“Because I did well this year, I want to ask for a bigger salary increase.”
Noh Si-hwan (23, Hanwha Eagles) is one of the best hits in the 2023 KBO League. After growing slowly since his debut, he showed explosive growth this year and emerged as a major star, continuing the lineage of Hanwha's home run king.
Noh Si-hwan, who has been very active as a member of the national team, is busier than anyone else even during the winter 'awards season'. Hanwha has always been left out at award ceremonies because the team has always been in the bottom half of the rankings, but this year, the team is shining brighter than anyone else. At the center is Noh Si-hwan.
The 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Golden Glove Awards Ceremony, which will conclude the awards season, will be held at the COEX Auditorium in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul from 5 p.m. on the 11th. I have won so many trophies that I run out of words to express my acceptance speech, but the Golden Gloves have a special meaning. The idea is to have a spectacular finale by winning the third baseman's Golden Glove.
Noh Si-hwan, who joined Hanwha in 2019, hit 12 home runs in his second season and was evaluated as a slugger who will take responsibility for Hanwha's future with 18 home runs the following year.
However, he faltered last year with only 6 home runs and prepared for the new season with utmost care. Starting from spring camp, he worked with Chae Eun-seong to build his body and showed off his outstanding batting skills. In 131 games this season, he recorded a batting average of 0.298, 31 home runs, 101 RBI, an on-base percentage of 0.388, a slugging percentage of 0.541, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.929. He participated in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and missed about 10 games, but became the league's only hitter with more than 30 home runs and 100 RBIs.
The only home run kings from Hanwha were Jong-Hoon Jang and Tae-Gyun Kim. Noh Si-hwan was also included in this list. He also performed well as a member of the national team at the Asian Games, leading the country to win a gold medal. Noh Si-hwan, who resolved the issue of military service, announced the start of a spectacular awards season by winning two awards at the KBO Awards.
Earlier, at the KBO Awards, he said, “I had good results this year, but I think next year is more important. I will work hard to win the home run title with better results next year.” He added, “I need to step up better than this year. Prepare to become a more fearsome hitter.” “I will do well and I am confident. I will come back as a more fearsome hitter next year,” he promised.
Afterwards, Noh Si-hwan won the Nutri D-Day Ilgu Award and the Best Batter Award from the Korea Professional Baseball Retired Players Association, as well as the Sports Seoul Award of the Year and the 'Player of the Year' award from the Magu Magu Real Glove Awards. He also stood tall as the winner in the baseball category at the Dong-A Sports Awards.
He, who won the Best Batter Award on the 2023 Korean Professional Baseball Retired Player's Day on the 7th, said, "I've been receiving so many awards recently that I'm really happy, but I'm so tired of receiving awards that I have nothing to do." He added, "First of all, I always feel grateful. "But I don't have anything to say after that, so I'm improvising. I did a good job, so I'm so busy. I'm so happy and busy, and it's great."
He also attracted attention by showing a confident attitude in front of reporters, asking for a salary increase towards Director Son Hyuk. He said, "I am grateful to the general manager for supporting the players so that they can only play baseball. Since they did well this year, I would like to ask for a larger salary increase." He received an annual salary of 131 million won this season and can expect a record-breaking annual salary increase.
At the Golden Glove Awards ceremony to be held this afternoon, the third baseman from Hanwha will challenge for the Golden Glove Award, which was lost after Beom-ho Lee, for the first time in 17 years.
Hanwha, which was hovering in the lower tier, has not had a Golden Glove winner since Jeong Geun-woo (second baseman) in 2013. In 2016, Kim Tae-gyun won the golden glove as a designated hitter, but there was no news at the fielder position for 7 years after Jeong Geun-woo. In 2021, Jeong Eun-won became the star of the second baseman's golden glove, but he faltered last year and had his worst season this season with a batting average of 0.222, further increasing his disappointment.