After busy awards season, KBO star Kim Do-yeong itching to get back to work

After enjoying a banner year on the field, Kia Tigers superstar Kim Do-yeong has been as busy as a baseball player could get off the field in recent weeks.

First, he collected his regular-season MVP trophy at the annual Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) Awards ceremony in late November. It kicked off a series of other awards ceremonies, hosted by sports newspapers, KBO players' association and its retired players' association, among others, and Kim swooped up "Player of the Year" awards left and right.

The hectic awards season will all end Friday evening, when the KBO hosts the annual Golden Glove ceremony. Kim, who had 38 homers and 40 steals this year while batting a robust .347/.420/.647, is a prohibitive favorite at third base. The only question is whether he will be the first unanimous winner in Golden Glove history.

"I am more excited about this ceremony than others, since this is the last one of the year," Kim told reporters in a preceremony media availability, decked out in a burgundy velvet jacket. "I'd love to win it this year."

Having spent most of the past several weeks attending ceremonies and receiving congratulations, Kim said he couldn't wait to get back to work.

"I've had so much time off, and I will try to make up for all the lost time now," Kim said. "I will try to add more muscle. I have a great trainer by my side and all I have to do is just to show up at the gym."

Kim debuted in 2022 and broke out in Year 3 in his age-20 season. He said he will try to take the positives from this year and work around the edges for the new season.

"I think having a consistent routine is more important than batting techniques," Kim added. "Whenever I played in big games, I felt my mindset played a bigger role than any mechanics. I think my form at the plate will be the same."

While Kim did a ton of damage with his bat, he led the KBO with 30 errors. Reiterating his goal for 2025, Kim said Friday he will continue to work on his defense.

"I will double down on some of the drills that I did this year," he added. "I will be getting a lot of help from people around me on defense." (Yonhap)