Seoul: Three infielders were named winners of the top defensive award in South Korean baseball for the second straight year on Monday. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced the winners in the catcher and four infield positions for its second annual KBO Fielding Award.According to Yonhap News Agency, three of the four infield winners were honored for the second consecutive season: Kiwoom Heroes second baseman Kim Hye-seong, Kia Tigers shortstop Park Chan-ho, and KT Wiz third baseman Heo Kyoung-min, who spent the 2024 season with the Doosan Bears. They were joined by Austin Dean of the LG Twins, who won for the first time at the first base position. Dean's teammate at catcher, Park Dong-won, also earned his first award.The selection process involved a manager, nine coaches, and the general manager from each of the 10 clubs, who cast their votes for the defensive awards, excluding players from their own teams. The fielding index, developed by the KBO and its official statistics provider, Sports 2i, served as a reference. The official fielding score, accounting for fielding percentage and range factor, applied to all nine positions. Votes by managers and coaches made up 75 percent of the total selection, while fielding stats counted for the remaining 25 percent.When the voting totals were converted into points, Dean scored 89.29 points at first base, and Kim scored 91.07 points at second base. Park Chan-ho outperformed Oh Ji-hwan of the Twins, who he shared last year's award with, by scoring 90 points to Oh's 82.5 points. Heo achieved 90 points at third base, and Park Dong-won recorded 90.63 points for the catcher position.Additionally, NC Dinos starter Kyle Hart was announced as the winner at the pitcher position on Sunday, along with three outfielder winners: Guillermo Heredia of the SSG Landers, Hong Chang-ki of the Twins, and Jung Soo-bin of the Bears. All winners will receive a trophy and 2 million won (US$1,430) in prize money during the annual KBO Awards ceremony on Tuesday.
- October 12, 2026
