Following stops in MLB, Japan, Ponce soars to MVP award in 1st KBO season

Cody Ponce of the Hanwha Eagles poses with the trophy after winning the KBO regular-season MVP award during an awards ceremony at Lotte Hotel World in Seoul on Nov. 24. [NEWS1]

 
Having only had a cup of coffee in the majors before spending three years in Japan with two clubs, U.S. pitcher Cody Ponce found a new home in Korea this year.
 
He had no trouble adjusting to the KBO as a new starter for the Hanwha Eagles. In fact, it was opposing hitters who couldn’t adjust to Ponce’s pitching all year. And the 31-year-old ace rode his dominant performance to the regular-season MVP trophy.
 
Ponce garnered 96 out of 125 votes from the media, after winning the pitching Triple Crown as the KBO leader with 17 wins, a 1.89 ERA and a league-record 252 strikeouts.
 
Ponce was voted the Player of the Month for the March-April period after going 5-0 with a 1.96 ERA across his first seven starts in the KBO.
 
Ponce didn’t slow down, pitching to a 1.91 ERA with a perfect 3-0 record in May, and he followed up with another 3-0 month in June while posting a 2.12 ERA.
 
In July, Ponce went 2-0 and gave up just one earned run in 25 innings for a minuscule 0.36 ERA.
 
Ponce did not lose his first decision until Sept. 20 against the KT Wiz, with Ahn Hyun-min, named the Rookie of the Year on Monday, belting a three-run home run off Ponce in the first inning. By winning his first 17 decisions, Ponce set a KBO record for the longest winning streak by a pitcher from the start of a season.
 
It wasn’t the only record for Ponce this year.
 

Hanwha Eagles starter Cody Ponce reacts after pitching against the LG Twins during Game 3 of the Korean Series at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in the central city of Daejeon on Oct. 29. [NEWS1]

 
On Sept. 3, Ponce broke the single-season strikeout record of 225, set by Ariel Miranda of the Doosan Bears in 2021. Ponce finished the season with 27 more Ks than Miranda. About a month earlier on Aug. 12, Ponce became the fastest pitcher to reach 200 strikeouts in a season by doing so in his 23rd start and in 144 1/3 innings.
 
On May 17, Ponce struck out 18 batters against the SSG Landers, tying the record for most in any game — former Haitai Tigers star Sun Dong-yol struck out 18 in 13 innings in 1991 — and setting the new standard for a nine-inning contest.
 
Ponce’s current teammate, Ryu Hyun-jin, had the previous nine-inning record with 17 Ks in 2010.
 
Also at Monday’s awards ceremony, Ponce received trophies for leading the KBO in wins, ERA, strikeouts and winning percentage. While Ponce savored those prizes — “I didn’t know we were getting trophies for every title today,” he said — the Korean Series would have trumped them all for him.
 
The Eagles reached their first postseason since 2018 but lost out to the LG Twins in five games in the best-of-seven Korean Series last month.
 
“I think there’s a little piece of me that is still sick about it because I wanted that more than anything,” Ponce said of falling short of the KBO title. “The individual awards are great, but the team award meant everything to me. To come in to help the team get to the Korean Series was one thing, but to win the Korean Series was my ultimate goal. I think the MVP is one thing, but the championship trophy would have been more valuable.”
 

Hanwha Eagles starter Cody Ponce pitches against the LG Twins during Game 3 of the Korean Series at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in the central city of Daejeon on Oct. 29. [YONHAP]

 
Ponce, seven years Ryu’s junior, has admitted to being a fan of Ryu’s dating to the Korean star’s days with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the early 2010s. Ponce even put on Ryu’s Toronto Blue Jays jersey while pitching in the All-Star Game.
 
And on Monday, Ponce became the first Eagles player since Ryu in 2006 to win the MVP. Ponce is also the first qualified pitcher since Ryu in 2010 to finish a season with a sub-2.00 ERA.
 
“To share a piece of real estate, or a photo next to Ryu at the Hanwha ballpark for the rest of our lives and for the rest of Hanwha history is something that means a lot to me,” Ponce said. “To be able to do what I did with him at my side and him giving me advice and helping me out through the years… I don’t think I would have been able to do it without all the help from everybody. He was a huge help and I’m truly, deeply honored.”
 
Whether Ponce will be back for another go with Ryu and the Eagles next year remains to be seen. He will likely follow in the footsteps of some former KBO MVPs, including Eric Thames in 2015, Josh Lindblom in 2019 and Erick Fedde in 2023, and return to the majors.
 
If Ponce lands a big league gig, it will be a full-circle moment for a pitcher who only made 20 outings for the Pittsburgh Pirates between 2020 and 2021.
 

Cody Ponce of the Hanwha Eagles kisses the trophy after winning the KBO regular-season MVP award during an awards ceremony at Lotte Hotel World in Seoul on Nov. 24. [YONHAP]

 
Ponce sidestepped a question about his potential path back to the big leagues, saying, “There are no talks. I don’t know what’s going on. My agent handles everything.”
 
Ponce added he is enjoying being a dad for the first time, with his wife, Emma, having recently given birth to a baby girl.
 
When asked about his plan for 2026, Ponce didn’t get into any specific baseball goals and only said, “My plan for next season is to be healthy, to raise my beautiful daughter and help my wife through anything and everything that she’s going to need.”
 
If indeed he has thrown his last pitch in the KBO, Ponce said he’d like to be remembered as a fun-loving competitor.
 
“I had a lot of fun. That’s how I want to be remembered,” he said. “With a big smile, the loud roar and a guy who always had a lot of fun.”

Yonhap