Finalists Confirmed for 2026 KBO Defense Award... 10 Categories Including New Utility Spot

The KBO has finalized and announced the candidates for the 2026 ADT Caps KBO Defense Award, which honors the best defensive players by position who showcased exceptional fielding skills this season.

Now in its fourth year, the KBO Defense Award will be presented to a total of 10 players: nine positional winners who demonstrated the most outstanding defensive prowess during the regular season, and one winner from the newly established utility category.

The utility category was newly created to recognize the value of players who handle multi-positions and to provide added motivation. Eligible candidates must have appeared in at least 540 innings overall during the regular season and played a minimum of 50 innings at each of at least three different positions.

Based on the candidate selection criteria, a total of 164 players have been nominated, including 100 pitchers, 14 catchers, 26 infielders (5 first basemen, 7 second basemen, 7 third basemen, and 7 shortstops), 21 outfielders (8 left fielders, 7 center fielders, and 6 right fielders), and 3 utility players.

For pitchers, candidates must have pitched at least 48 innings, which is one-third of the team's total games (144 games), while catchers must have appeared in at least half of the team's games (72 games).

Infielders and outfielders qualified for candidacy by playing at least 720 innings at their respective positions.

Players who played 720 innings or more across two or more positions were registered as candidates for the position where they logged the most innings.

Winners will be determined by combining 75% of the votes from a voting panel—composed of club general managers, managers, and coaches—with 25% of the defensive records score compiled by Sportstoday, the KBO's official record-keeping partner.

To ensure fairness, members of the voting panel are prohibited from voting for players on their own teams.

The defensive records factor in fielding percentages and range factors common to all positions, as well as pitcher bunt handling and pickoffs, catcher caught-stealing and blocking rates, and KBO-scaled modified zone rating (adjusted KUZR) scores for infielders and outfielders.

The winners of the 2026 KBO Defense Award will be announced at the KBO Awards ceremony scheduled for November, and each winner will receive a trophy along with a prize of 2 million won.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.