Park Chan-ho (KIA Tigers), who contributed to the Kia Tigers' V12, has become the star of the shortstop category for the second consecutive year since last year. However, he couldn't smile broadly even after receiving the meaningful award. Why.안전놀이터

Park Chan-ho attended the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO Awards held at Lotte Hotel World Crystal Ballroom in Seoul on the 26th and held the defensive trophy in his arms.

The KBO's defensive award was newly established last year and marks its second anniversary this year. A total of nine winners, one for each position, were decided after voting for defense (25%) and voting by each team's voting group (one coach, nine coaches, and one general manager). The winner of the defense award was awarded a trophy and 2 million won in prize money.

Park Chan-ho, who was selected as a co-winner in this category with Oh Ji-hwan (LG Twins) last year, scored a total of 90 points with 67.5 points for voting and 22.5 points for defense this year, beating Oh Ji-hwan (82.5 points) and Park Sung-han (89.75 points for SSG Landers).

Park Chan-ho, who took the podium, said, "I think it is meaningful because it is an award that other team officials vote for. Thank you for voting," adding, "I was able to finish it well with the help of many people during the season. I thank the coach and the coaching staff for constantly trusting and hiring me regardless of the situation."

She did not forget to mention her family. "I want to thank my mom and dad for giving birth to me in good health. I was able to cheer up and run until the end thanks to my wife and beautiful daughters who are watching me at home," Park said.

With more innings than the previous year (1,042 ⅔ innings), Park had 1,120 ⅓ innings in the 2024 season, the second-highest after Park Hae-min (1127 innings). If narrowed down the field to infielders, Park was responsible for the most innings.

After the ceremony, Park Chan-ho met reporters and said, "I was told in advance (the winner has been decided), and when I heard that I was going to receive the defense award, I thought, 'It's okay. I had high expectations. I wanted to get a higher score than last year, and I wanted to be recognized. I am encouraged by the good score in the voting."

"I'm satisfied with my personal indicators. I'm not saying that I'll be satisfied with this performance, but I think I'm satisfied because I've improved compared to last year," Park said. "Honestly, I can't play baseball while paying attention to relative indicators like wRC+. There are indicators that I can raise, and those indicators have risen much higher than last year or the year before, so I can be satisfied," Park said in a review of the 2024 season.

Both individuals and the team gained a lot during this season, and the satisfaction level is high. However, Park feels uncomfortable because of the Golden Glove. When asked about the Golden Glove, Park said, "I am not sure if I will attend the Golden Glove Awards."

With the KBO Golden Glove Awards held next month, shortstop is considered the biggest battleground of the year. It is a two-way race between Park Chan-ho and Park Sung-han. Although Park Sung-han had more home runs and higher on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) than Park Chan-ho, neither player shows much difference in batting or defensive performance.

If voters cast their ballots cast weight on the team's performance, Park Chan-ho has a higher chance of winning than Park Sung-han. In the meantime, there have been quite a few cases where the "winning premium" affected the outcome of the Golden Glove vote. This was the case in the shortstop category last year. Park Chan-ho, who competed with Oh Ji-hwan, did well by winning 120 votes, but failed to win the Golden Glove Award, falling behind Oh Ji-hwan (154 votes). Oh Ji-hwan, who won the MVP of the Korean Series, garnered more votes.

Park Chan-ho knew to some extent that he would not receive the award last year, but he showed up at the Golden Glove Awards. He drew as much attention as the Golden Glove winners, and was told that he showed his dignity as the runner-up. "Honestly, I knew I wouldn't get the award. I accepted it when the club first offered me (to attend the award ceremony) because I was the runner-up who could be applauded, and I went with the mindset that I would congratulate (Oh Ji-hwan)," Park said.

Now Park Chan-ho is in the opposite position. He hopes to win his first Golden Glove award as the "shortstop of the winning team." As the ceremony approaches, fans are paying more attention than expected. However, Park is more worried than expected. "I feel like I won't be applauded even if I win an award this year," Park said. "It is true that if I say this, I will get a lot of attention. There are many people who are against my story, and I understand."

Park Chan-ho's story is that he hopes neither he nor his family will be hurt.