Players Nominated for Dong-A Sports Grand Awards

The steering committee of the Dong-A Sports Grand Awards yesterday said it has nominated 10 candidates for each sport based on their performances this year.

Committee members hailed from a number of organizations, including the Korea Baseball Organization.

A total of 347 people took part in the voting, with each sport having a different number of voters. For pro baseball, voters included team captains and players leading their respective squads in eight statistical categories, namely pitching victories, strikeouts, holds, saves, hits, RBIs, homers and steals.

The number of baseball voters was 72, with nine each from the eight pro teams. If a player led more than one statistical category on a team, the next-ranked player got the voting right for that category.

For pro soccer, the 75 voters from 15 teams comprised the players with the most goals, assists and starts (two players) and team captains.

For men’s pro basketball, the 50 voters from the league’s 10 teams comprised captains, players with the most wins, assist leaders, and the ones with the most starts (two players).

In the same way, the women’s basketball league had 30 voters (five each from the six teams); men’s volleyball 30 (five each from six teams); and women’s volleyball 30 (six each from five teams).

For golf, voters comprised those ranking in the domestic top 30 in prize money for men and women.

Depending on the type of sport, as few as 30 and as many as 75 players voted in each sport.

Voters did not simply vote for a single player, but had to rank their choices from first to third from among the candidates. The top-ranked player got five points, the second three points, and the third one point. The one with the most points was named the top player for his or her given sport. To assure fairness, a voter was barred from voting for him or herself or a teammate.

The awards ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. Monday at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul. This will be a rare opportunity for fans to see the top stars of professional Korean sports in one venue.

The top players of the year for baseball and soccer will each receive a cash reward of 10 million won (8,500 U.S. dollars) and a trophy. Those in basketball, volleyball and golf will receive five million won (4,250 dollars) each in the men’s and women’s categories.

The steering committee will also release information on who voted for whom.

why@donga.com