The six candidates for the KBO’s July Most Valuable Player (MVP) award have been finalized.
The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO)토토사이트 announced today the six candidates for the July MVP award, including KT Wiz’s Go Young-pyo, Wes Benjamin, and Kim Min-hyuk, Hanwha Eagles’ Noh Si-hwan, NC Dinos’ Jason Martin, and Samsung Lions’ Albert Suarez.
KT, which once had a win-loss margin of -14, has been on a recent upswing, posting 46 wins, 43 losses, and two draws as of July 2. The team’s winning percentage since June earned them three nominations.
Homegrown ace Ko Young-pyo went 2-1 with a 1.30 ERA in four appearances in July. He ranked second in ERA and innings pitched (27 and two-thirds) in July. With his excellent control, Ko became just the fifth pitcher in history to throw 25 or more innings in a month and not allow a single four-pitch walk. He pitched efficiently, throwing less than 100 pitches in all four games, leading KT’s ascent. He is on track to reach 10 wins for the third consecutive season.
Benjamin shook off his early-season slump to become a winning pitcher. He won all four of his starts in July. He ranked first in monthly wins (4), second in strikeouts (31), third in ERA (1.67), and tied for third in innings pitched (27).
Establishing himself as KT’s leadoff man, Kim Min-hyuk posted a surprise monthly batting average of .387. He was second in hits (29) and tied for second in runs scored (15). He had 10 multi-hit games (two or more hits in a game) out of 18 games played in July. As of July 2, his batting average is .308. Kim Min-hyuk is aiming to reach a triple with a regular at-bat for the first time in his career.
The game between the Kiwoom Heroes and the Hanwha Eagles of the 2023 KBO Baseball Playoffs was held at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Friday afternoon. Noh Si-hwan hits a solo home run in the fourth inning. Gocheok Kim Min-gyu Reporter
Noh was nominated for the award this month after being named in June. He led the league with six home runs in 15 games in July, which included the All-Star break. The giant third baseman also led the league with a .649 on-base percentage in July. Once again, he’s in the running for his first career monthly MVP award.
The 2023 KBO Baseball Game between the Kiwoom Heroes and the NC Dinos was held at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the afternoon of July 5. Martin hits a single in the top of the seventh inning. Gocheok Kim Min-gyu Reporter
NC Martin has been a fixer. Of NC’s 70 RBIs in July, he accounted for 20 of them, or about 30 percent, by himself. He led the league in RBIs for the month. In 17 games, he had two four-hit games and one five-hit game. After hitting just five home runs through June, he blasted five (tied for second) in July, including a grand slam. Along with his long ball power, he also showed his ability to make precise contact, finishing tied for fourth in monthly hits (23) and fifth in batting average (0.359).
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Samsung Suarez topped the month with a 0.00 ERA after not allowing a single run in 19 innings pitched in three July appearances. Two wins for the month. Suarez, along with teammate David Buchanan, has allowed just three earned runs, the fewest among players with at least 100 innings pitched.
The monthly MVP will be selected by a combination of fan voting and a vote of the Korean Baseball Writers Association staff. The winner will be announced on May 9.