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By Yoon Chul
With regular season champions the Samsung Lions also winning the Korean Series, it’s now time to decide the year’s Most Valuable Player (MVP).
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced four candidates Monday.
Lions closer Oh Seung-hwan and Kia Tigers starter Yoon Suk-min are named as the top pitchers while Lions slugger Choi Hyung-woo and last season’s MVP Lee Dae-ho of the Lotte Giants are selected as the finest batters.
But it could be a battle between the two hurlers.
The league’s best starter and closer both made an impression in 2011.
Yoon had a 17-5 record, 2.45 ERA, 178 strikeouts and .773 winning rate, leading the league in those four categories. It is the first time a player has achieved this in 20 years.
The 25-year-old also achieved 18 quality starts, the most in the KBO this year. The Tigers starter also proved he can eat up the innings, pitching over 6 2/3 innings per game.
Oh’s record does not lag behind Yoon’s.
Pitching in 54 games, the 28-year-old closer combined for one win and 47 saves, without blowing even one, and ended with a .63 ERA.
In the Korean Series, Oh again showed his prowess, recording saves in Game 1, 2 and 5. His career six championship series saves is a new KBO record.
In the 30-year-old Korean professional baseball league, former Hanwha Eagles lefty hurler Koo Dae-sung is the only closer to be selected as MVP.
In 1996, Koo had an 18-3 record, 24 saves and .857 winning rate with 1.88 saves, the league’s best that year in wins, ERA, winning rate and save points.
But, Koo wasn’t only a closer. Traditionally, it is hard for a closer to become MVP but in Oh’s case, things are a bit different as his team won the title.
The team’s final ranking also affects who is named MVP in the KBO. While Oh and the Lions finished atop the league and Korean Series champions Yoon’s Tigers finished fourth in the regular season and lost in the first round of the playoffs.
The pitchers themselves are also hopeful of taking the award.
“I had the best season since I made my debut in the KBO. I want to win the MVP race,” Yoon said. “If I lose I think I may never get as good a chance as this season”
Yoon added with a smile, “I congratulated Oh on being the Korean Series MVP but I want to be named the regular season MVP.”
Oh spoke of his will to collect another MVP trophy.
“I think I showed the best I could as a closer. I think I am competitive,” he said.
Last season’s MVP Lee Dae-ho of the Giants is the league leading hitter with a .357 batting average. He also generated 27 home runs and 113 RBIs.
Lions slugger Choi Hyung-woo won the home run and RBI race with 30 and 118 respectively and his batting average is second only to Lees at .340.
Both had good years but their records may not be good enough to sway the decision away from one of the two pitchers.
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