Pitcher Yoo Hyeon-jin of Korean professional baseball's Hanwha Eagles has been named Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year, the first player to win both awards since the domestic league launched in 1982.

The 19-year-old Yoo, called the "monster rookie," received a solid gold trophy worth some 20 million won after winning MVP honors in a poll of reporters Thursday.

He also led the voting for the rookie title, which a player is eligible for only once in a lifetime.

In his first year as a pro, Yoo has won 18 games with a two-point-two-three earned run average and two hundred-four strikeouts, the highest in all three categories for pitching's triple crown.