Roh Si-hwan likely to win first Golden Glove

The reigning most valuable player (MVP) award winner Erick Fedde was among the nominees for the Golden Glove awards announced by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on Wednesday.

The KBO will present Golden Gloves in 10 positions: pitcher, catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop, three outfielders regardless of the position and designated hitter (DH).

Fedde, who was named the regular season MVP on Monday after leading the KBO with 20 wins, 209 strikeouts and a 2.00 ERA, is a heavy favorite for a Golden Glove in his trophy case.

The runner-up in the MVP voting, Hanwha Eagles third baseman Roh Si-hwan, will likely pick up his first Golden Glove, after topping the league with 31 home runs and 101 RBIs.

Despite the word “glove” in the name, the Golden Gloves have traditionally been given to players

who put up the best offensive and pitching numbers, rather than the best defensive players. League leaders in major offensive and pitching categories all earn automatic nominations, though defensive innings were added to the qualifying criteria in 2017. The KBO created the KBO Fielding Award this year to

better recognize the league’s top defenders.

At catcher, Yang Eui-ji of the Doosan Bears, who nabbed the inaugural Fielding Award at his position, is going for his ninth career Golden Glove.

Former first baseman and designated hitter Lee Seung-yuop holds the record for most Golden Gloves with 10.

Position players must have either led the league in at least one offensive category or have appeared in their fielding position for at least 720 innings. Pitchers must have met the minimum number of innings to qualify for the ERA title (144 innings) or, in the case of relief pitchers, must have recorded at least 10 wins, 30 saves or 30 holds.

All batters who had at least 297 plate appearances as DH automatically qualify for the DH category. That’s two-thirds of the minimum plate appearances to qualify for the batting title.

By position, there were 28 nominees for pitcher, seven for catcher, three at first base, five at second base, five at third base, eight at shortstop, 20 at outfield positions and five DH.

Voting by baseball writers, broadcasters and analysts opened Wednesday and will run through 3 p.m. Friday. The winners will be announced during the awards ceremony in Seoul on Dec. 11.