KIA Tigers infielder Park Chan-ho received great attention by attending the KBO Golden Glove Awards ceremony on December 11. In fact, this was because Park Chan-ho, who was likely to take second place, personally participated in the awards ceremony in an atmosphere where LG Twins infielder Oh Ji-hwan was highly likely to win the Golden Glove award in the shortstop category.
In the 2023 season, Park Chan-ho played in 130 games and achieved a career-high season with a batting average of 0.301/136 hits/3 home runs/52 RBI/30 stolen bases/73 runs/on-base percentage of 0.356/slugging percentage of 0.378. Park Chan-ho has already completed the required number of at-bats, which is 446, with a total of 507 at-bats this season. He retained the title of '30 shortstop' for the first time in his debut.
Park Chan-ho's leading competitor for the Golden Glove was Oh Ji-hwan. Oh Ji-hwan played in 126 games in the 2023 season and recorded a batting average of 0.268/113 hits/8 home runs/62 RBI/16 stolen bases/65 runs/on-base percentage/0.372/slugging percentage of 0.396. Comparing the performance of Chan-ho Park and Oh Ji-hwan, Chan-ho Park had an advantage in batting average, hits, and stolen bases, while Oh Ji-hwan had an advantage in home runs and RBI. The season WAR figures were slightly different, with Oh Ji-hwan at 3.63 and Park Chan-ho at 3.58.
In the 2023 season, Park Chan-ho played in 130 games and achieved a career-high season with a batting average of 0.301/136 hits/3 home runs/52 RBI/30 stolen bases/73 runs/on-base percentage of 0.356/slugging percentage of 0.378. Park Chan-ho has already completed the required number of at-bats, which is 446, with a total of 507 at-bats this season. He retained the title of '30 shortstop' for the first time in his debut.
Park Chan-ho's leading competitor for the Golden Glove was Oh Ji-hwan. Oh Ji-hwan played in 126 games in the 2023 season and recorded a batting average of 0.268/113 hits/8 home runs/62 RBI/16 stolen bases/65 runs/on-base percentage/0.372/slugging percentage of 0.396. Comparing the performance of Chan-ho Park and Oh Ji-hwan, Chan-ho Park had an advantage in batting average, hits, and stolen bases, while Oh Ji-hwan had an advantage in home runs and RBI. The season WAR figures were slightly different, with Oh Ji-hwan at 3.63 and Park Chan-ho at 3.58.
In fact, Chan-Ho Park ranked second in the Golden Glove shortstop category by 34 votes. As a result of shortstop Golden Glove voting, Oh Ji-hwan received 154 votes (52.9% of the vote), beating Chan-ho Park, who received 120 votes (41.2%), by only 34 votes, and succeeded in winning the Golden Glove award for the second year in a row.
Chan-ho Park was the only player who attended the awards ceremony in person even though he was not a winner. Park Chan-ho met with reporters ahead of the awards ceremony and said, “He originally had no intention of coming to the awards ceremony, but he came in a hurry and rented clothes without even trying them on (laughter). He came late and hastily for the dignity of second place. I wanted to watch the Golden Globe Awards ceremony at least once because I have to be an award winner someday. It was a shame that I got hurt even though baseball was going well this year. “It made me wonder how much better my performance would have been if I hadn’t gotten hurt,” he said with a smile.
Regarding his rivalry with Oh Ji-hwan, Park Chan-ho said, “It is an honor just to be mentioned together. I am very happy because I feel like I am one step closer to becoming a player I respect. I never thought I would get it. He also expressed humility by saying, “I was constantly mentioned as a respected senior, so I thought it would be better if I graced the occasion with him.”
Chan-ho Park stood up after wholeheartedly congratulating Oh Ji-hwan on winning the Golden Glove. After the awards ceremony, Park Chan-ho attracted attention by releasing a photo of a card in the name of KIA Director Shim Jae-hak through his personal SNS. This meant that Director Shim Jae-hak's card was used at the meal after the awards ceremony.
Regarding this, Director Shim Jae-hak said, “Personally, I was very heartbroken because Chan-ho Park brought his mother, mother-in-law, and even his daughter, but he did not receive the award. I also expected Chan-ho Park to win the award and even prepared a bouquet of flowers, but in the end, I felt pity for him because it was not something I could do anything about. “So, I wanted to comfort him somehow, so I gave him my personal card instead of a corporate card and told him to have a delicious dinner with his family.”
Chan-ho Park, who received a personal card from Director Shim, is known to have ate delicious beef to his heart's content with his family who came to Seoul with him. Director Shim said, “It was a really cool scratch (laughter). “All of my pocket money was gone in December,” he said with a smile, adding, “I’m glad Chan-ho Park received some consolation.”
By attending the Golden Glove Awards, Park Chan-ho showed that he can be cool even if he is not first place. It is accurate to say that he has matured beyond recognition. In the same position a year later, I hope that Park Chan-ho will show not just the dignity of second place, but even the dignity of first place.
Chan-ho Park was the only player who attended the awards ceremony in person even though he was not a winner. Park Chan-ho met with reporters ahead of the awards ceremony and said, “He originally had no intention of coming to the awards ceremony, but he came in a hurry and rented clothes without even trying them on (laughter). He came late and hastily for the dignity of second place. I wanted to watch the Golden Globe Awards ceremony at least once because I have to be an award winner someday. It was a shame that I got hurt even though baseball was going well this year. “It made me wonder how much better my performance would have been if I hadn’t gotten hurt,” he said with a smile.
Regarding his rivalry with Oh Ji-hwan, Park Chan-ho said, “It is an honor just to be mentioned together. I am very happy because I feel like I am one step closer to becoming a player I respect. I never thought I would get it. He also expressed humility by saying, “I was constantly mentioned as a respected senior, so I thought it would be better if I graced the occasion with him.”
Chan-ho Park stood up after wholeheartedly congratulating Oh Ji-hwan on winning the Golden Glove. After the awards ceremony, Park Chan-ho attracted attention by releasing a photo of a card in the name of KIA Director Shim Jae-hak through his personal SNS. This meant that Director Shim Jae-hak's card was used at the meal after the awards ceremony.
Regarding this, Director Shim Jae-hak said, “Personally, I was very heartbroken because Chan-ho Park brought his mother, mother-in-law, and even his daughter, but he did not receive the award. I also expected Chan-ho Park to win the award and even prepared a bouquet of flowers, but in the end, I felt pity for him because it was not something I could do anything about. “So, I wanted to comfort him somehow, so I gave him my personal card instead of a corporate card and told him to have a delicious dinner with his family.”
Chan-ho Park, who received a personal card from Director Shim, is known to have ate delicious beef to his heart's content with his family who came to Seoul with him. Director Shim said, “It was a really cool scratch (laughter). “All of my pocket money was gone in December,” he said with a smile, adding, “I’m glad Chan-ho Park received some consolation.”
By attending the Golden Glove Awards, Park Chan-ho showed that he can be cool even if he is not first place. It is accurate to say that he has matured beyond recognition. In the same position a year later, I hope that Park Chan-ho will show not just the dignity of second place, but even the dignity of first place.