(LEAD) Teen left-hander wins KBO's top rookie award

All News 15:33 November 29, 2021

(ATTN: ADDS details in paras 4, 9-11, photo)
By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Nov. 29 (Yonhap) -- The teenage pitcher Lee Eui-lee was voted the top rookie for the 2021 season in South Korean baseball Monday.

The 19-year-old starter for the Kia Tigers earned 417 points out of a maximum 575 points to beat out Lotte Giants' reliever Choi Jun-yong by 49 points for the Rookie of the Year award in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). The winner also earned 3 million won (US$2,512) in prize money.

In media balloting, first-place votes were worth five points, while second-place votes were good for three points and third-place votes one point.

Lee collected 61 first-place votes, 37 second-place votes and one third-place vote. Choi had 42 first-place votes, 50 second-place votes and eight third-place votes.

Lee Eui-lee of the Kia Tigers poses with the Korea Baseball Organization Rookie of the Year trophy during an awards ceremony in Seoul on Nov. 29, 2021. (Yonhap)

Lee went 4-5 with a 3.61 ERA in 19 starts, while striking out 93 in 94 2/3 innings.

All four of his wins came in the first half, and he was limited to five starts in the second half due to a finger and an ankle injury. He last pitched on Sept. 12, a month and a half before the end of the regular season. He pitched to a 2.74 ERA over those final five starts.

"You can only win the rookie prize once in your career, and it's a huge honor," Lee said after accepting the trophy. "I'd like to pitch even better next year and hopefully, I'll be able to stay healthy for the whole season."

Lee is the first Tiger to win the Rookie of the Year in 36 years.

In this file photo from Sept. 12, 2021, Lee Eui-lee of the Kia Tigers pitches against the NC Dinos in the top of the first inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, some 330 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)

Choi Jun-yong, 20, pitched in his second season in 2021 but still qualified for the top freshman award after throwing just 29 2/3 innings in 2020 -- one out shy of the minimum for Rookie of the Year candidates.

Choi went 4-2 with a save and 20 holds in 44 appearances. He pitched to a 2.85 ERA and had 45 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings.

He had a mediocre 4.42 ERA in the first half but posted a 1.86 ERA over his final 29 innings in the second half, which featured an 18-game scoreless streak covering 19 1/3 innings.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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