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WBN KBO Team of the Year

 Daniel Fox - World Baseball Network  |    Nov 3rd, 2024 11:00am EST

A memorable KBO season wrapped up on Monday with the Kia Tigers clinching their 12th Korean Series championship. Now it is time to take a look back at the best players from every position in the KBO for 2024. 

Catcher: Yang Eui-Ji, Doosan Bears

Even as he approaches 40, Yang remains the best-hitting catcher in the KBO. The 18-year veteran may not post the same power numbers now that he did in his prime, but he still hit .314 while driving in 94 runs this past year. Though the Bears were eliminated in the wild-card round of the postseason, the return of Yang, who spent four seasons with the NC Dinos from 2019-2022, has been a great success. 

First Baseman: Matt Davidson, NC Dinos

After six MLB seasons and a 2023 campaign spent in Japan, Davidson joined the KBO and immediately became one of the best power hitters in the league. The 33-year-old led the KBO with 46 home runs and finished second in RBIs with 119. Though the Dinos missed the playoffs, Davidson’s power display gave NC fans something to cheer about all season long. 

Second Baseman: Park Min-woo, NC Dinos

While Davidson arrived in Changwon just before this season, Park has been a key figure in the Dinos lineup for the last 12 years. His 2024 output, however, was one of his best ever, as he posted his highest OPS (.852) since 2020 and topped 30 stolen bases for the first time since 2015. Despite not being known for power, Park even tied his career-high with eight home runs, all while turning in a .328 batting average. Simply put, it doesn’t look like the 31-year-old will be slowing anytime soon. 

Shortstop: Kim Do-yeong, KIA Tigers

The youngest player on this list might also be the best all-around player. The 21-year-old Kim finished third in the KBO with a .347 average and flirted with a historic 40 home-run/40 stolen-base season, a feat only accomplished by Eric Thames in 2015. Though Kim ultimately finished two home runs short, his probable MVP season helped the Tigers clinch the KBO’s top seed and get an automatic spot in the Korean Series. Kim wasn’t as dominant in the final against the Samsung Lions, but he did hit a homer in the Game 2 victory as the Tigers won the series in five. Kim’s season will go down as one of the best in KBO history, and the scary thing for opponents is that he hasn’t even approached his prime. 

Third Baseman: Choi Jeong, SSG Landers

Much like Yang, Choi seems to be getting better with age. The 37-year-old third baseman had another fantastic season, batting .291 with 37 home runs, his highest home run total since the 2017 season. His most important blast came on April 25, as his home run against the Lotte Giants was the 469th of his career, breaking Lee Seung-yeop’s all-time home run record. Choi will enter the 2025 season just five home runs short of becoming the first KBO player to reach the 500 home run plateau. 

Left Field: Guillermo Heredia, SSG Landers

Heredia had a solid KBO debut season in 2023, batting .324 with 12 home runs, but he took it to another level in 2024. The Cuban outfielder won the KBO batting title with a .360 mark while finishing third in the league with 118 RBI. Heredia’s heroics couldn’t quite lead the Landers to the playoffs, as they lost to the KT Wiz in a play-in game, but it’s clear the 33-year-old former World Series champion has found a home in the KBO. 

Center Field: Victor Reyes, Lotte Giants

In a year when the KBO set records in everything from home runs to attendance, Victor Reyes turned in a historic offensive season. The 29-year-old set a new KBO record with 202 hits in a single season, breaking the record with a single in the last game of the season. The achievement capped off a terrific first season in the KBO for Reyes, as the former Detroit Tiger finished second in the league with a .352 batting average and drove in 111 runs. 

Right Field: Koo Ja-wook, Samsung Lions

In a fantastic, decade-long career that has seen him regularly ranked among the game’s best players, 2024 may have been Koo’s best work. The 31-year-old outfielder easily set career highs with 33 home runs and 115 RBI and topped the 1.000 OPS plateau for the first time. This power surge didn’t come at the expense of his average, however, as his .343 mark ranked fourth in the KBO. Unfortunately for Koo and the Lions, the superstar injured his ankle and attempted to steal second in the second-round matchup against the LG Twins, forcing him to miss the entire Korean Series loss against the Kia Tigers. With a stacked lineup surrounding him and hopefully better fortune, Koo and the Lions will be among the favorites to win the KBO in 2025. 

Designated Hitter: Austin Dean, LG Twins

Dean couldn’t quite match Davidson’s league-leading power output, but he got the nod at DH after posting terrific offensive numbers. The 32-year-old led the KBO with 132 RBI while posting his second consecutive season with a batting average of at least .310.  Dean also helped the Twins advance past the KT Wiz in the postseason by going 3-for-5 with a three-run homer in a critical Game 3 victory. 

Starting Pitcher: Kyle Hart, NC Dinos

Despite not making the KBO playoffs, the NC Dinos arguably had both the league’s best hitter and pitcher with Davidson and Hart. The 31-year-old lefty came to KBO after seven MiLB seasons and a brief stint with the Red Sox in 2020 and posted the best season of his career at any level. Hart led the league with 182 strikeouts in just 157 innings and posted a 13-3 record, which was the best winning percentage of any qualified KBO starting pitcher. Only a six-run outing prevented him from winning the ERA title and becoming just the second foreign-born pitcher to win the KBO’s Triple Crown.

Starting Pitcher: James Naile, KIA Tigers

Much like Hart, Naile came to the KBO in 2024 after a brief stint in MLB and had his best season at any professional level. The 31-year-old captured the ERA title with a 2.53 mark and helped his Kia Tigers claim the KBO’s top seed by posting a 12-5 record. Unfortunately, Naile’s regular season came to an abrupt end when he suffered a broken jaw off of a Matt Davidson liner on August 24, but he returned to make two terrific postseason starts as part of the Tigers’ Korean Series victory over the Samsung Lions. 

Starting Pitcher: Won Tae-In, Samsung Lions 

Along with Connor Seabold and Denyi Reyes, Won was part of a trio of Lions starters that dominated all season and helped the club capture the KBO’s second seed. Won continued the trend of steadily improving since debuting in 2019 at age 19, culminating in a league-leading 15 wins in 2024. Won continued his dominance right into postseason play, allowing just one run over 6 2/3 innings in his second-round start against the Twins before shutting out the Tigers for five innings in the Korean Series opener. His third start, however, would see him leave the game in the third inning with a labrum injury, and he would not pitch the rest of the series as the Lions lost in five games. Won will be fully recovered for the 2025 season, where he should once again be among the KBO’s best pitchers. 

Starting Pitcher:  Ariel Jurado, Kiwoom Heroes

Jurado has been the epitome of durability and consistency since debuting with the Heroes in 2023. The Panamanian right-hander turned in his second consecutive 30-start season, and his 374 innings is the most in the KBO over that span. Though his ERA rose slightly to 3.36, Jurado once again finished in the top five in the league in that category, and he increased his strikeout total from 147 to 169. Jurado’s performance has been a rare bright spot for the Heroes during their back-to-back last-place finishes. 

Starting Pitcher: Aaron Wilkerson, Lotte Giants

Though not quite as efficient as Jurado, Wilkerson is another veteran right-hander who has succeeded in the KBO due to remarkable stamina. The 35-year-old former Milwaukee Brewer led the KBO in both starts (32) and innings pitched (196.2) while placing in the top ten in ERA and strikeouts. 

Relief Pitcher: Jung Hai-young, KIA Tigers

From Opening Day to the last pitch of the season, Jung was the most dominant closer in the KBO. The 23-year-old stepped into a closer role in 2021 and has converted at least 30 saves in every season. This year was more of the same, as he led the league with 31 saves in 34 opportunities while posting a 2.49 ERA. Jung appeared in three of the four Tiger victories in their Korean Series victory over the Lions, including retiring all four batters he faced in the Game 5 clincher. 

Relief Pitcher: Joo Hyun-sang, Hanwha Eagles

Joo’s turnaround from an indistinguishable bullpen arm to one of the best relievers in the KBO has been simply remarkable. The 32-year-old looked like he was on his way out of the KBO after posting a 6.83 ERA in 2022, but he did a complete 180 in 2023 and finished with a microscopic 1.96 ERA. The performance earned Joo the closer’s job in 2024, and Joo seized the opportunity by converting 23 saves to go along with a 2.65 ERA. 

WBN KBO: https://worldbaseball.com/league/south-korea/

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Daniel Fox - World Baseball Network
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