Sole leader LG, the most monthly MVP candidates in May with 3… Lim Chan-kyu, Hong Chang-ki, Park Dong-won family quarrel

LG, which is at the forefront of the KBO League alone, is fighting a house fight in the monthly Most Valuable Player (MVP) vote.

On the 2nd, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) released a list of 8 MVP candidates for the month of May.

Among the pitchers, SSG’s Noh Kyung-eun and Seo Jin-yong, LG’s Lim Chan-gyu, and Samsung Lions’ Baek Jeong-hyun were included. Among the batters, LG Hong Chang-ki, Park Dong-won, KIA Park Chan-ho, and Doosan Yang Eui-ji were named.

As of the 1st, LG, which is leading the league with 32 wins, 1 draw and 17 losses, has the most three candidates. Lim Chan-gyu, who started this season as a bullpen pitcher and then moved to the starting position, took the mound in 4 games in May and won all of them. He pitched 24 innings, giving up only 3 runs, and his earned run average was 1.13. This is also number 1.

Hong Chang-ki, who scored 33 hits in May alone, had a batting average of 0.384 in May, ranking first in both the most hits and batting average for the month. On top of that, he earned 10 walks and an on-base percentage of 0.470, showing an active performance worthy of his reputation as an ‘on-base machine’. Catcher Park Dong-won, who is the sole leader in this category with 13 home runs this season, hit 9 home runs in May alone. Park Dong-won’s slugging percentage in May reached a whopping 0.787. In addition, up to 25 RBIs, it ranked first in May in home runs, slugging percentage, and RBIs.

Two MVP candidates, Noh Kyung-eun and Seo Jin-yong, were nominated for second place SSG, which was one game behind LG by the 1st. Roh Kyung-eun, who is leading the field with 13 holds this season, played 12 matches in the month of May and recorded a total of 8 holds without allowing a comeback in a single game. He has allowed only 1 earned run in 14.2 innings and is playing the role of a winning team with an average ERA of 0.61. SSG’s closer Jin-yong Seo was nominated for the monthly MVP in May as well as in April. Seo Jin-yong, who kept victories in all eight save situations, is overwhelmingly No. 1 in monthly saves and season save rankings with 18.

Baek Jeong-hyeon ranked third in this category with an ERA of 1.73 in May. Aiming for the monthly MVP award two years after the monthly MVP award in July and August of the 2021 season. Park Chan-ho stood out in terms of batting average and hits. In 21 games, he had a batting average of 0.381 (32 hits in 84 at-bats) and also collected 5 stolen bases. Yang Eui-ji ranked at the top of various attack indicators, including batting average of 0.373 (3rd) and on-base percentage of 0.472 (2nd) in May. He even hit a home run in three consecutive games, from Jamsil KIA on May 13 to Gocheok Kiwoom Heroes on the 16th.

The 2023 Shinhan Bank Sol KBO League May Monthly MVP is selected by adding the fan vote held in the ‘Shinhan SOL (Sol)’ application from the 3rd to the 7th and the Korea Baseball Reporters Association reporters’ vote. The final results of the vote will be announced on the 8th.

Reporter Nam Jeong-hoon [email protected]

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