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'the most ever' “Doosan will win next year”

Yang Eui-ji (Doosan Bears) is expressing his thoughts after winning the Golden Glove in the catcher category at the '2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Golden Glove Awards Ceremony' held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 11th.

Doosan Bears Yang Eui-ji (36) has risen to the ranks of 'legends' with the most Golden Gloves ever for a catcher.

Yang Eui-ji received 214 votes (73.5%) out of a total of 291 votes in the catcher category at the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Golden Glove Awards held at COEX Auditorium in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 11th, beating Park Dong-won (LG), who received 63 votes.

With this, Yang Eui-ji won the Golden Glove Award in the catcher category for the 8th time in his career, following 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022, and was honored with the most awards in the catcher category, surpassing Kim Dong-soo (7 times).

Yang Eui-ji also won the award at the age of 36 years, 6 months, and 6 days, making him the oldest catcher to win the Golden Glove Award ever, beating 2021 winner Kang Min-ho (36 years, 3 months, 22 days).

Yang Eui-ji said, “I had a difficult time adjusting to my family as I moved teams this year, so I am grateful to them for following along, and I am grateful to my teammates and fans for helping me come back and do well.” He added, “I feel good every time I receive this award.” “I want to continue to show a good image to my juniors as an exemplary player and senior,” he said.

He continued, “I will prepare better next season and work hard to help Doosan win the championship. “I want to hear coach Lee Seung-yeop’s cheers,” he added.

Yang Eui-ji played in 129 games this season, recording a batting average of 0.305, 17 home runs, and 68 RBIs. He performed well in all categories, including 6th place with an on-base percentage of 0.396 and 8th place with a slugging percentage of 0.474.

His steal blocking percentage was 0.378, the highest among the seven catchers nominated, and he was always rated the highest in 'pitcher lead', which is not revealed in records.

Although there were concerns about aging at the age of 36, Yang Eui-ji proved that he was still the best catcher in the league.

Meanwhile, Yang Eui-ji received his 9th Golden Glove Award in his career, including the 2021 designated hitter award. He is close to chasing Lee Seung-yeop (10th inning, 7th at first base, 3 times as designated hitter), who has the most awards of all time regardless of position, and is aiming to tie for the same record next season.