Hard-hitting catcher goes for record-tying 10th KBO Golden Glove

The reigning Korean baseball batting champion will look to claim a record-tying award this week, a year after missing out on nomination. Doosan Bears catcher Yang Eui-ji is favored to win his 10th career Golden Glove when the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) hosts its annual award ceremony in Seoul on Tuesday. Despite the word "Glove" in its name, the award has often favored offense over defense at every position except for pitcher. The KBO honors designated hitters with Golden Gloves each year, too. The league created a separate defensive prize, named the KBO Fielding Award, in 2023. With the best defenders now getting their dues, hitting statistics take on even more importance for Golden Gloves, even at premium defensive positions such as catcher. And Yang enjoyed a strong offensive season, batting .337 to win his second career batting title and leading all catchers with 153 hits, 27 doubles, 89 RBIs and an on-base plus slugging (OPS) of .939. Yang also logged 726 innings behind the plate, six over the threshold to be eligible for the Golden Glove. In 2024, he split his season as catcheWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times