Ahn Hyun-min, who filled the required plate appearances, proved to be the 'real monster' with records... Will he cross the MVP threshold?

[Financial News] kt wiz's 'monster rookie' Ahn Hyun-min (21) has finally filled the required plate appearances. At that moment, the landscape of the KBO League changed.
On the 2nd, in the game against NC held in Changwon. In the team's 103rd game, Ahn Hyun-min filled exactly 319 plate appearances, now qualifying as a formal batter for all awards. And the performance was hard to believe. 74 games played, batting average 0.365, on-base percentage 0.476, slugging percentage 0.642, 18 home runs, 60 RBIs, 6 stolen bases. In addition, OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) is a whopping 1.118. It's not just good. It's the overall league leader by an overwhelming margin.
The second in batting average is Kim Sung-yoon of Samsung (0.338). A difference of 0.027. The gap in on-base percentage with the second place is 0.057. The slugging percentage also outpaced Samsung's home run king Lewin Diaz (0.606) by 0.036.





In the OPS category, it's even more astonishing. Ahn Hyun-min's 1.118 is 0.152 higher than Diaz (0.966). A difference of 0.150 or more in OPS is rare even in KBO League history.
Experts are already recalling legends from the 1980s. The batting average of 0.369 recorded by the late Jang Hyo-jo as a rookie in 1983 naturally comes to mind. Of course, at that time, Jang Hyo-jo had played in amateur baseball for four years before turning pro, so Ahn Hyun-min's record, as a pure high school or college graduate, holds even more symbolic meaning.
The OPS gap of 0.152 is comparable to the gap between Baek In-chun and Kim Bong-yeon in 1982, and Jang Hyo-jo and Lee Man-soo in 1983, during the early days of KBO when the boundary between professional and amateur was blurred. Such a gap is rarely seen since then.


What is most impressive is that his record is not inflated. Even after the opposing pitchers began to focus on him, Ahn Hyun-min's bat did not waver. Equipped with power hitting, on-base ability, and contact skills, he is the most difficult type for pitchers to face. Truly a 'precise power hitter'.
The season is not over yet. But if things continue as they are, not only the Rookie of the Year but also the most impressive debut season in KBO history is not an exaggeration. Now, the focus is on one thing. Can Ahn Hyun-min stand on the MVP podium at the end of the season? The only instance of winning both Rookie of the Year and MVP simultaneously is Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha).

jsi@fnnews.com Jeon Sang-il Reporter