Is this the hardship of being on an unpopular team? The rising slugger Ahn Hyun-min of the professional baseball team KT Wiz ranked first in the player voting but lost in the fan voting, failing to be selected for his first All-Star Best 12.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) officially announced on the afternoon of 23rd that the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO All-Star Best 12 has been finalized.
The All-Star Best 12 was determined by combining the fan voting (70%) and player voting (30%) conducted over three weeks through a total of three voting pages: the KBO website, the KBO official application, and the Shinhan SOL Bank application, from the 2nd to the 22nd.
Ahn Hyun-min was named in the designated hitter category for the Dream All-Star along with the Samsung Lions, Lotte Giants, SSG Landers, KT Wiz, and Doosan Bears.
Drafted by KT in 2022, Ahn Hyun-min burst onto the scene this year, showcasing his destructive power with a batting average of .331, 13 home runs, 43 runs batted in, a slugging percentage of .651, an on-base percentage of .434, and an OPS of 1.085 over 46 games as he challenges for Rookie of the Year. Thanks to his immense power and precise contact ability, he has earned the nickname 'the Mike Trout of Korea.'
The competition among designated hitter candidates was formidable. To claim the All-Star 12 title, Ahn Hyun-min had to surpass strong seniors such as Jeon Jun-woo (Lotte), Park Byung-ho (Samsung), Han Yoo-seom (SSG), and Kim Jae-hwan (Doosan). Especially, competition with Jeon Jun-woo and Park Byung-ho, who have popular fandoms, was inevitable. Ahn Hyun-min actually ranked third in fan voting with 577,443 votes, following Jeon Jun-woo (1,482,247 votes) and Park Byung-ho (812,772 votes).
However, in total points, Ahn Hyun-min ranked second behind Jeon Jun-woo (30.29 points), who claimed first in the designated hitter sector. He garnered 30.29 points, just 5.16 points behind Jeon Jun-woo, due to an overwhelming total of 221 votes from 352 valid ballots in player voting, which accounted for 63%.
Despite the overwhelming support from players, Ahn Hyun-min was still over 900,000 votes behind in fan voting compared to Jeon Jun-woo. It is suggested that being affiliated with KT, which has a relatively weaker fandom compared to Lotte, contributed to his loss.
Ahn Hyun-min's teammate Park Young-hyun also received the most votes (113) in the player voting for the Dream All-Star closer category, but he only secured 242,148 votes in the fan voting, finishing at the bottom with a total score of 14.43 points. The top score went to Kim Won-jung (Lotte) with 1,514,509 fan votes, 63 player votes, and a total score of 35.41 points.
In the Nanum All-Star outfield category, Lee Joo-hyung (Kiwoom Heroes) also failed to make the Best 12 due to a lack of fan votes. Lee garnered 136 votes in the player voting, third behind NC Dinos’ Park Geon-woo (165 votes) and LG Twins’ Park Hae-min (164 votes), but with only 968,209 fan votes, he finished with a total score of 30.79 points (4th) and missed inclusion among the three outfielders.
The Nanum All-Star outfielders selected were Park Geon-woo, who received 1,408,171 fan votes and 165 player votes for a total score of 41.99 points; Estevan Florial of Hanwha Eagles, who secured 1,561,003 fan votes and 113 player votes for a total score of 40.59 points; and Park Hae-min, who received 1,123,628 fan votes and 164 player votes for a total score of 36.26 points.
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