This player is the number one OPS player in the second half of the half? Is the shortstop's war over

Aug 22, 2025

This player is the number one OPS player in the second half of the half? Is the shortstop's war over
The match between NC and Hanwha at Changwon NC Park on the 15th. NC Kim Joo-won, who is hitting. Changwon = Reporter Song Jeong-heon @sportschosun.com/2025.08.15/



Let's get first place in the second half of the OPS. It's not Ahn Hyun-min, Yang Eui-ji, or Song Seong-moon. It's Kim Joo-won, the NC Dinos shortstop.

Kim Joo-won's batting sense is hot. Kim Joo-won hit a home run in the last two consecutive games. In the game against the Samsung Lions at Changwon NC Park on the 20th, he came out as the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the eighth inning when NC was losing 1-3 and hit a solo home run against Bae Chan-seung, adding a home run against Samsung on the 21st, the next day. He hit a dramatic tie-breaking two-run home run against Kherson Garavito, who was playing well until the bottom of the seventh inning.

Both home runs in the Samsung match had a nutritional value of 200 points. Kim Joo-won's cool cannon burst at the moment the team needed it most, just as it was fighting its toughest opponent's battery.




In the game on the 20th, NC, which had been in a deep loss, started chasing with Kim Joo-won's home run and chased down to the bottom of its chin, preventing a helpless defeat. And NC, which was losing 3-4 in the game on the 21st, turned the tide with Kim Joo-won's come-from-behind two-run home run, and Seo Ho-chul's two-run home run in the eighth inning later allowed it to win 7-5.

This player is the number one OPS player in the second half of the half? Is the shortstop's war over
A game between the Doosan Bears and the NC Dinos at Jamsil Stadium on the 14th. NC Kim Joo-won is cheering after hitting a solo shot in the top of the first inning. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.08.14/
Kim Joo-won is the scariest hitter in the league right now. Among the batters who filled the regular at-bat, he is No. 1 in the OPS in the second half of the year. Since the All-Star break, Kim has hit 417 (45 hits in 108 at-bats) with five homers, 17 RBIs, and eight steals in 26 games. It ranks first overall in the league with an OPS of 1.173. SSG Landers Guillermo Herredia (1.164) is in second place, and Doosan Bears Yang Eui-ji (1.160) is in third place. He is in first place, beating all the outstanding hitters.

What makes Kim Joo-won even more amazing is that he is currently on a business trip to all games. Kim Joo-won, who is the team's main shortstop and has an unwavering 'leadoff', has a huge physical burden. The defensive position itself has a lot of movement, and the number of at-bats is the most common in the team. At the same time, making such a performance in the second half, when his physical strength can be the lowest, shows how well he has prepared for the offseason. It is different from last year, when it was sagging in the second half of the year.




With his performance in the second half of the season, his overall performance also soared. He has a monthly batting average of 424 (28 hits in 66 times at bat) in August, and his batting average for this season is 299. The season's OPS has risen to 0.832, and the entry into the 300,000 mark is just around the corner. It is a performance that can make up for the first half of the slump.

This player is the number one OPS player in the second half of the half? Is the shortstop's war over
A game between the Doosan Bears and the NC Dinos at Jamsil Stadium on the 14th. NC Kim Joo-won is hitting. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.08.14/
Last year's KBO League shortstop Golden Glove was a two-way match between KIA Tigers Park Chan-ho and SSG Park Sung-han. The result is Park Chan-ho's victory. I held my first golden glove in my arms.

However, the atmosphere is different this year. Kim Joo-won is seen beating Park Chan-ho and Park Sung-han. Currently, there are only four shortstop players who have filled the required at-bats: Park Chan-ho, Park Sung-han, Lee Jae-hyun and Kim Joo-won. Among them, the player with the best performance is Kim Joo-won. Only two double-digit home runs are Kim Joo-won and Lee Jae-hyun (11), and Kim Joo-won is the first in almost all other areas, including batting average and OPS. Kim Joo-won, who has 32 steals, is also ranked third in the league in this category.




If there's only one, it's a defensive error. No. 1 in the league with 24 mistakes. Lee Jae-hyun is second with 20 mistakes. On the other hand, Park Chan-ho and Park Sung-han have 14.

However, if he maintains his current hitting sense and performance until the end of the season, his clear identity as a "switch batter shortstop with both long hitting and stealing skills" will inevitably shine more valuable in the Golden Glove competition.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.