'LG's First-Ever Title, Lotte's 31-Year and Doosan's 22-Year Long-Awaited Goal': Players Race Toward New Club History

*This content was translated by AI.

'With the start of the second half of the 2026 KBO League, the race for individual titles has also resumed after a brief pause.

Among the top contenders in the eight batting and six pitching award categories, players striving to make new history for their clubs stand out. For their teams, this presents an opportunity to achieve their first-ever title or fulfill decades-long ambitions.

In the batting category, LG Twins foreign player Austin (33) draws significant attention. He aims to become the club's first home run champion in its 45-year history, including its predecessor MBC Cheongryong. Currently tied for first place with Kim Do-young (23·KIA Tigers) with 27 home runs.

Austin also leads in slugging percentage at 0.661. If he wins this award, it would be the first time since Baek Incheon in 1982, the inaugural year of the KBO League, marking a 44-year gap for LG. Additionally, should Austin secure multiple titles, he could also become the first LG player to win the regular-season MVP award.

KT Wiz's Choi Won-jun (29) aims to deliver his team its first-ever batting title. Since entering the first division in 2015, KT has had winners in home runs (2020: Rohas, 2022: Park Byung-ho), RBIs and slugging percentage (both 2020: Rohas), stolen bases (2020: Sim Woo-jun), and on-base percentage (2025: Ahn Hyun-min). However, the club has yet to produce a leader in batting average or hits.

Choi Won-jun currently leads in batting average at 0.363 and ranks second in hits with 116, just one behind Reyes (32·Lotte Giants) who has 117.

Lotte Giants' Hwang Seong-bin (29) also draws attention for his speed. He leads the first half with 32 stolen bases, a notable gap from second-place Park Min-woo (33·NC Dinos) who has 26. If Hwang wins the stolen base title, it would mark the first time since Jeon Jun-ho in 1995 that a Lotte player becomes a new "great thief" after 31 years.

In the pitching categories, attention turns to Doosan Bears' native duo Kwak Bin (27) and Choi Min-seok (20). Kwak leads in strikeouts with 112, while Choi Min-seok tops the ERA category at 2.33 alone. Choi also shares the lead in wins with nine.

The last time a Doosan pitcher won both the strikeout and ERA titles was Miranda in 2021. However, for domestic players, Park Myung-hwan was the last to achieve both in 2004. Kwak Bin and Choi Min-seok now challenge for honors not seen in 22 years.

Im Chan-kyu (34) also dreams of making new history among LG's domestic pitchers. Currently tied for the lead in wins with nine alongside Choi Min-seok and Ohler (KIA), he aims to surpass the club's recent winning title holder, Kelly in 2022. For a Korean pitcher, this would be the first time since Shin Yun-ho in 2001, marking a 25-year gap.

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*This content was translated by AI.