Doosan, LG stars dominate voting for last All-Star game at Jamsil Stadium's hallowed grounds
Ten Bears, seven Twins lead in their categories with their historic home stadium set to be demolished at the end of the season.
Doosan Bears players are dominating KBO All-Star voting after the league restarted balloting due to an error in listing players' information, as fans rally to send their club icons to the final All-Star game held at their home stadium.
The KBO's All-Star Game is an annual event where players selected through fan and player voting compete against each other. This year's All-Star Game will be held on July 11 at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa District, southern Seoul.
The Doosan Bears currently rank No. 1 in 10 of 12 categories, according to vote totals compiled on the KBO website and official app as of Monday.
Catcher Yang Eui-ji, the overall vote leader, is joined atop the standings by starting pitcher Gwak Been, setup reliever Kim Jeong-woo, closer Lee Young-ha, second baseman Park Jun-soon, shortstop Park Chan-ho, third baseman Park Ji-hoon, outfielders Jung Soo-bin and Kim Min-suk and designated hitter Son Ah-seop.
The only non-Doosan players leading their positions in the Dream All-Star vote are Samsung Lions first baseman Lewin Díaz and outfielder Koo Ja-wook.
In the Nanum All-Star division, the LG Twins' presence is nearly as dominant. Seven LG players lead their respective categories on the KBO website and official app: starting pitcher Song Seung-ki, catcher Park Dong-won, first baseman Austin Dean, second baseman Shin Min-jae, shortstop Oh Ji-hwan, outfielder Park Hae-min and designated hitter Moon Bo-gyeong.
The KIA Tigers follow with four category leaders: setup reliever Jung Hae-young, closer Sung Young-tak, third baseman Kim Do-young, and outfielder Park Jae-hyun. The remaining top spot belongs to Hanwha Eagles outfielder Moon Hyun-bin.
The Twins’ strong stride is hardly surprising. The defending Korean Series champion is once again leading the league standings this season. However, the dominance of Doosan players, despite the team's sixth-place standing, is unusual.
Several players who have posted less impressive individual numbers than their rivals are currently No.1 in their respective categories.
There is a reason behind the voting trend.
This is the last year the All-Star game will be held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium before it is demolished at the end of the season. Since opening its doors in July 1982, the stadium has served as the heart of Korean baseball for decades. A new domed stadium is scheduled to be completed on the site by 2032.
Fans of Doosan and LG, the two clubs that have shared Jamsil as their home stadium, have rallied around a common goal of “sending as many of the players as possible to the final All-Star Game held at Jamsil.”
Doosan supporters, in particular, have reportedly mobilized significant voting power to secure Best 12 honors for the team’s iconic players such as Yang Eui-ji and Jung Soo-bin.
The voting process was temporarily halted after the KBO announced last Tuesday that it had suspended All-Star voting due to an error in the candidate list.
The KBO apologized after mistakenly listing Samsung Lions veteran Choi Hyoung-woo as an outfielder rather than a designated hitter and Park Seung-kyu as a designated hitter rather than an outfielder. Although the league moved quickly to correct the mistake, the revisions were not properly reflected in the fan voting system that opened on June 1.
Samsung reportedly submitted its candidate list correctly, but the error occurred during the KBO's preparation.
The KBO restarted voting at midnight on Wednesday and extended the voting period from the original June 21 deadline to June 23. Previous voting results were discarded and will not be included in the new vote.
The KBO will close voting at 2 p.m. on June 23 and combine the vote totals from the app and website to determine the final fan-vote rankings. The KBO will announce the final Best 12 selections for both All-Star teams on June 24, based on a weighted vote consisting of 70 percent fan voting and 30 percent player voting.
BY BAE YOUNG-EUN, KIM HYO-KYOUNG [[email protected]]
