SEOUL: The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) is gearing up for its annual Golden Glove awards ceremony, with the shortstop and catcher positions anticipated to have the closest contests. The event, which concludes the KBO season, traditionally prioritizes offensive performance over defensive skills, despite its name. However, a new KBO Fielding Award, introduced in 2023, now honors top defensive players, potentially shifting the focus even more towards batting achievements for the Golden Glove honors.According to Yonhap News Agency, the competition at shortstop features Park Chan-ho of the Kia Tigers and Park Seong-han of the SSG Landers, both in pursuit of their first Golden Glove. Park Chan-ho, who recently earned his second consecutive Fielding Award, had a standout offensive year in 2024 with a .307 batting average and 61 RBIs. Meanwhile, Park Seong-han also achieved career highs, boasting a higher on-base percentage and slugging percentage than Park Chan-ho, along with a superior wins above replacement (WAR) of 2.72 compared to 2.37.The catcher category sees Park Dong-won from the LG Twins, the 2024 Fielding Award recipient, vying for his first Golden Glove against Kang Min-ho of the Samsung Lions, a seasoned six-time winner. Park Dong-won led all catchers with 20 home runs and a 3.30 WAR, whereas Kang posted 19 home runs and a 3.14 WAR. With Yang Eui-ji, another prominent catcher, not meeting the innings requirement for nomination this year, Park Dong-won aims to end the long-standing dominance of Kang and Yang in this category.In the outfield, three players will be awarded Golden Gloves. Victor Reyes of the Lotte Giants is a frontrunner with a record-setting 202 hits. Guillermo Heredia, who secured his second consecutive Fielding Award, is also a contender. The final outfield spot is highly competitive among Koo Ja-wook of the Lions, Hong Chang-ki of the Twins, and Mel Rojas Jr. of the KT Wiz, each boasting impressive offensive statistics and previous Golden Glove wins.
- September 13, 2026
