By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
SK Wyverns pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun has become the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).
In a media poll held in Seoul Thursday, the 20-year-old lefty, who led the league with 16 wins, got 51 votes out of 91 to beat the KBO's leading hitter, the Doosan Bears' Kim Hyun-soo, who garnered 27.
Other candidates included Hanwha Eagles' Kim Tae-kyun, who led the league in home runs with 31, with eight votes; Lotte Giants' Mexican slugger Karim Garcia, who topped the RBI column in the KBO, with five; and Kia Tigers' right-hander Yoon Seok-min, whose 2.33 ERA is the lowest in the league, with three.
Along with the most-win title, Kim, a two-year pro, also led in strikeouts with 150, and finished second in ERA table with a 2.39.
Kim is the first Wyvern to be named the MVP since the Incheon-based, two-time KBO champions were founded in 2000.
The Samsung Lions have produced nine MVPs, including Lee Seung-yeop, who won the title five times and now plays for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan, while the nine-time league champion Kia Tigers have had six winners.
Four players each form the Bears and the Eagles have also been awarded the honor.
Kim kept alive a four-year stretch in which the most-winning hurler has claimed the MVP, which began in 2004 - Bae Young-soo of the Lions in 2004, Son Min-han of the Giants in 2005, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Eagles in 2006 and American Daniel Rios of the Bears in 2007.
Bears outfielder Kim Hyun-soo batted a .357 average on his way to becoming the youngest leading-hitter in KBO history.
The 20-year-old lefty-swinger also topped the league in hits and on-base percentage (OBP), but his poor performance in the Korean Series - 1-for-21 - damaged his bid for the MVP.
He was a runner-up in last year's Rookie of the Year balloting, behind his Bears teammate Lim Tae-hoon.
The best rookie award went to Lions outfielder Choi Hyung-woo, who racked up 76 votes.
The 24-year-old batted .276 to register 19 homers and 71 RBIs. His record helped the Daegu-based club make the playoffs for the 12th straight season.
Although Choi made his debut in 2002, a KBO rule states that a player who has fewer than 60 at-bats within five seasons is eligible for the rookie award.
Closer Oh Seung-hwan was the last Lions player to be named the Rookie of the Year in 2005.