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KBO MVP Kim Do-yeong earns 1st Golden Glove in landslide

Published: 14 Dec. 2024, 09:21

Kia Tigers third baseman Kim Do-yeong gives a speech after winning the KBO's Golden Glove at third base during the awards ceremony at COEX in southern Seoul on Dec. 13, 2024. [YONHAP]

Kia Tigers third baseman Kim Do-yeong earned his first career Golden Glove in a landslide Friday, adding it to his growing collection of trophies.

Kim, who was voted the regular-season MVP of the KBO last month, earned 280 out of 288 votes cast by media, with Song Sung-mun of the Kiwoom Heroes finishing a distant second with four votes.

Kim enjoyed one of the greatest offensive seasons in KBO history, setting the record with 143 runs scored and becoming the youngest member of the 30-30 club with 38 homers and 40 steals.

Kim had the largest share of votes on Friday with 97.2 percent, coming up eight votes shy of becoming the first unanimous winner of the Golden Glove.

"When I first joined the league, I never imagined I could win this award because there are so many great players at this position," said Kim, who just completed his third season. "I will not be complacent just because I had a good year this year. I will try to become a player who can bear the weight of all the trophies I've won."

The Golden Gloves are designed to recognize the best overall players at each position, including designated hitter, but they have usually gone to best hitters at non-pitching positions. The KBO created the Fielding Award last year to honor top defenders, bringing offensive numbers into sharper focus for the Golden Glove.

KBO Golden Glove winners pose for group photos after the awards ceremony at COEX in southern Seoul on Dec. 13, 2024. [YONHAP]

The closest battle came at shortstop, where Park Chan-ho of the Tigers beat out Park Seong-han of the SSG Landers 154-118 for his first Golden Glove.

Park Chan-ho earned his second straight Fielding Award last month. He also enjoyed his most productive offensive season in 2024, setting career highs across the board with a .307/.363/.386 line, five home runs, 61 RBIs, 158 hits and 24 doubles.

Park Seong-han, who finished third in the Fielding Award race, also set career highs with 10 homers, 67 RBIs, 13 steals, a .380 on-base percentage and a .411 slugging percentage. He matched his previous personal best with 147 hits and 24 doubles.

Park Chan-ho was the runner-up last year by 34 votes, losing out to Oh Ji-hwan of the LG Twins. After Park won the award Friday, Oh walked on to the stage to congratulate him in person and gave him a bouquet of flowers.

"I've finally made it," the 29-year-old Park said. "I wasn't blessed with talent and it took me so much hard work to get here. I'll try to be back here next year."

The Tigers also had the winner at DH, where Choi Hyoung-woo became the oldest Golden Glove recipient ever at 40 years, 11 months and 27 days. It was his seventh Golden Glove -- five as an outfielder and two as DH.

Choi, who had 137 votes, batted .280 with 22 homers and 109 RBIs, his highest total since 2020.

Kang Min-ho of the Samsung Lions earned his seventh Golden Glove, pulling into a tie with former star Kim Dong-soo for second most at that position. Kang had 191 votes while Park Dong-won of the LG Twins ranked second with 89.

Samsung Lions catcher Kang Min-ho gives a speech after winning the KBO's Golden Glove at catcher during the awards ceremony at COEX in southern Seoul on Dec. 13, 2024. [YONHAP]

Kang led all catchers with a .303 batting average and 122 hits at age 39.

For the outfield, three players were honored regardless of their positions, with the top three vote getters receiving the Golden Gloves.

Victor Reyes of the Lotte Giants earned his first Golden Glove, after setting the single-season record with 202 hits while playing in all 144 games. He earned 161 out of 288 votes.

Mel Rojas Jr. of the KT Wiz collected his third Golden Glove. He led all outfielders with 1,142 innings on the field and ranked in the top 10 in runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits, RBIs, home runs and batting average. Rojas garnered 153 votes.

Koo Ja-wook of the Samsung Lions earned his third Golden Glove by leading all outfielders with 260 votes. He was top five in batting average, home runs, RBIs, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

Guillermo Heredia of the SSG Landers, the batting champion, finished six votes behind Rojas in fourth place.

Austin Dean of the Twins collected his second straight Golden Glove. He topped the league with a franchise-record 132 RBIs, while ranking among the leaders in other major offensive categories.

Dean traveled from his home in Houston, Texas, to attend the ceremony. He was the first foreign player to be on hand for a Golden Glove ceremony in five years. He held off the home run champion, Matt Davidson of the NC Dinos, by 193-83.

Kim Hye-seong of the Kiwoom Heroes was the runaway winner at second base, earning 175 votes for his third straight Golden Glove at the position. He also won a Golden Glove at shortstop in 2021.

Kim, who ranked 10th in batting average, hits and steals, has been posted for Major League Baseball clubs and is currently staying in Los Angeles for potential contract talks.

Dinos ace Kyle Hart, who led the league with 182 strikeouts and ranked second with a 2.69 ERA, won his first Golden Glove with 119 votes. The co-wins leader, Won Tae-in of the Samsung Lions, finished a distant second with 81 votes.

Four foreign players won Golden Gloves this year to tie the record set in 2019.

Yonhap