KBO's ERA, strikeout champion wins top S. Korean pitching award

SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Yonhap) -- Doosan Bears starter Gwak Been, who led the South Korean baseball league in ERA and strikeouts this year, was named the recipient of the country's top pitching award Monday.

Gwak was chosen as the winner of the 2026 Choi Dong-won Award. Named after the late former pitcher in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), the award has been recognizing the top hurler in the KBO since 2014.

The award selection committee said Gwak received first-place votes from six of its seven members.

Gwak went 11-7 in 27 starts, covering 161 innings, and topped the KBO with a 2.24 ERA and 197 strikeouts. He was the only starter this season to post an ERA of under 3.00.

Gwak also pitched South Korea to the gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in September, allowing just one run in 12 1/3 innings and striking out 19 in his two starts, including one against Japan in the gold medal game.

Candidates for the award must meet the following criteria: at least 25 starts, 180 innings pitched, 12 wins, 150 strikeouts, 15 quality starts, a sub-3.00 ERA and 35 saves for relievers.

Although Gwak fell short of thresholds in the wins and innings pitched categories, the selection committee said it made an exception for the 27-year-old pitcher, who missed about two weeks in the regular season to compete in the Asian Games.

"He had a dominant season and lived up to the legacy of an ace pitcher left by Choi Dong-won," the committee said.

Choi, who died in 2011 at age 53, is widely regarded as one of the greatest pitchers in KBO history. He had a short but memorable peak in the mid-1980s. In 1984, Choi won all four games for the Lotte Giants, based in his hometown of Busan, in their first Korean Series victory, appearing in five out of seven games in the series and tossing four complete games. In the regular season that year, Choi recorded 223 strikeouts, a record that stood for 37 years.

The award ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 11, in honor of Choi's number during his playing days, in Busan. Gwak will receive a trophy and prize money of 20 million won (US$15,000).