KBO League

KBO League

Current season, competition or edition: 2016 KBO League season
Sport	Baseball
Founded	1982 1981 (KBO founded)
Founder	Korea Baseball Organization
No. of teams	10
Country	South Korea
Venue(s)	9
Most recent champion(s)	Doosan Bears (5th title)
Most titles	Kia Tigers (10 titles)
TV partner(s)	KBS, MBC, SBS, Sky Sports, SPOTV
Official website	koreabaseball.com

The KBO League (Hangul: KBO 리그),^[1][2] originally called the Korea Baseball Championship (Hangul: 한국야구선수권대회; Romanization: Hanguk Yagu Seonsukkwon Daehoe) is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982, and has expanded to ten franchises.^[3] Nine of the ten franchises are named after the companies or business conglomerates which own them, while one sold their naming rights (Nexen Heroes).^[4]

History

The first game was played on March 27, 1982 between Samsung Lions and the MBC Chungyong (now the LG Twins) at Dongdaemun Baseball Stadium, Seoul. Then-president Chun Doo-hwan threw the first pitch.

The inaugural franchises were:

• Haitai Tigers, based in Gwangju
• Lotte Giants, based in Busan
• MBC Chungyong, based in Seoul
• OB Bears, based in Daejeon
• Sammi Superstars, based in Incheon
• Samsung Lions, based in Daegu

In 1985, the Sammi Superstars became known as the Cheongbo Pintos. The next year, 1986, saw some major changes, with the OB Bears moving from Daejeon to share the Seoul's Jamsil Baseball Stadium with MBC Chungyong in Seoul. A new franchise, the Binggrae Eagles, joined to replace vacancy of Daejeon by OB's moving and expanding the league to seven franchises. 1988 saw the Cheongbo Pintos change ownership again, becoming the Pacific Dolphins. In 1990, MBC Chungyong became the LG Twins and an eighth franchise was added, the Ssangbangwool Raiders who represented the Jeollabuk-do region.

There was little change in the 1990s except for a few major sponsors: in 1993 the Binggrae Eagles became the Hanwha Eagles, in 1995 the Pacific Dolphins became the Hyundai Unicorns and the OB Bears in 1999 became the Doosan Bears. Bigger changes were affected in 2000 when the Hyundai Unicorns moved from Incheon to Suwon, and a new franchise, the SK Wyverns took their place in Incheon. The Ssangbangwool Raiders became defunct. In 2001, the Haitai Tigers became the Kia Tigers.

In 2008, the Hyundai Unicorns franchise was disbanded, re-founded the Woori Heroes and moved to Mok-dong in Seoul, after a disappointing season in 2007 both on and off the field. Despite winning championships in 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2004, fans never really took to the franchise after their move from Incheon. Also, while the franchises in Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, and Gwangju did not have to compete with other franchises for fans, the Suwon-based Unicorns struggled to compete with the nearby Seoul franchises.

Founding member the Kia Tigers (formerly the Haitai Tigers) had won 10 of the 34 national championships.

Many of the players who excel in the Korean league go on to play for franchises in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. Such players in the NPB include Lee Seung-yuop for the Yomiuri Giants, Kim Tae-kyun for the Chiba Lotte Marines, Lim Chang-yong for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, and Tyrone Woods also for the Chunichi Dragons (former Doosan Bears player).

Season structure

Starting with the 2015 season, each team plays 144 games in the regular season, increased from 128 due to an expansion team. Each team plays every other 16 times.^[5]

KBO All-Star Game

On mid-July every year, the best players participate in the KBO All-Star Game. The franchises participating are divided into two sets of teams: Dream All-Stars (Doosan, KT, Lotte, Samsung, and SK) and Nanum All-Stars (Kia, Hanwha, LG, NC and Nexen). Unlike in the MLB, the KBO All-star game does not determine home-field advantage in the KBO Korean Series.

Playoffs

The KBO League's season culminates in its championship series, known as the KBO Korean Series. Currently, the top four teams qualify for the post-season based on win/loss records. The team with the best record gains a direct entry into the KBO Korean Series, while the other three teams compete for the remaining place in a step-ladder playoff system:

• KBO Wild Card Game: 4th place team (starts with a one-game advantage.) vs. 5th place team; 2 games
• KBO Playoffs Stage 1: 3rd place team vs. winner of KBO Wild Card Game; best of 3 out of 5 games
• KBO Playoffs Stage 2: 2nd place team vs. winner of KBO Playoffs Stage 1; best of 3 out of 5 games (reduced from 7 games starting from 2009)
• KBO Korean Series: 1st place team vs. winner of KBO Playoffs Stage 2; best of 4 out of 7 games.

Any playoff games ending in an official tie are replayed, thereby raising the possibility of a close series containing more than the scheduled 5 or 7 games.

Rules

Traditionally, Korea Professional Baseball games have a maximum number of extra innings before a game is declared an official tie. The KBO abolished this limit for the 2008 season, however it was reinstated in 2009, with a 12-innings limit imposed during both regular season and playoff games.^[6] However, no extra innings are played in the first game of a double-header, with games limited to 9 innings.^[7] Starting from the 2009 season, tied games count as a loss for both teams for percentage calculation purposes; from 2002 until 2007 they were considered a "no game"; prior to this they counted as half a win and half a loss.

The league places a cap on the number of foreign players allowed on club rosters. The foreign player limit is set at three, increased from two players from 2014.

All teams use the designated hitter rule.

Teams

Lotte

Samsung

Kia

Hanwha

SK

LG & Doosan

Nexen

KT

NC

Notes

1. Formerly, KBO have implemented dual league. The league name was Dream League and Magic League. (1999–2000)
2. Former Western League 1982–1998, 2001–2014
3. Known as the Binggrae Eagles until 1993
4. Former Haitai Tigers 1982–2000
5. Former MBC Chungyong 1982–1989
6. Former Eastern League 1982–1998, 2001–2014
7. Known as the OB Bears until 1998; Located in Daejeon until 1984
8. Former Sammi Superstars 1982–1985, Chungbo Pintos 1985–1987, Pacific Dolphins 1988–1995; Located in Incheon until 1999

Ballparks

Doosan Bears / LG Twins	Hanwha Eagles	Kia Tigers	KT Wiz	Lotte Giants
Jamsil Baseball Stadium	Hanwha Life Insurance Eagles Park	Gwangju-Kia Champions Field	Suwon kt wiz Park	Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium
	Capacity: 26,000	Capacity: 13,000	Capacity: 27,000	Capacity: 20,106	Capacity: 26,800
NC Dinos	Nexen Heroes	Samsung Lions	SK Wyverns
Masan Baseball Stadium	Gocheok Sky Dome	Daegu Samsung Lions Park	Incheon SK Happy Dream Park
	Capacity: 11,000	Capacity: 17,000	Capacity: 24,000	Capacity: 26,000

Champions

1982–2000 Year Winners Runners-up 1982 OB Bears Samsung Lions 1983 Haitai Tigers MBC Chungyong 1984 Lotte Giants Samsung Lions 1985 Samsung Lions Lotte Giants[9] 1986 Haitai Tigers Samsung Lions 1987 Haitai Tigers Samsung Lions 1988 Haitai Tigers Binggrae Eagles 1989 Haitai Tigers Binggrae Eagles 1990 LG Twins Samsung Lions 1991 Haitai Tigers Binggrae Eagles 1992 Lotte Giants Binggrae Eagles 1993 Haitai Tigers Samsung Lions 1994 LG Twins Pacific Dolphins 1995 OB Bears Lotte Giants 1996 Haitai Tigers Hyundai Unicorns 1997 Haitai Tigers LG Twins 1998 Hyundai Unicorns LG Twins 1999 Hanwha Eagles Lotte Giants 2000 Hyundai Unicorns Doosan Bears

2001– Year Winners Runners-up 2001 Doosan Bears Samsung Lions 2002 Samsung Lions LG Twins 2003 Hyundai Unicorns SK Wyverns 2004 Hyundai Unicorns Samsung Lions 2005 Samsung Lions Doosan Bears 2006 Samsung Lions Hanwha Eagles 2007 SK Wyverns Doosan Bears 2008 SK Wyverns Doosan Bears 2009 Kia Tigers SK Wyverns 2010 SK Wyverns Samsung Lions 2011 Samsung Lions SK Wyverns 2012 Samsung Lions SK Wyverns 2013 Samsung Lions Doosan Bears 2014 Samsung Lions Nexen Heroes 2015 Doosan Bears Samsung Lions 2016 Doosan Bears NC Dinos

Most successful clubs

Club	Champions	Runners-up	Winning seasons	Runners-up seasons
Kia Tigers	10	0	1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2009
Samsung Lions	8	10	1985, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014	1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1993, 2001, 2004, 2010, 2015
Doosan Bears	5	5	1982, 1995, 2001, 2015, 2016	2000, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2013
Hyundai Unicorns (defunct)	4	2	1998, 2000, 2003, 2004	1994, 1996
SK Wyverns	3	4	2007, 2008, 2010	2003, 2009, 2011, 2012
LG Twins	2	4	1990, 1994	1983, 1997, 1998, 2002
Lotte Giants	2	3	1984, 1992	1985, 1995, 1999
Hanwha Eagles	1	5	1999	1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 2006
Nexen Heroes	0	1	—	2014
NC Dinos	0	1	—	2016

Postseasons Legend 1st – Champions (Korean Series winner) 2nd – Runners-up (Korean Series loser) PO – Playoff loser SPO – Semi-playoff loser WC – Wild card game loser q – Qualified  -  – Did not qualify  ×  – Not held      – Did not exist, Did not participate Teams 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Doosan Bears 1st – – × PO PO – – – – – SPO – 1st – – SPO PO 2nd Hanwha Eagles – – 2nd 2nd SPO 2nd 2nd – PO – SPO – – 1st – Hyundai Unicorns – – – × – – – PO – – – – 2nd – 2nd – 1st – 1st Kia Tigers – 1st – × 1st 1st 1st 1st PO 1st PO 1st SPO – 1st 1st – – – KT Wiz LG Twins – 2nd – × – – – – 1st – – PO 1st PO – 2nd 2nd – PO Lotte Giants – – 1st × – – – – – SPO 1st – – 2nd – – – 2nd SPO NC Dinos Nexen Heroes Samsung Lions 2nd – 2nd 1st 2nd 2nd PO SPO 2nd PO SPO 2nd – – – PO PO PO PO SK Wyverns – Ssangbangwool Raiders – – – – – PO SPO – – Number of qual. teams 2 2 2 1* 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 5 Teams 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Total Doosan Bears 1st – – PO 2nd – 2nd 2nd PO PO – SPO 2nd – 1st 1st 19 Hanwha Eagles SPO – – – PO 2nd PO – – – – – – – – – 12 Hyundai Unicorns PO SPO 1st 1st – PO – 10 Kia Tigers – PO PO SPO – SPO – – 1st – SPO – – – – WC 18 KT Wiz – – 0 LG Twins – 2nd – – – – – – – – – – PO PO – PO 11 Lotte Giants – – – – – – – SPO SPO SPO PO PO – – – – 11 NC Dinos – SPO PO 2nd 2 Nexen Heroes – – – – – SPO 2nd SPO SPO 3 Samsung Lions 2nd 1st SPO 2nd 1st 1st SPO PO – 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st 2nd – 29 SK Wyverns – – 2nd – SPO – 1st 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 2nd – – WC – 9 Ssangbangwool Raiders 2 Number of qual. teams 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 129 Awards See: Korea Baseball Organization#Awards Asia Series record Year Participants Round Position W L RS RA 2005 Samsung Lions Final 2nd 2 2 17 17 2006 Samsung Lions Group Stage 3rd 1 2 16 11 2007 SK Wyverns Final 2nd 3 1 37 10 2008 SK Wyverns Group Stage 3rd 2 1 23 13 2011 Samsung Lions Final 1st 3 1 21 17 2012 Samsung Lions Group Stage 3rd 1 1 9 3 Lotte Giants Group Stage 4th 1 1 6 6 2013 Samsung Lions Semifinals 4th 2 1 15 15 Total 15 10 144 92 - Qualified as host. KBO-NPB and CPBL-KBO CC record Year Participants Result W L RS RA 2009 Kia Tigers Runner-up 0 1 4 9 2010 SK Wyverns Runner-up 0 1 0 3 2010 Winner (Shared) 1 1 7 5 Total 1 3 11 17 See also Baseball in South Korea Korea Baseball Organization KBO Futures League List of current KBO League team rosters Players from South Korea in Major League Baseball References "The Korea Baseball Championship is the annual pennant race of first-tier professional baseball league in South Korea." Confirmed by Moon Jung-kyun, Public Relations Manager of Korea Baseball Organization. For further information, refer to the talk page of the Korean version article. For the official name of the league, refer to following page: http://baseballinkorea.com/2015/03/01/kbo-brand-identity http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/04/15/2010041500309.html http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2010/05/266_41922.html Korea Baseball Organization (2015). 2015 달라지는 점 (Korean). Accessed on April 14, 2015. Kim Jae-Won (2009-01-13). KBO Abolishes Endless Overtime Rule. The Korea Times. Accessed on 2009-06-11. Korea Baseball Organization: 2009 달라지는 점. Details rule changes between seasons 2008 and 2009. Accessed on 2009-06-11. (in Korean) (Korean) Lotte Giants Museum. the Giants website. Retrieved 4 Dec. 2011. Although no series were played, KBO recorded Lotte Giants as Runner-up. External links KBO League Official website KBO League Facebook