Hanwha Eagles' Kang Baek-ho named KBO Player of the Month for May

By Yoo Jee-ho SEOUL, June 8 (Yonhap) -- Hanwha Eagles designated hitter Kang Baek-ho has been voted South Korean baseball's best player for May. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced Monday the 26-year-old slugger won the Player of the Month award for May. He collected 22 out of 35 votes from the media and 207,232 votes out of 453,247 votes cast by fans. It came to the total voting points of 54.29, with Kia Tigers starter Hwang Dong-ha finishing a distant second with 17 points from six media votes and 76,373 fan votes. Kang put up a .424/.495/.783 line with eight home runs, 30 RBIs and 21 runs in 23 games in May. For the month, Kang ranked first in the KBO in RBIs and slugging, and second in home runs, batting average, hits and on-base percentage. Kang is the league's RBI leader for the season with 61, 12 ahead of Austin Dean of the LG Twins. This is Kang's first Player of the Month honor in his nine-year career. He is the first Eagles hitter to be so honored since Roh Si-hwan in July 2023. Kang will receive 3 million won (US$1,955) in prize money. Shinhan Bank, the league's main sponsor, will donate 2 million won to Kang's alma mater, Isu Middle School in Seoul, in the player's name.