One '46 home runs vs 132 RBIs' goes back empty-handed, filial son-in-law first base GG 'head-to-head match'
One '46 home runs vs 132 RBIs' goes back empty-handed, filial son-in-law first base GG 'head-to-head match'
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Is it the "home run king" or the "runny king?" This year, foreign hitters are expected to face fierce competition in the first base section, one of the battlegrounds of the KBO Golden Glove.먹튀검증
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced on the 27th that it has finally confirmed the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO Golden Glove candidates. There are a total of 81 candidates, and only 10 players who performed best in each position in the KBO league can enjoy the final award.
This year's Golden Glove candidates for catchers and fielders are all players who have played defense more than 720 innings (number of team games X 5 innings) in the position, and the No. 1 player in the individual category of the KBO regular season is automatically registered as a candidate for a position that meets the criteria regardless of qualification requirements.
There are a total of five candidates for first baseman this year. LG Twins' Austin Dean (31), Doosan Bears' Yang Seok-hwan (33), Lotte Giants' Na Seung-yeop (22), NC Dinos' Matt Davidson (33), and Kiwoom Heroes' Choi Joo-hwan (36). Among them, two foreign hitters are highly likely to stage a two-way race. Austin and Davidson acquired the RBI king and homerun king, respectively.
Entering his second year in 2024 season, Austin displayed even more robust performance and hit hard. This year, he participated in 140 games with a batting average of 0.319 (168 hits in 527 times at bat), 32 homers, 132 RBIs and 99 runs, 12 steals, and an on-base percentage of 0.384 with a 0.573 and an OPS of 0.957. In August, he won the MVP award with a whopping 0.367 batting average of nine homers, 35 RBIs and an OPS of 1.160 in the history of LG. As a result, he became the first RBI king in the history of LG.
Against this backdrop, Davidson had his best season of the year. Having kept the NC clean-up team throughout this season, he batted .306 (154 hits in 504 at-bats), recorded 46 homers and 119 RBIs with 90 runs scored, and an on-base percentage of .370 with a .633 slugging percentage and an OPS of 1.003 in 131 games. He became the second home run king in NC's history, and had 22 consecutive hits, the longest in the club's history, from the game against Changwon Lotte on July 26 to the game against Doosan on Aug. 27.
Compared to seven KBO batter titles excluding stolen bases, Davison is superior in home runs and slugging percentage, while Austin is superior in batting average, RBI, runs, on-base percentage, and most hits. However, it is difficult to predict a player's advantage because there is no significant difference except for each title.
Austin already won the Golden Glove last year as well. With an outstanding batting average of 0.313, with 29 homers and 95 RBIs, Austin has elevated his team to the top in 29 years. He swept 271 votes (93.1 percent) out of a total of 291 votes in the first baseman category, becoming the first LG foreign player to win the Golden Glove award.
The two players mentioned each other's possibility of winning the Golden Glove award. Austin, who met during the season, said, "I have a competitor who has performed tremendously this season. Although it is his debut season in the KBO League, he is having a very successful year. He is competing with such a good opponent." Davidson also predicted, "I guess Austin will have the Golden Glove at first base because Austin is having such a good season."
Except for 1982, which was selected by the defense rate, the home run king and RBI king were often honored at the Golden Glove Awards. From 1983 to last year, 40 out of 43 home runs were led to the Golden Glove, and 35 out of 41 RBI king titles were led to the Golden Glove award.
However, it is not a must-win card, as evidenced by the figures. OB Tyrone Woods (42 home runs-103 RBIs) in 1998 and Nexen Heroes' Park Byung-ho (53 home runs-146 RBIs) in 2015 had the best home run-runners, but suffered the bad luck of losing ground to Samsung's Lee Seung-yeop and NC's Eric Thames, respectively. Woods also won the RBI title in 2001, but did not receive the Golden Glove award.
Meanwhile, voting for the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO Golden Glove will be held from 2 p.m. on the 27th to 3 p.m. on Dec. 2. Voters were selected among media officials who were in charge of the KBO league this season. The winners of the 2024 KBO Golden Glove will be revealed at the Golden Glove Awards, which will be held at the COEX Auditorium in Samseong-dong, Seoul, on Dec. 13.