Ahn Woo-jin (24, Kiwoom)’s season out is also acting as a big variable in the KBO League MVP race. As Eric Peddy (30, NC) approaches the pitcher’s triple crown, Noh Si-hwan (23, Hanwha), who ranks first in home runs and RBIs, is on fire.
Woojin Ahn’s last appearance this season was against Munhak SSG on the 31st of last month. He decided to undergo elbow ligament fusion surgery on the 2nd and was out for the season. Woojin Ahn, who recorded 9 wins, 7 losses, an average ERA of 2.39, and 164 strikeouts in 24 games (150⅔ innings) this season, ranked first in strikeouts and second in ERA until the end of August.
However, Ahn Woo-jin’s season ended due to the sudden decision to undergo Tommy John surgery, and it appears that Peddy is enjoying a reflex benefit. Peddie continued his power by winning two consecutive games in September, pitching well with 20 strikeouts and 1 run in 15⅓ innings. His season record is 18 wins, 6 losses, 2.21 ERA, 169 strikeouts in 25 games (150⅔ innings).
Peddy, who ranked first in all three categories of wins, earned run average, and strikeouts, is likely to win the pitcher’s triple crown. The number of wins is 4 more than 2nd place Wes Benjamin (KT, 14 wins), so 1st place is likely, but the average ERA is not much different from 2nd and 3rd place Raul Alcantara (Doosan, 2.29) and Ahn Woo-jin (2.39), so you have to wait until the end of the season. do.안전놀이터
In the strikeout category, he pushed Ahn Woo-jin (164) to second place by five points, and is clearly ahead of third place Alcantara (142) by a large margin. If Ahn Woo-jin had completed the season normally, it would have been difficult for Peddie to be ranked first in strikeouts. Before the season ended, Ahn Woo-jin ranked first in strikeouts, ahead of Peddy, who ranked second, by 15, and was likely to win the title for the second year in a row.
The Triple Crown, which requires winning titles in three categories: most wins, ERA, and strikeouts, is a record that only three pitchers have achieved so far. Sun Dong-yeol did it for the first time in 1986 during his Haitai days, and then recorded it a total of four times, including three consecutive years from 1989 to 1991. He was followed by Hanwha Ryu Hyun-jin in 2006 and KIA Yoon Seok-min in 2011.
Seon Dong-yeol won MVP in three seasons in which he achieved the Triple Crown, excluding 1991. In 1991, the MVP award was given to Jong-Hoon Jang of Binggrae, who ranked first in five categories: home runs, hits, RBI, runs scored, and slugging percentage. Ryu Hyun-jin and Yoon Seok-min also won MVP honors, beating Lee Dae-ho and Choi Hyung-woo, who were the home run kings that year. The pitcher’s Triple Crown is no different from the ‘MVP guarantee check.’
If Peddie continues to be ranked first in wins, earned run average, and strikeouts, he could get closer to becoming MVP. Noh Si-hwan, who was first in the MVP race, also reached a situation where he could not feel at ease. The weight was tilted towards Noh Si-hwan as Peddy had a difficult game against Gwangju KIA on the 31st of last month, allowing 7 runs in 3 innings, but the situation changed when Peddy pitched well in 2 consecutive games in September.
Noh Si-hwan is showing the best performance among batters this season with a batting average of .304 (142 hits in 467 at-bats), 30 home runs, 96 RBIs, an on-base percentage of .393, a slugging percentage of .563, and an OPS of .956 in 118 games this season. He is the first in the league to surpass 30 home runs and is ranked first in three official titles including RBI and slugging percentage. He will soon become only the fourth player in history to hit 30 home runs and 100 RBIs at age 23 or younger. Previously, there was Jang Jong-hoon of Binggrae in 1991, Jae-hong Park of Hyundai in 1996, and Seung-yeop Lee of Samsung in 1997-1999. Noh Si-hwan’s strength is that he is the emergence of a young slugger that the KBO League has been looking forward to.
The biggest variable for Noh Si-hwan is the Hangzhou Asian Games. He will be selected for the national team to be convened on the 23rd for 15 days. He is currently forced to miss 13 games on the schedule. He is at risk of being overtaken in his cumulative records of home runs and RBIs in the meantime. He is ahead by 5 points over Choi Jeong (SSG, 25) in second place in home runs, and by 13 points over Austin Dean (LG, 83 RBIs) in second place in RBIs, but it is unknown what will happen in the 13 games when Noh Si-hwan is away. . As for Noh Si-hwan, he must build up as many records as possible in the remaining 9 games before joining the national team. As Peddie approaches his third win as a pitcher, Noh Si-hwan is also on fire.