 30 errors but is still regarded as a heavy favorite for his first career Golden Glove.
(Yonhap)
