Four-way fight: KBO MVP race heats up as season hits home stretch
Kim Do-yeong of the KIA Tigers, Gwak Been of the Doosan Bears, Austin Dean of the LG Twins and Sam Hilliard of the KT Wiz have emerged as the front-runners for the league's top individual honor.
KIA Tigers’ Kim Do-yeong rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the top of the third inning against the Samsung Lions at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on July 30.YONHAP
Now, with more than 70 percent of the KBO regular season complete, the MVP race has narrowed to four leading contenders — two Korean players and two foreign players. Kim Do-yeong of the KIA Tigers, Gwak Been of the Doosan Bears, Austin Dean of the LG Twins and Sam Hilliard of the KT Wiz have emerged as the front-runners for the league’s top individual honor.
Kim’s biggest strength remains his power. As of Saturday, he ranked No. 1 in home runs with 35, No. 3 in RBIs with 89, No. 1 in runs scored with 87 and No. 2 in slugging percentage at .622. His team has also bounced back from a disappointing season last year and is in contention for a spot in the playoffs, coinciding with his resurgence.
Despite his strong record, Kim faces a disadvantage in the MVP race, as he was selected for the Korean national team for the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 and will be away for about two weeks in September.
Even so, his status as No. 1 in home runs will likely give his MVP case a significant boost since leading the KBO in home runs has historically been a fast track to the award. Of the 26 position players who have won MVP, including two-way player Kim Seong-han, 20 led the league in home runs.
Dean is currently the strongest candidate, being near the top of the leaderboard in virtually every individual offensive category except stolen bases. He ranks No. 2 in home runs with 32, No. 1 in RBIs with 99, No. 5 in batting average at .334, No. 3 in runs with 83, No. 1 in slugging percentage at .639, No. 6 in on-base percentage at .420 and No. 4 in hits with 137.
LG Twins’ Austin Dean celebrates after hitting an RBI double in the bottom of the fourth inning against the Kiwoom Heroes at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on July 29.YONHAP
He is particularly dominant in advanced metrics derived from sabermetrics — the mathematical and statistical analysis of baseball — ranking No. 1 across the board. He leads all pitchers and position players in wins above replacement, or WAR, by a commanding margin at 6.47, according to data from sports statistics provider Sports2i.
Although he is a foreign player, he has spent four seasons in Korea and has become an integral part of his team. He has also consistently earned high praise from media members who have MVP voting rights.
Hilliard has recently surged into contention. Through the first half of the season, he was batting .291 with 20 home runs and 70 RBIs, leaving him well behind Austin and Kim Do-yeong, but his performance began heating up during the summer. He has belted 10 home runs in 20 games in the second half of the season.
KT Wiz’s Sam Hilliard celebrates after hitting a two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on May 28.YONHAP
He has climbed to No. 3 in home runs with 30 and No. 2 in RBIs with 96 while raising his batting average above .300 to .303. If he can come from behind to win the home run and RBI titles, he will have a compelling case for MVP.
He will also benefit if his team, the KT Wiz — which currently sits atop the pennant race — finishes first in the regular season, as the MVP has come from the regular-season champion in each of the past two years: Kim Do-yeong in 2024 and Cody Ponce of the Hanwha Eagles in 2025.
Doosan Bears starting pitcher Gwak Been pitches against the Hanwha Eagles during a KBO game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on Aug. 11.NEWS1
Among pitchers, Gwak stands out the most. He has gone 9-4 with a 2.46 ERA in 22 games. His nine wins rank No. 6, two behind KIA’s Adam Oller, who leads the league with 11, though Gwak ranks No. 1 in ERA. He also leads the league with 148 strikeouts, ahead of the Lotte Giants’ Elvin Rodriguez, who has 136. Of the six pitchers in KBO history to win the pitching Triple Crown by leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts in the same season, five went on to win MVP.
Like Kim Do-yeong, however, Gwak will also be called up to the national team for this year’s Asian Games. With two or three potential starts taken away from him, his chances of finishing first in wins and strikeouts will inevitably decline. Even so, if he manages to capture all three pitching titles, he is likely to attract substantial support from voters.
BY KIM HYO-KYOUNG [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
