Kia Tigers slugger Kim Do-yeong in push for second MVP award in three seasons

Kia Tigers superstar Kim Do-yeong will vie for his second MVP award in three seasons in Korean baseball.

The KBO unveiled 14 candidates for its regular-season MVP award Tuesday. All leaders of major pitching and hitting categories were automatically nominated, along with others selected by the league and the Korea Baseball Writers' Association.

Kim, the 2024 MVP, led the league with a career-high 45 home runs and a .647 slugging percentage. He also ranked inside the top five in runs, RBIs, total bases, on-base percentage and on-base plus slugging (OPS).

Kim's 45th homer was a tiebreaking two-run shot against the LG Twins in the Tigers' 4-2 victory Monday, their final game of the regular season. The Tigers grabbed No. 3 seed for the postseason with that win, allowing them to skip the wild card stage and advance directly to the best-of-five first round.

Other position players nominated for the award are: Sam Hilliard of the KT Wiz, the league's RBI king with 139, who finished one homer behind Kim; Austin Dean of the LG Twins, who topped the league in OPS with 1.062; and Victor Reyes of the Lotte Giants, who led the KBO with a single-season record 211 hits.

Seven pitchers also earned nominations, led by Gwak Been of the Doosan Bears, who ranked first in ERA with 2.24 and strikeouts with 197.

Nine players earned nominations for the Rookie of the Year. Those who had not accumulated 30 innings or 60 plate appearances over the past five years qualified as rookies, except those who had played pro ball overseas before coming to the KBO.

The two leading candidates are: Hanwha Eagles catcher Heo In-seo, who led all rookies with 20 home runs and 79 RBIs this year; and Twins infielder Moon Jeong-bin, who put up 19 home runs and 66 RBIs.

The KBO said all 10 managers from this season are candidates for the Manager of the Year award.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in November.

Yonhap