MVP with an Unanimous 95 out of 101 Votes
Kim Do-young (21, KIA Tigers), who was recognized as the best baseball player in this year's Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League, shared his thoughts and aspirations.
On the 26th, at the 2024 KBO League regular season awards ceremony held at Lotte Hotel World in Songpa-gu, Seoul, Kim Do-young received 95 out of 101 votes, winning the MVP award with a voting rate of 94.06%.
In his acceptance speech, he began by saying, "You know those days," referring to "days when you can't see ahead, can't see the future, and are filled with negative thoughts." "You know those days" was a phrase he previously posted on his social media account last year, which became a hot topic among fans at the time. The KIA team even produced "You know those days" T-shirts.
On the afternoon of the 26th, at the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO Awards Ceremony held at Lotte Hotel World in Songpa-gu, Seoul, KIA's Kim Do-young, who was selected as the Regular Season Most Valuable Player (MVP), is taking a commemorative photo with the trophy. Photo by Yonhap News
Kim Do-young continued, "I remember someone telling me 'Believe in yourself' at that time," adding, "Someone said that someday, when others see you, it will be a comfort." He expressed his hope that "on those days when negative thoughts arise, people would find comfort by looking at me."
He said, "I want to thank the KIA fans who cheered with loud cheers and supported me with their faith," emphasizing, "I lived this year because of the fans." "I lived because of you" is also Kim Do-young's catchphrase, and KIA fans cheered him throughout the season by shouting, "Doyoung, I have to live because of you."
This season, Kim Do-young broke several records, including becoming the youngest and fewest games player to achieve 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases, hitting for the cycle, and setting a new single-season scoring record with 143 runs. Ultimately, he led his team to an overall championship.
With a batting average of 0.347, 38 home runs, 30 stolen bases, 109 RBIs, and 143 runs scored, he claimed the MVP trophy. He said, "It is a great honor to receive the MVP award," and added, "I will continue to train humbly to help the team and always strive to be an 'exclamation point'."
However, he rated himself '80 points' for this year. He explained, "I value defense, and I deducted 20 points because of my defense." In fact, he committed 30 defensive errors this season.
Kim Do-young said, "I will play baseball humbly. When I first joined, I never thought I would become famous, but as I played well, people started saying I would be a player to lead Korean baseball," and added, "I want to repay that."
He continued, "Even as I get older, I want to be a player who leads the development of Korean baseball," and reiterated, "I will always remain humble."
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