The KBO Golden Glove Awards on Nov. 11 seemed to mark the beginning of the Noh era.
Lee Bum-ho, 42, the hitting coach of the KIA Tigers, who presented the award for third baseman, said before the announcement, “I think Noh will get it.” Since joining the Hanwha Eagles, Noh has been dubbed the next Lee Bum-ho, the successor to Kim Tae-gyun.
Indeed, the names of the two batting legends were always associated with him. There was a lot of hope for him to grow up.
Drafted in the second round of the 2019 rookie draft. He graduated from Gyeongnam High School and became a top player in his fifth year as a professional. In 2005-2006, Lee Bum-ho, who won the Golden Glove as a third baseman for Hanwha, called him out. It’s been 17 years since a Hanwha third baseman won the Golden Glove.
There are two other third basemen in the history of the KBO. They are former Hanwha manager Han Dae-rae (63) and SSG Landers’ Choi Jung (36). Together, they have eight Third Baseman’s Golden Gloves.
Han won the award six years in a row from 1986-1991 with the Haetae Tigers and two years in a row from 1993-1994 with the LG Twins. Choi won from 2011 to 2013, 2016 to 2017, 2019, and 2021 to 2022. With eight Golden Gloves in 12 years, it’s safe to say that this was the Choi era.
During this time, Park Seok-min (Samsung NC) won twice, Heo Kyung-min (Doosan) and Hwang Jae-gyun (KT) won once each.
It’s been 13 years since Tull won the award for the ninth time. The player who beat Choi Jeong-jeong to the podium was the twenty-three-year-old Geppo Noh Si-hwan. He received 245 out of 291 valid votes. 84.2% of the vote. He won his first award with overwhelming support. 카지노사이트가이드 Choi Jung received 5.5% and 16 votes.
Without Noh Si-hwan, it would have been Choi’s ninth win.
Despite nagging injuries, Choi played in 128 games, batting .299 with 140 hits in 471 at-bats, 29 home runs and 87 RBIs. He was second in home runs, seventh in RBI, and first in on-base percentage (.548) and OPS (.936). The veterans were still strong.
Noh said he was “grateful” to senior Choi Jung. Even during the home run race, Choi mentioned Noh, praising and encouraging him. Competition made Noh the home run and RBI leader.
It was significant because it confirmed his growth after a setback. Last year, 6 homers-59 RBIs. The year before, he hit 18 homers and 84 RBIs as the No. 4 hitter. It’s like he was running forward and then slammed on the brakes. “It was an embarrassing season,” he said.
“It was a disgraceful season,” he said. He started hitting home runs in the spring training games in Okinawa. He led the league in home runs in exhibition games and became the regular season home run king.
Played in all 131 games except for 13 games during the Hangzhou Asian Games call-up. He batted .299 with 153 hits, 31 home runs, 101 RBIs, and an OPS of .929. He was the only player to surpass 30 home runs and 100 RBIs this season. Served as the No. 4 hitter for the national team at the Hangzhou Asian Games and the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC).
The fruits of his labor were sweet.
Will 2023 be remembered as the first year of the “Noh Si-hwan Era”?