SK Wyverns

SK Wyverns
SK 와이번스
Team logo Cap insignia
League KBO League (2000–present)
Location Incheon
Ballpark Munhak Baseball Stadium (2000–present)
Year established 2000 (2000)
Nickname(s) Wyvern
League championships (3): 2007, 2008, 2010
Korean Series championships (3): 2007, 2008, 2010
Colors Red, Orange
         
Ownership SK Telecom
Manager Kim Yong-hee
General Manager Shin Young-chul
Uniforms
SK Sports
Football
Baseball
Basketball
Handball (Men's)
Handball (Women's)
Esports
Munhak Baseball Stadium, home field of SK Wyverns.

SK Wyverns Baseball Club (Hangul: SK 와이번스 야구단) is a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 2000. Based in Incheon, on the coast near Seoul, they play their home games at Munhak Baseball Stadium.

Their current manager is Kim Yong-hee.

History

In the 2000 season, the Ssangbangwool Raiders, a team that previously had represented the Jeollabuk-do region since 1991, was dissolved because of the bankruptcy of the Ssangbangwool Group, the team's owner. The franchise was subsumed by the KBO, who then awarded a new franchise to the SK conglomerate. The new franchise was named the SK Wyverns. So the Raiders and the Wyverns have no historical links although the new team consists mostly of former Raiders players.

The Unicorns moved out of Incheon to go to Suwon, and the SK Wyverns filled the void left in Incheon. Their first Korean Series appearance came in 2003, where somewhat ironically, they were defeated by the Hyundai Unicorns in seven games.

In 2007, SK defeated the Doosan Bears in six games to win the 2007 Korean Series – the first time the franchise had won the Korean Series – after finishing the season in first place. They became the first team in Korean Series history to win after losing the first two games. Designated Hitter Kim Jae-hyun was the series MVP.

SK went on to compete in the Konami Cup, a short competition between the champions of the Korean Baseball League, the Japanese Baseball League, the Taiwanese Baseball League, and the China All-Stars.

On November 8, 2007, SK Wyverns managed to defeat the Chunichi Dragons (6–3), giving Chunichi their first ever loss in Konami Cup history. On November 9, 2007, they soundly defeated the China All-Stars (13–0), causing the game to be called in the 7th inning, due to the 'Mercy Rule'. On November 10, 2007, they repeated their performance, defeating the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions of Taiwan (13–1) in 7 innings.

The final game, on November 11, 2007, was a rematch of the first game, between Chunichi Dragons and SK Wyverns. In an extremely close game, Chunichi managed to win the game, 6–5.

SK went to the Korean Series again in 2008, once again facing their main rivals, Doosan Bears. In a repeat of 2007, SK defeated Doosan to become 2 time Korean Series Champions. Twenty-one-year-old 3rd baseman Choi Jeong was named the series MVP.

SK once again went on to compete in the Konami Cup. On November 13, 2008, SK Wyverns managed to defeat the Seibu Lions (4–3), marking the second straight year in which the Korean champions handed the Japanese champions a loss in this competition. On November 14, 2008, they once again defeated the Chinese representatives, Tianjin Lions, in a "mercy-rule" shortened game. On November 15, 2008, they were soundly defeated in a rematch with Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions of Taiwan (10–4) and failed to qualify for the championship game for a second straight year.

In 2009, however, SK were runners-up in the 2009 KBO season and 2009 Korean Series, where they were defeated by the KIA Tigers in 7 games.

SK rebounded to form in 2010, dominating the regular season and winning the Korean Series in a 4–0 sweep against the Samsung Lions. It was SK's 4th straight Korean Series appearance and their 3rd title in 4 years.

In 2011, legendary manager Kim Sung-keun was ousted mid-season after a long-standing disagreement between him and the SK front office finally boiled over. This led to then – head coach Lee Man-soo taking over the reins – a move that brought a lot of protests from the SK Wyverns fans, as Kim had led SK to the Korean Series in every year that he had been at the helm.

In both 2011 and 2012, SK reached the Korean Series, where they were both times defeated by the Samsung Lions. SK has reached the Korean Series in each season since 2007 (six straight seasons).

The Wyverns also had a 23-game winning streak that ended in April 2010. This is the longest winning streak in Korean Baseball, and the second longest in the world, after the New York Giants.

Season by season records

Year City Team Rank Games W L D Win % Postseason
2000 Incheon SK Wyverns 8 133 44 86 3 0.338 Did not qualify
2001 Incheon SK Wyverns 7 133 60 71 2 0.458 Did not qualify
2002 Incheon SK Wyverns 6 133 61 69 3 0.469 Did not qualify
2003 Incheon SK Wyverns 2 133 66 64 3 0.508 Runner-up
2004 Incheon SK Wyverns 5 133 61 64 8 0.488 Did not qualify
2005 Incheon SK Wyverns 3 126 70 50 6 0.583 Semi-playoff
2006 Incheon SK Wyverns 6 126 60 65 1 0.480 Did not qualify
2007 Incheon SK Wyverns 1 126 73 48 5 0.603 Winner
2008 Incheon SK Wyverns 1 126 83 43 0 0.659 Winner
2009 Incheon SK Wyverns 2 133 80 47 6 0.602 Runner-up
2010 Incheon SK Wyverns 1 133 84 47 2 0.632 Winner
2011 Incheon SK Wyverns 3 133 71 59 3 0.546 Runner-up
2012 Incheon SK Wyverns 2 133 71 59 3 0.546 Runner-up
2013 Incheon SK Wyverns 6 128 62 63 3 0.496 Did not qualify
2014 Incheon SK Wyverns 5 128 61 65 2 0.484 Did not qualify
2015 Incheon SK Wyverns 5 144 69 73 2 0.486 Wild card game
2016 Incheon SK Wyverns - 144

Current lineup

SK Wyverns roster
Active roster Inactive roster Coaches/Other
Pitchers
Starting rotation

Bullpen

  • 93 Park Min-ho
  • -- Shin Jae-woong
  • -- Shin Dong-hoon
  • -- Lee Sang-Ryeol
  • -- Kim Jeong-Min

Closer

 Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

 Pitchers

Catchers

  • 35 Heo Woong
  • -- Lee Hyeon-seok

Outfielders

 Manager

Coaches

  • -- Kim Seong-kab (head)
  • 70 Kim Won-hyeong (pitching)
  • 72 Park Kyung-oan (battery)
  • 97 Jung Kyung-bae (hitting)
  • -- Park Jin-man (defense)
Futures League
  • 00 Kim Kyeong-ki (general 2nd manager)
  • 74 Jo Woong-chun (general 2nd pitching)
  • -- Kim Mu-kwan (general 2nd hitting)
  • -- Heo Il-sang (general 2nd battery)
  • -- Kim Dae-jin (general 3rd manager)


† Disabled list
* Suspended list
# Military list
Roster updated 2015-03-03
→ All KBO League rosters

External links

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