The KBO has finalized the candidates for the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League MVP, rookie of the year and manager of the year.
MVP and rookie candidates were selected jointly by the KBO and the Korea Baseball Journalists Association, and voting will begin on Tuesday, Oct. 13, the day after the regular season ends. In addition, voting for the manager of the year, which was established last year, will also be held. The KBO MVP, rookie of the year and manager of the year will be decided by plurality voting, with the player (manager) receiving the most votes selected as the winner, and members of the Korea Baseball Journalists Association who covered the 2026 KBO League season and beat reporters from regional media outlets will participate in the voting.
Fourteen players who won league titles by category and posted outstanding performance were selected as MVP candidates for the season. Seven pitchers were named MVP candidates: Im Chan-kyu (LG), Kim Jae-yoon (Samsung), Ko Young-pyo, So Hyeong-jun, Sugimoto (all KT), Kwak Bin and Choi Minseok (both Doosan). Seven position players were chosen as candidates: Austin (LG), Goo Ja-wook (Samsung), Choi Won-joon, Hilliard (both KT), Víctor Reyes, Hwang Seong-bin (both Lotte) and Kim Do-yeong (KIA), making a total of 14 players competing for the MVP title.
Under Article 7 of the KBO award regulations for the rookie of the year, eligible players were selected from those who joined in 2026 and those who joined within the most recent five years excluding the current year (2021–2025), provided their cumulative records do not exceed 30 innings for pitchers and 60 plate appearances for batters; players who had belonged to overseas professional baseball organizations were excluded.
Among players meeting the conditions, nine players who posted outstanding results were nominated for rookie of the year: six pitchers — Woo Kang-hoon (LG), Kim Min-jun (SSG), Jang Chan-hee (Samsung), Park Jeong-min (Lotte), Kim Tae-hyoung (KIA) and Park Jun-hyeon (Kiwoom) — and three position players — Moon Jeong-Bin (LG), Heo In-seo (Hanwha) and Ryu Hyeon-in (KT) — who will challenge for the once-in-a-lifetime rookie of the year honor.
The manager of the year candidates will include all managers who led the 10 KBO League clubs in the 2026 season.
The season MVP and rookie of the year winners will be announced at the KBO awards ceremony to be held in November. In particular, the season MVP winner is scheduled to receive a trophy and a Kia EV5 as a prize.
※ This article has been translated by AI. Share your feedbackhere.
