Eagles ace Ponce wins top KBO pitching award

Hanwha Eagles starter Cody Ponce salutes the crowd on his way back to the dugout during a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game against the SSG Landers at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, Oct. 1. Yonhap

Hanwha Eagles ace Cody Ponce was named the unanimous winner of the top pitching award in South Korean baseball Thursday after leading the country's top league in wins, ERA and strikeouts.

Ponce was chosen as the winner of the 2025 Choi Dong-won Award, which has been recognizing the best pitcher in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) since 2014. The award was created in honor of the late KBO pitcher Choi Dong-won, who had a star turn for the Lotte Giants in the early 1980s.

Ponce is the third straight foreign-born winner of this award and the sixth one from outside Korea to win it. The American right-hander will receive a trophy and 20 million won ($13,930) in prize money.

Ponce dominated the KBO in his first season here, winning the Triple Crown with 17 wins, a 1.89 ERA and a league-record 252 strikeouts. Ariel Miranda, the 2021 Choi Dong-won Award winner, had the previous record of 225 strikeouts.

This year, Ponce also set a KBO record by winning his first 17 decisions in a row to begin the season.

Candidates for the award had to meet the following criteria: at least 25 starts, 180 innings pitched, 12 wins, 150 strikeouts, 15 quality starts, a sub-3.00 ERA and 35 saves for relievers.

The eight members of the selection committee all gave Ponce their first-place votes, honoring his seasonlong dominance that helped propel the Eagles to their first postseason appearance in seven years.

The award ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 11, in honor of Choi's number during his playing days, in his hometown of Busan.