Yang Eui-ji attended the 2023 KBO Golden Glove Awards held at the COEX Auditorium in Samseong-dong, Seoul on December 11 and embraced the Golden Glove in the catcher category. 메이저사이트
Yang Eui-ji returned to Doosan Bears in the 2023 season and played in 129 games / batted .305 / 134 hits / 17 home runs / 68 RBIs / on-base plus a .474 slugging percentage. Yang Eui-ji was the only hitter in his team who hit .300 and the only catcher in the entire league.
Yang Eui-ji has achieved his ninth career Golden Glove award by winning the latest Golden Glove award. This is a record that takes one step closer to coach Lee Seung-yeop (10 times), who has the most Golden Glove winners. Above all, Yang Eui-ji has become the catcher with the most Golden Glove award. Yang Eui-ji has acquired the Golden Glove award eight times, surpassing the manager Kim Dong-soo (seven times).
Yang Eui-ji, who won the Golden Glove with a total of 214 votes (73.5 percent of the votes), met with reporters after the ceremony and said, "I want to thank the staff and family for making me the biggest winner in the catch category. I was not confident this year as I failed to prepare well for the season after returning from the WBC Championship. Still, I quickly adapted to the new season thanks to the support from the team's coaches, and front desk staff. I was able to finish the season well thanks to Doosan's fans' support."
It was also a more meaningful moment for Yang Eui-ji because the presenter who won the Golden Glove on the day was director Kim Dong-soo.
"It was a huge honor to receive this award from legendary catcher Yang Eui-ji. Looking back, I was wondering if I would be able to make my debut in the first division as a second eight-round pick, but I am grateful that I have received eight of the biggest prizes as a catcher. I think it would be difficult to see a catcher until my first daughter becomes a middle school student (laughs). Still, I want to wear a catcher mask until I can handle it. I will take good care of my retirement as a catcher," Yang said in a nod.
Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop, who holds the record of winning the most Golden Gloves (10 awards), said, "I will be able to tie my record next year."
On this, Yang Eui-ji said, "I didn't know that there was only one difference between Lee Seung-yeop and me. I am not at the level of the manager and the raincoat yet. I will do my best until I retire and get evaluated. As the mood at the end of the season subsided a little, the coach didn't express his feelings, but he must have had a hard time. Since he went to the fall baseball league in his first year as a manager, I think it was a successful season and I believe that this experience will enable him to grow stronger next year. I hope the coach will hear the cheering sound at the last minute of next year."
Finally, Yang Eui-ji said, "I have enough confidence to do better because I have created an environment to prepare properly for next season. I need to perform better than this year's performance. I hope not only I but also my teammates will do better and win the Golden Glove next year with many teammates like in 2016 and 2018 (winning four Doosan players)."