KIA Tigers' Choi Hyung-woo (42) has been selected as the monthly MVP.
The KBO announced on the 9th, "Choi Hyung-woo has been chosen as the monthly MVP for May in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League. This marks his first monthly MVP award in 8 years since May 2017."
This monthly MVP award is Choi Hyung-woo's sixth overall, surpassing the five-time monthly MVP record he shared with Yang Hyeon-jong (KIA) and Park Byung-ho (Samsung), setting a new record for the most awards since the KBO League monthly MVP was institutionalized in the 2010 season.
Choi Hyung-woo received a total score of 37.14 points, winning 19 votes (54.3%) from the press among a total of 35 votes, and 120,124 votes (20%) out of 605,631 votes from fans, surpassing Hanwha's 27.99 points, which consisted of 3 votes from the press and 287,062 votes from fans, to be selected as the May monthly MVP.
Throughout May, Choi Hyung-woo ranked high in various offensive metrics, achieving a batting average of .407, a slugging percentage of .721, and an on-base percentage of .505, placing him first. The combined OPS of slugging and on-base percentage also surged to an impressive 1.226, leading him to the top spot. Additionally, with 35 hits, he ranked tied for third and fifth in RBIs with 23 runs.
In addition, he played in 25 games, recording 10 multi-hit games and made a notable achievement of hitting safely in 16 consecutive games from May 13 against Lotte in Gwangju to May 30 against KT in Suwon. As of June 8, his season batting average stands at .335, placing him third in the league, making him eligible for his third KBO batting title.
With this award, Choi Hyung-woo has also broken the record for the oldest monthly MVP awardee, becoming the first to receive it at over 40 years old. As of June 9, 2025, Choi Hyung-woo, at 41 years, 5 months, and 24 days, surpassed the previous record held by current NC manager Lee Ho-jun, who was 39 years, 3 months, and 26 days old during May 2015 (based on the announcement date of June 3, 2015), to become the oldest monthly MVP.
Choi Hyung-woo, selected as the May MVP, will receive a cash prize of 3 million won and a trophy. Additionally, a donation of 2 million won will be made to Jeonju High School through the sponsorship of Shinhan Bank to support youth baseball development.
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