The first nomination → KBO MVP → Premier 12 Top 3. Already, Kim Do-young's finale and salary are expected to reach 400 million won for the first time. Will it be the grandson of the wind?

Dec 24, 2024

The 2024 KBO Golden Glove Awards ceremony was held at the COEX Auditorium in Samseong-dong, Seoul on the afternoon of the 13th. Kim Do-young wins the Golden Glove 3rd baseman category. Samseong-dong = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2024.12.13/

On the 14th, the Premier 12 baseball team played against Cuba at Taipei Tiyanmu Stadium in Taiwan. The bases loaded with two outs in the second inning. Kim Do-young hit the bases loaded. Taipei (Taiwan) = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2024.11.14/

The Premier 12 baseball team played against Australia at Taipei Tiananmen Stadium in Taiwan on the 18th. Kim Do-young hit a two-run home run against Holland in the sixth inning. Taipei (Taiwan) = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2024.11.18/

"He's the MVP of the KBO League."

KIA Tigers' Kim Do-young was selected as the 10 people to watch in the Premier 12 by the 2024 World Baseball Softball Federation (WBSC). It also made it to the top three. Kim Do-young, who swung a fire bat in 12 countries, ranked third in the top 10 players to watch.

Since 28 players from 12 countries participated, a total of 336 players participated and threw and ran for each country. South Korea lost to Taiwan and Japan in Group B and unfortunately failed to advance to the semifinals. Nevertheless, Kim Do-young also proved on the international stage that he is the best player to be named MVP in the KBO League by ranking third.

On the 24th (Korea time), WBSC selected and announced the top 10 players of the 2024 Premier 12 on SNS. Of the 10 players, the U.S. was the most voted with four, followed by Mexico, South Korea, Australia, Japan, Puerto Rico, and the Netherlands with one each.

First place was Mexico's Alonso Gaitan, and second place was America's Matthew Shaw. Third place is Kim Do-young of Korea. Fourth place was Americano Chandler Simpson, fifth place was Australia's Travis Bazana, sixth place was Japan's Jojo no Gaito, seventh place was Justin Crawford, eighth place was Puerto Rico's Sabine Ceballos, ninth place was Colby Thomas, and 10th place was Hendrick Clementina of the Netherlands.

Kim Do-young's value is rising further as it is known that she is ranked higher than the prospects who received attention in the Major League. Simpson, ranked fourth, was named to the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2022 rookie draft, and had a whopping 104 stolen bases in Single A and Double A this year. Simpson batted .459 with six RBIs, nine steals and an OPS of 1.014. No. 5 Bazana is the first - round pick of this year's rookie draft and was named by the Cleveland Guardians.

Top 10 Premier 12 players announced by WBSC. WBSC SNS Capture

The 2024 KBO Awards ceremony was held at Lotte Hotel World in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 26th. KIA Kim Do-young, who was selected as MVP, is kissing the trophy. Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.11.26/

The 2024 Real Glove Awards were held at Grand Hyatt Seoul in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the 1st. KIA Kim Do-young, who won the Player of the Year Award, is taking a commemorative photo. Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2024.12.01/

Kim Do-young, who entered the professional league with the first designation of the KIA Tigers in 2022, has not been able to show his skills properly for the past two years due to injuries, but he exploded his talent by playing full-time this season. He achieved the youngest 30 (homer)-30 (stealing) club and recorded the highest number of runs in a single season as a star player who led the KBO League's box office throughout this season, recording the first 10 million spectators.

In 141 games, all eight batting categories, including a batting average of 347 (3rd), 38 home runs (2nd), 109 RBIs (7th), 143 runs (1st), 40 steals (6th), 0.420 on-base percentage (3rd), and a slugging percentage (0.647th), showed that they were all-round players, ranking in the top seven. He even won the KBO League regular league MVP and the third baseman Golden Glove, standing tall as the best player in 2024.

He was also selected for the Premier 12 national team, and he properly announced his name on the international stage with a batting average of 412 (7 hits in 17 at-bats) and three home runs and 10 RBIs in five qualifying games.

Attention is also high on how much his salary will rise next season, after receiving an annual salary of 100 million won this season. The highest annual salary in the fourth year of the KBO League was KRW 390 million for Lee Jung-hoo, who entered the Major League. The current atmosphere is said to be possible to exceed 400 million won for the first time in the fourth year. I wonder how much Kim Do-young will surprise her fans.

indyk@sportschosun.com