SEOUL — The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced on Thursday the finalists for its new award that recognizes excellence in defensive play across nine positions.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the voting for the KBO Fielding Award will involve managers, coaches, and general managers from each of the 10 KBO clubs. Votes will be cast over the next seven days starting Thursday, and voters cannot select players from their own teams. A fielding index developed by the KBO and its official statistics provider, Sports 2i, will be used as a reference.
The official fielding score, which considers factors such as fielding percentage and range factor, will be applied for all nine positions. In the case of pitchers, abilities in fielding bunts and pickoff throws will be considered. For catchers, blocking skills and caught stealing percentages will be factored in.
The votes from managers and coaches will account for 75% of the selection, while fielding stats will make up the remaining 25%. To qualify as finalists, pitchers must have thrown at least 48 innings, catchers must have appeared in at least 72 games, and infielders and outfielders must have played a minimum of 720 innings at their respective positions.
The award ceremony is set to take place in late November. Winners will each receive a trophy and a cash prize of 2 million won (US$1,470).