| Current season or competition: 2009 Korea Baseball Organization season |
|
 Korea Baseball Organization |
|
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1982 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country(ies) |  South Korea |
| Most recent champion(s) | KIA Tigers |
| Official website | koreabaseball.com (Korean) |
| Korea Baseball Organization | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 한국야구위원회 |
| Hanja | 韓國野球委員會 |
| Revised Romanization | Han-guk Yagu Wiwonhoe |
| McCune–Reischauer | Han'guk Yagu Wiwŏnhoe |
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) of South Korea is the country's professional baseball league. KBO was originally founded with six teams in 1982 and currently has eight teams. The teams are generally named after the companies or business conglomerates which own them.
Contents |
Current teams
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | City |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doosan Bears | Jamsil Baseball Stadium | 30,500 | Seoul |
| Hanhwa Eagles | Daejeon Baseball Stadium | 10,500 | Daejeon |
| Kia Tigers | Moodeung Stadium | 13,400 | Gwangju |
| Lotte Giants | Sajik Baseball Stadium | 30,000 | Busan |
| LG Twins | Jamsil Baseball Stadium | 30,500 | Seoul |
| Samsung Lions | Daegu Baseball Stadium | 12,000 | Daegu |
| SK Wyverns | Munhak Baseball Stadium | 30,400 | Incheon |
| Seoul Heroes | Mokdong Baseball Stadium | 14,500 | Seoul |
History
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:
- Samsung Lions, based in Daegu
- 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
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 Jamsil Baseball Stadium with MBC Chungyong in Seoul. A new team, the Binggeurae Eagles, joined to replace OB in Daejeon and expanding the league to seven teams. 1988 saw the Cheongbo Pintos change ownership again, becoming the Taepyeongyang Dolphins. In 1990, MBC Chungyong 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 Daegu, Busan, Gwangju and Daejeon did not have to compete with other teams for fans, the Suwon-based Unicorns struggled to compete with the nearby Seoul franchises.
As of 2009, founding member the Kia Tigers (formerly the Haitai Tigers) had won 10 of the 29 national championships.
Most players are Korean, but teams are allowed a limited number foreign players, with Americans, Dominicans and Cubans featuring in the league. The foreign player limit is currently set at two.
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 on the Western region of Korea, despite representing the East. Unlike in the MLB, the Korean All-star game does not determine home-ground advantage in the Korean Series. The most recent Korean All-star game was played in Busan and won 6:3 by the East team.
Many of the players who excel in the Korean league go on to play for teams in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. Current successful players in the NPB who have played for Korean teams in the past include Lee Seung-Yeop for the Yomiuri Giants (former Samsung Lions player), Lee Byung-Kyu for the Chunichi Dragons (former LG Twins player), Lim Chang-Yong for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, and Tyrone Woods also for the Chunichi Dragons (former Doosan Bears player).
Season structure
Currently, each team plays 133 games in the regular season. Each team plays every other team 19 times.[1]
Traditionally, KBO 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[2]. However, no extra innings played in the first game of a double-header, with games limited to 9 innings[3].
The KBO 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; 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 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:
- Semi-playoff: 3rd vs. 4th; best 3 out of 5 games
- Playoff: 2nd vs. winner Semi-playoff; best 3 out of 5 games (reduced from 7 games starting from 2009)
- Korean Series: 1st vs. winner Playoff; best 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 originally scheduled 5 or 7 games.
Champions
- 1982: OB Bears
- 1983: Haitai Tigers
- 1984: Lotte Giants
- 1985: Samsung Lions
- 1986: Haitai Tigers
- 1987: Haitai Tigers
- 1988: Haitai Tigers
- 1989: Haitai Tigers
- 1990: LG Twins
- 1991: Haitai Tigers
- 1992: Lotte Giants
- 1993: Haitai Tigers
- 1994: LG Twins
- 1995: OB Bears
- 1996: Haitai Tigers
- 1997: Haitai Tigers
- 1998: Hyundai Unicorns
- 1999: Hanhwa Eagles
- 2000: Hyundai Unicorns
- 2001: Doosan Bears
- 2002: Samsung Lions
- 2003: Hyundai Unicorns
- 2004: Hyundai Unicorns
- 2005: Samsung Lions
- 2006: Samsung Lions
- 2007: SK Wyverns
- 2008: SK Wyverns
- 2009: Kia Tigers
References
- ^ Korea Baseball Organization (English site): Game System. Accessed on 2007-12-26.
- ^ Kim Jae-Won (2009-01-13). KBO Abolishes Endless Overtime Rule. The Korea Times. Accessed on 2009-06-11.
- ^ (Korean) Korea Baseball Organization: 2009 달라지는 점. Details rule changes between seasons 2008 and 2009. Accessed on 2009-06-11.
See also
- Sport in South Korea
- List of professional sports leagues
- Players from South Korea in Major League Baseball
- Baseball awards#South Korea: Korea Baseball Organization (KBO)
External links
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