U-18 Baseball World Cup 2017 standout Baek-ho Kang wins 2018 KBO Rookie of the Year

SEOUL — KT Wiz’s Baek-ho Kang overwhelmingly won the 2018 Rookie of the Year award in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League, the nation’s top-tier professional baseball league.

In 2017, Kang earned a silver medal with the Korean National Team at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in Thunder Bay, Canada, where he showcased both his hitting and pitching skills to earn a place on the U-18 All-World Team.

Kang’s award comes days after U-18 Baseball World Cup 2012 star Shohei Ohtani was named the 2018 Major League Baseball National League Rookie of the Year.

#U18WorldCup star Kang Baek-ho was the first player selected in the #KBO draft on Monday (by KT Wiz) pic.twitter.com/w1IX5bcrdN

— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) September 13, 2017

Kang was the first overall pick in the 2017 KBO draft, and hit a home run in his first at-bat in the Korean big leagues.

During his rookie campaign in KBO, Kang hit .290 with 29 home runs, 84 RBIs and 108 runs scored.

“I am not going to be content with just winning this award. I want to become a player who can get better every season,” Kang said.