Roh Si-hwan (Hanwha), a 22-year-old homerun king who made another history this season following legends, responded to the Japanese national team coach’s compliment, saying, “It is also the top class in Japan.” Roh’s ambition was to completely subdue the KBO league stage first.
The 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Awards Ceremony, which selects and highlights the best players in the 2023 KBO regular season, was held at 2 p.m. on the 27th at the Westin Chosun Hotel Grand Ballroom in Seoul. 스포츠토토
Noh Si-hwan, who has displayed remarkable performance in this season, also stood tall on the podium. With a batting average of 0.298 (153 hits in 514 times at bat) and 31 home runs and 101 RBIs in 131 games this year, Noh has grabbed two titles in home runs and RBIs, which are representative of sluggers.
At the same time, Noh, who is 22 years old, dominated the home run and RBI titles. In the KBO league, Noh is the third batter to become the home run king before the age of 23, following Doosan Bears coach Lee Seung-yeop, who holds the record for the youngest home run king (1997), and Korea Baseball Organization talent donor Jang Jong-hoon, who won the title in 1990.
In addition, Noh Si-hwan once again made history as the second youngest hitter in KBO league history to achieve 30 home runs and 100 RBIs, following manager Lee Seung-yeop, who had 32 home runs and 114 RBIs at the age of 21.
Roh Si-hwan, whom I met after the ceremony, said, “I think it’s a really good place and a meaningful place because it’s a place to receive applause and awards,” adding, “The first award ceremony was so meaningful because I was able to take the title and was congratulated by many people. It was also an honor to see my family and relatives, and I think it will be a great day for the people around me.”
In addition, Noh attended the ceremony wearing a cool, casual and youthful tuxedo and showed off his fashion sense. As such, he stood tall as the best hitter in the KBO League in front of his family and won two trophies. At the same time, he hit hard at the Hangzhou Asian Games and the Asian Professional Baseball Championship this year, fully establishing himself as the fourth hitter for the Korean team.
It became a hot topic of conversation in Japan, too. “Roshi has displayed remarkable batting performance. I think he is the best-class player even compared to Japanese batters,” said Hirokazu Ibata, who led the Japanese national team at APBC. “Roshi is a batter who can hit more than 40 home runs in the Japanese professional baseball.”
Japanese media also paid keen attention to Noh throughout the tournament. Some articles mentioned Noh’s possibility to enter Japan. Former Hanwha coach Carlos Subero, who stepped down during this season, also urged Noh to go to the U.S., saying, “Don’t let go of the possibility to enter the Major League.”
On the possibility of going overseas, Noh said, “The Japanese national team coach gave me good reviews in Japan, and I want to think about going overseas after becoming the best in Korea,” adding, “To be honest, I don’t have any thoughts about going overseas yet. I’ll think about that later after I become the best in the KBO league.” Literally. Noh, who won two gold medals in the batting category this season, won six votes, or the second place, in the MVP voting, but failed to win the award, leaving him regretful.
In his fifth year as a professional, Noh Si-hwan made a new history as a batter in his 20s by rising to the home run king (31 home runs) and the RBI king (101 RBIs) despite being called up to the Asian Games, but failed to surpass Pedi, who rose to the triple crown as a pitcher. As Noh Si-hwan said, the KBO League still has to compete and has more mountains to overcome. Representatively, there is Choi Jung (SSG), who threatened Noh Si-hwan to the end in the home run race by ranking first in the slugging percentage.
This season, Choi Jung-eun hit .297/29 home runs/87 RBIs in 128 games, and hit 31 doubles to rank first in the league with a slugging percentage of 0.548. And her impressions on the video at the awards ceremony became a hot topic. “My personal feeling is that Noh Si-hwan was able to win three gold medals, but I was able to keep my No. 1 slugging percentage because I was hurt unintentionally at the end, so I feel sorry for him, and I will do my best to attend the awards ceremony next year with a more dignified performance,” Choi said.
In other words, he expressed his regret for blocking his junior’s milestone as Choi Jung left at the end of the season due to an injury and Noh Si-hwan’s slugging percentage fell in the meantime. “I’m grateful that Choi Jung mentioned it. I was able to receive such a good award because I had a competitor,” Noh Si-hwan said, after bowing his head down, “Choi Jung took the (long-shot title) but there was no such thing (disappointing or upsetting). I want to say thank you for mentioning it because I have to try it again next year.”