MALIBU, Calif. - Former Pepperdine slugger Eric Thames was named the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) MVP this past week, becoming just the third foreign born player to earn the honor.

Thames had an historic season with the KBO's NC Dinos, becoming the first player in league history to put up a 40-40 season, hitting 47 home runs and stealing 40 bases.

Thames also led the league with a .381 batting average, a .497 on-base percentage and a .790 slugging percentage. His 130 runs scored, 94 extra-base hits and 42 doubles were tops in the organization as well. He is coming off a season in which he hit .341, with 37 homers and a .688 slugging percentage

This is Thames' second season in Korea after also spending time with the Toronto Blue Jays and in the Seattle Mariners' and Baltimore Orioles' organizations. He played at Pepperdine in 2007 and 2008. Thames was selected in the seventh round of the 2008 MLB Draft by the Blue Jays.