| Current season or competition: 2011 Korea Professional Baseball season |
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| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1982 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country(ies) | South Korea |
| Venue(s) | 10 |
| Most recent champion(s) | Samsung Lions (5) |
| Most titles | Kia Tigers (10) |
| Founder | Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) |
| Official website | koreabaseball.com |
| Korea Professional Baseball | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 한국프로야구 |
| Hanja | 韓國프로野球 |
| Revised Romanization | Han-guk Peuro Yagu |
| McCune–Reischauer | Han'guk Pŭro Yagu |
Korea Professional Baseball is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The Korean romanization is Hanguk Peuro Yagu (Hangul: 한국 프로 야구) (literally Korean pro baseball), a league title which mirrors Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. Korea Professional Baseball was originally founded with six teams in 1982 and currently has eight teams.[1] The teams are named after the companies or business conglomerates which own them.[2][3][4][5] Korea Professional Baseball is one of two major sports leagues in South Korea, the other being the K-League.
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The first game was played on March 27, 1982 between Samsung Lions and the MBC Chungyong (now the LG Twins) in Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul. Then-president Chun Doo-hwan threw the first pitch.
The inaugural teams were:
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 Blue Dragon in Seoul. A new team, the Binggeurae Eagles, joined to replace vacancy of Daejeon by OB's moving and expanding the league to seven teams. 1988 saw the Cheongbo Pintos change ownership again, becoming the Taepyeongyang Dolphins. In 1990, MBC Blue Dragon became the LG Twins and an eighth team was added, the Ssangbangul Raiders who represented the Jeollabuk-do region.
There was little change in the 90's except for a few major sponsors: 1993 saw the Binggeurae Eagles become the Hanhwa Eagles, in 1995 the Taepyeongyang 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 team, the SK Wyverns took their place in Incheon. The Ssangbangul Raiders became defunct. In 2001, the Haitai Tigers became the Kia Tigers.
In 2008, the Hyundai Unicorns franchise was sold, renamed 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 team after their move from Incheon. Also, while the franchises in Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, and Gwangju did not have to compete with other teams 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 29 national championships.
Many of the players who excel in the Korean league go on to play for teams in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. Such players in the NPB include Lee Seung-Yeop for the Yomiuri Giants, Kim Tae-Gyun 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).
Currently, each team plays 133 games in the regular season. Each team plays every other team 19 times.[6]
On the 17th of July every year, the best players participate in the Korean All-Star game. The teams participating are divided into two regions: East (SK, Samsung, Doosan, Lotte) and West (Kia, Hanhwa, LG and Heroes). The titles 'East' and 'West' do not directly correspond to the geographical regions of the teams involved, as both SK and Doosan, being from Incheon and Seoul respectively, are clearly based in the Western region of Korea, despite representing the East. Unlike in the MLB, the Korean All-star game does not determine home-field advantage in the Korean Series. The most recent Korean All-star game was played in Busan and won 6-3 by the East team.
Korea Professional Baseball season culminates in its championship series, known as the 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 Korean Series, while the other three teams compete for the remaining place in a step-ladder playoff system:
Any playoff games ending in an official tie are replayed, thereby raising the possibility of a close series containing more than the originally scheduled 5 or 7 games.
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.[7] However, no extra innings are played in the first game of a double-header, with games limited to 9 innings.[8] 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 currently set at two.
All teams use the designated hitter rule.
| Team | City | Manager | Founded | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doosan Bears | Seoul | Kim Jin-Uk |
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| Hanwha Eagles | Daejeon | Han Dae-Hwa |
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| Kia Tigers | Gwangju | Sun Dong-Yeol |
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| Lotte Giants | Busan | Yang Seung-Ho |
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| LG Twins | Seoul | Kim Ki-Tae |
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| Nexen Heroes | Seoul | Kim Si-Jin |
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| Samsung Lions | Daegu | Ryu Joong-Il |
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| SK Wyverns | Incheon | Lee Man Soo |
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| Expansion Team | |||||
| NC Dinos | Changwon | Kim Kyung-Moon | 2011 (will play in 2013) | ||
| Team | City | Joined | Ceased Operations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ssangbangul Raiders | Jeonju | 1991 | 1999 |
| Hyundai Unicorns | Incheon (1982~1999) Seoul (2000~2007, de facto Suwon) |
1982 | 2008 |
| Doosan Bears | Hanwha Eagles | Kia Tigers | Lotte Giants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jamsil Baseball Stadium | Daejeon Baseball Stadium | Mudeung Baseball Stadium | Sajik Baseball Stadium |
| Capacity: 27,500 | Capacity: 10,500 | Capacity: 13,872 | Capacity: 28,500 |
| LG Twins | Samsung Lions | SK Wyverns | Nexen Heroes |
| Jamsil Baseball Stadium | Daegu Baseball Stadium | Munhak Baseball Stadium | Mokdong Baseball Stadium |
| Capacity: 27,500 | Capacity: 10,000 | Capacity: 27,800 | Capacity: 14,000 |
| Club | Champions | Runners-Up | Winning Seasons | Runners-Up Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KIA Tigers |
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1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2009 | |
| Samsung Lions |
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1985, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2011 | 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1993, 2001, 2004, 2010 |
| Hyundai Unicorns (defunct) |
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1998, 2000, 2003, 2004 | 1994, 1996 |
| Doosan Bears |
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1982, 1995, 2001 | 2000, 2005, 2007, 2008 |
| SK Wyverns |
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2007, 2008, 2010 | 2003, 2009, 2011 |
| LG Twins |
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1990, 1994 | 1983, 1997, 1998, 2002 |
| Lotte Giants |
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1984, 1992 | 1995, 1999 |
| Hanwha Eagles |
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1999 | 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 2006 |
| Nexen Heroes |
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| Ssangbangul Raiders (defunct) |
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AwardsSee also
References
External links
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