In this file photo from Oct. 30, 2023, NC Dinos starter Erick Fedde celebrates after retiring the side in the bottom of the fifth inning of Game 1 of the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason against the KT Wiz at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean baseball league will present its top individual trophies, including one for the most valuable player (MVP), next Monday in Seoul.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Thursday that its annual KBO Awards ceremony will take place in the capital city at 2 p.m. in a Seoul hotel.
Winners of the MVP and the Rookie of the Year awards will be unveiled then. The KBO will also give out trophies to winners of the major pitching and hitting categories. The winners of the inaugural KBO Fielding Award will also be honored. The league has already announced the top defenders last week.
Voting by 134 members of the Korea Baseball Writers Association took place prior to the start of the postseason in October. They had 16 candidates for the MVP award and 10 nominees for the Rookie of the Year award from which to choose.
NC Dinos starter Erick Fedde, the first foreign pitcher to win a Triple Crown in KBO history, is considered a front-runner for the MVP award.
He led the league with 20 wins, 209 strikeouts and a 2.00 ERA. He became only the fourth pitcher ever to lead the KBO in those three categories, and also the fifth pitcher to have 20 wins and 200 strikeouts in the same season.
Fedde was named the winner of the Choi Dong-won Award, the top pitching prize in South Korea, in October.
In this file photo from Sept. 3, 2023, Hanwha Eagles starter Moon Dong-ju pitches against the LG Twins during a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
Behind Fedde’s outstanding year, the Dinos made the postseason for the first time since their title-winning season in 2020.
Other notable candidates are: Roh Si-hwan of the Hanwha Eagles, the league leader with 31 home runs and 101 RBIs; Fedde’s teammate Son Ah-seop, who won the batting title with a .339 average and also led the KBO with 187 hits; and Austin Dean, who ranked inside the top five in hits, home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage for first-place LG Twins.
For the best rookie prize, only those who made their debut in 2023, or players who haven’t accumulated over 30 innings or 60 plate appearances between 2018 and 2022 are eligible for this honor.
Eagles right-hander Moon Dong-ju, who in April became the first Korean-born pitcher in KBO history to top 160 kilometers per hour with his fastball, is viewed as a strong contender. He led all rookie pitchers with 98 strikeouts in 118 2/3 innings and tied for the rookie lead with eight wins.
Kia Tigers left-hander Yoon Young-cheol also notched eight wins and he pitched more innings than any other rookie with 122 2/3 innings.
(Yonhap)
