"1st place", "A really cool friend, I respect you."
I could have been a bridesmaid, but I was never a bridesmaid. It was a Golden Glove Awards ceremony where everyone's dignity shone. Oh Ji-hwan, MVP of the Korean Series, thanked and praised KIA Park Chan-ho for attending the ceremony despite his failure to win the Golden Glove. Oh won the Golden Glove in the shortstop category at the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Golden Glove Awards held at the COEX Auditorium in Seoul on Wednesday. With this achievement, Oh has won the Golden Glove Award for two consecutive seasons since last year. The shortstop category was the biggest battleground in the Golden Glove. As many as eight players competed in the shortstop category. All the main shortstop players of each team participated as candidates. LG Oh Ji-hwan, KT Kim Sang-soo, SSG Park Sung-han, NC Kim Joo-won, KIA Park Chan-ho, Lotte Noh Jin-hyuk, Samsung Lee Jae-hyun, and Hanwha Lee Do-yoon competed for only one golden glove. Among them, the Golden Glove was a two-way race between Oh Ji-hwan and Park Chan-ho. In this season's 126 games, Oh played 24 doubles, three triples, eight homers, 62 RBIs, 65 runs, 16 steals, 64 walks, 82 strikeouts and a slugging percentage of 0.371 OPS. Notably, Oh displayed his best performance as a captain in the upcoming Korean Series, earning him the honor of being named the MVP of the Korean Series. He played in five games in the Korean Series and led his team to win the title with 0.316 (six hits in 19 at-bats) three homers, eight RBIs, six runs, and three walks. Most of all, he became a hero by hitting home runs every time that is crucial. In Game 2, he hit a solo shot against KT William Cuevas, in Game 3, he hit a dramatic come-from-behind final three-run shot against Kim Jae-yoon in the top of the ninth inning when his team was trailing 5-7, and in Game 4, he also hit a three-run shot against Soju in the seventh inning. Out of the eight RBIs, seven were homers. It was Oh who hit a home run in three consecutive games for the first time in the history of the Korean Series. Kia Tigers' Park Chan-ho also spent the 2023 season, which has never lagged behind Oh Ji-hwan in person. In 130 games this season, he had 18 doubles, four triples, 52 RBIs, 73 runs, 30 steals, 40 walks, 56 strikeouts, and an on-base percentage of 0.378 with a batting average of 0.356 OPS. Park ranked third in the entire KBO league in stolen bases and 13th in batting average. After graduating from Shindapcho, University of Science and Technology-Jangchung High School, Park joined the Kia Tigers as the 50th player overall in the fifth round of the 2014 second rookie draft. He also had the best year of his career, posting a batting average of .300 for the first time in his career this season. However, as his team failed to advance to the fall baseball league, the team held back its disappointment due to the end of the regular season. Oh Ji-hwan and Park Chan-ho already won the joint defense award at the 2023 KBO Defense Awards, which was established for the first time this year. Oh Ji-hwan scored 75 points in voting and 12.5 points in defense, while Park Chan-ho (KIA) scored 66.67 points in voting and 20.83 points in defense. As a result, they tied at 87.5 points overall, and they were eventually selected as joint winners. At the Golden Glove Awards, Oh Ji-hwan had a slight advantage over Park Chan-ho. Oh Ji-hwan won 154 out of 291 valid votes, marking 52.9 percent of the vote. He was followed by Park Chan-ho, who won 120 votes (41.2 percent), with only 34 votes. Kim Sang-soo (KT) came in third with five votes (1.7 percent), Kim Joo-won (NC) came in fourth with four votes (1.4 percent), Lee Jae-hyun (Samsung) came in fifth with three votes (1.0 percent), Park Sung-han (SSG) and Noh Jin-hyuk (Lotte) tied for sixth with two votes (0.7 percent), and Lee Do-yoon (Hanwha) came in eighth with one vote (0.3 percent). Oh and Park both showed off their dignity at the ceremony. "I'm here to show you the dignity of the second place," Park told reporters before the ceremony. "In fact, it's really nice to be mentioned together like this. I've been mentioning it with Oh for almost a few months now. I feel like I'm one step closer to such a player. I'm really happy just now. I wanted to shine as a player who has been mentioned with him consistently." "Honestly, don't you know (I don't think) I'll get it?" Park said, expressing his sincerity, "I really wanted to come to the Golden Glove Awards at least once. I have to come as a winner someday." Even if his award went awry, he was willing to come to the ceremony to shine. After receiving the Golden Glove award, Oh said, "I am grateful to Coach Yeom Kyung-yeop for making 2023 the best year. I received so much help from so many coaches, Cha Myung-seok, front desk, and coach Kim Yong-il. I am so grateful as a player. I had the best year as a player. I won the title in 29 years. Personally, it is my first win in 15 years. I think this is the starting point. LG will achieve a combined victory next year to build a dynasty. I am grateful to my beloved wife and agent. Lastly, LG Twins fans and fans of the 10 teams are the best. Thank you." Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Oh said, "There's actually a reason I wanted to win this award. In order for 2023 to be remembered as the best year for me, I thought it would be nice to receive such a personal award. I think that's why I wanted to win this award. Of course, I thought that I was losing to (Park) Chan-ho in the regular season performance. Still, I'm really grateful to Chan-ho for participating in the competition. That the position of shortstop is a competition, and the Golden Glove is also important, but I think that's why it's all the more important for me. That's why it's all the more meaningful for me. I'm so happy that my younger friends are shining a shortstop position as the mainstay of the team," he said. Now, Oh has become a defensive player, not a challenger. When asked about his junior teammates' strong challenges, Oh said, "In fact, I was lucky in one team because of competition. That's why I've always stayed in the same position. As my younger friends are making strides now, I have to show that I'm also competitive. I think the only way to prove myself is to prepare for the team's performance with the goal of winning another award." Along with winning the Korean Series, Oh has been engaged in a number of events recently. "It's great to be able to greet people like this," Oh said. "In my heart, I've already prepared everything. In my opinion, I decided to prepare for the 2024 season as soon as I win the combined championship. I have been taking time to exercise in advance. It should not end with just one season. It should continue to be progressive. I have to keep what I said. I will prepare for another unified championship step by step starting next year." Regarding the small difference in votes with Park Chan-ho, Oh Ji-hwan said, "Thank you for your more interest than less. Shortstop was a place where there was that much competition. It also means that there are so many outstanding players. Park Chan-ho, me, Park Sung-han, Lee Jae-hyun, and Kim Hye-sung are also returning to shortstop position. When I hear that those players are coming, it gives me more stimulation." Regarding Park Chan-ho's congratulatory message, he said, "He's a really cool guy. He's younger than me, but I even respect him for learning. We're both baseball players and juniors, but I think we really need to learn what we have to learn. I think he's cool," and when I meet him at the stadium, I want to ask him a lot of questions. "I'm going to ask him a lot in baseball because I'm a player who hit .300," he said, promising to meet him again next time.