KOREAN BASEBALL:  USEFUL LINKS

KOREAN BASEBALL:  A HISTORY

Korea Baseball Organization

 

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Korea Baseball Organization
Current season or competition: 2008 Korea Baseball Organization season
Sport	Baseball
Founded	1982
No. of teams	8
Country(ies)	South Korea
Most recent champion(s)	SK Wyverns
Official website	koreabaseball.com (Korean)

Korea Baseball Organization
Hangul ??????? Hanja ??????? Revised Romanization Han-guk Yagu Wiwonhoe McCune- Reischauer Han'guk Yagu Wiw?nhoe

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 [hide] 1 History 2 Current teams 3 Season structure 4 Champions 5 References 6 See also 7 External links

[edit] History

The first game was played on March 27, 1982 between Samsung Lions and the MBC Blue Dragons (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 Cheongryong (Blue Dragons), 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 Cheongryong 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 Cheongryong 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 2007, founding member the Kia Tigers (formerly the Haitai Tigers) had won 9 of the 26 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 Woori). 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-gyu for the Chunichi Dragons (former LG Twins player) and Tyrone Woods also for the Chunichi Dragons (former Doosan Bears player).

[edit] Current teams

Team	Stadium	Capacity	City
Doosan Bears	Jamsil Baseball Stadium	30,500	Seoul
Hanhwa Eagles	Daejeon Baseball Stadium	10,500	Daejeon,Cheongju
Kia Tigers	Moodeung Stadium	13,400	Gwangju
Lotte Giants	Sajik Baseball Stadium	30,000	Busan,Masan
LG Twins	Jamsil Baseball Stadium	30,500	Seoul
Samsung Lions	Daegu Baseball Stadium	12,000	Daegu
SK Wyverns	Munhak Baseball Stadium	30,400	Incheon
Heroes	Mokdong Baseball Stadium	14,500	Seoul

[edit] Season structure

Currently, each team plays 126 games in the regular season. Each team plays every other team 18 times.^[1]

The KBO season culminates in its championship series, known as the Korean Series. Currently, the top four teams qualify for the post-season; the team with the best record gains a direct entry into the series. The other three teams compete in a step-ladder playoff: the first, best-of-five series involves teams finishing 3rd and 4th; the winner of this series then plays off in a best-of-seven series against the team finishing 2nd. The winner of this final playoff wins the other entry into the best-of-seven Korean Series.

[edit] 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

[edit] References

1. ^ Korea Baseball Organization (English site): Game System. Accessed on 2007-12-26.

[edit] See also

• Sports in South Korea
• List of professional sports leagues
• Players from South Korea in Major League Baseball
• Non-Korean baseball players in Korea
• Man Soo Lee

[edit] External links

• KBO history page
• BaseballGuru.com

[show] v • d • e Korea Baseball Organization   Teams Doosan Bears (Seoul) · Hanwha Eagles (Daejeon) · Kia Tigers (Gwangju) · Lotte Giants (Busan) · LG Twins (Seoul) · Samsung Lions (Daegu) · SK Wyverns (Incheon) · Heroes (Seoul)   Seasons 1982 · 1983 · 1984 · 1985 · 1986 · 1987 · 1988 · 1989 · 1990 · 1991 · 1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008   Post-season Korean Series · Asia Series

[show] v • d • e Professional baseball leagues   Americas   Major American League · National League   Minor Triple-A: International League · Pacific Coast League · Mexican League Double-A: Eastern League · Southern League · Texas League Class A Advanced: California League · Carolina League · Florida State League • Class A: Midwest League · South Atlantic League • Class A Short-Season: New York - Penn League · Northwest League Rookie: Appalachian League · Arizona League · Dominican Summer League · Gulf Coast League · Pioneer League · Venezuelan Summer League   Independent American Association · Atlantic League · Can-Am League · Continental Baseball League · Frontier League · Golden Baseball League  · Northern League · United League Baseball   Winter Affiliated: Arizona · Dominican Republic · Mexico · Venezuela Independent: Arizona · Colombia · Puerto Rico · Texas   Defunct Major: National Association · American Association · Union Association · Players' League · Federal League · Negro Leagues · All-American Girls Professional Baseball League · Continental League · Cuban League · National Association of Base Ball Players • Minor: List of defunct minor leagues • Independent: List of defunct independent leagues   Asia   Japan Nippon Professional Baseball: Central League · Pacific League • Minor: Western League · Eastern League • Independent: Shikoku-Kyushu Island League · Baseball Challenge League · Kansai Independent Baseball League   Other South Korea: Korea Baseball Organization Taiwan: Chinese Professional Baseball League China: China Baseball League Philippines: Baseball Philippines   Defunct Japanese Baseball League · Taiwan Major League · Israel Baseball League   Europe   Current Division Elite (France)  · Bundesliga (Germany) · Serie A1 (Italy)  · Honkbal Hoofdklasse (Netherlands) · División de Honor de Beisbol (Spain) · Elitserien (Sweden)   Oceania   Winter Independent: Hawaii   Defunct Australian Baseball League · International Baseball League of Australia

Source: Wikipedia

KOREAN BASEBALL:  MORE BACKGROUND

Korean Baseball

Korea is the subject of the final installment of my series on international baseball .

Korea is home to 48 million inhabitants with 10.5 million residing in the capital, Seoul. Korea is most known for talented pitchers; inventing those annoying tube-shaped noisemakers (thunderstix); Korean War and the 2.5 mile “Demilitarized Zone” separating North and South Korea.Baseball was introduced to Korea by American missionaries in the early 1900s where it was played in schools and with Christian groups. The most notable MLB players from Korea are Chan-Ho Park (the first Korean born player in MLB), Hee-Seop Choi, Byung-Hyun Kim, Jae Seo. (Choi, Kim and Seo played together at Gwangju’s Jeil High. Nickamed “Big Choi,” in 1995, coach Sae-Hwan Heo urged the freshman clean-up hitter to focus solely on batting and give up pitching. Heo also converted Seo from a third baseman to a pitcher, and suggested Kim change his delivery from sidearm to submarine-style because he thought it would be more suitable for his smaller frame). Two to watch are Cleveland’s Shin-Soo Choo and Cubs’ Jae-Kuk Ryu.Korea Baseball Organization (KBO)Each of the eight teams (Taegu’s talented Samsung Lions; Gwangju’s wildly popular Kia Tigers; Seoul’s LG Twins and Doosan Bears; Incheon’s SK Wyverns; Busan’s Lotte Giants; Suwon’s Hyundai Unicorns and Daejeon’s Hanwha Eagles who have one of the friendliest mascots around) plays an approximate 130-game regular season schedule, with the top four clubs advancing to the playoffs. The top two teams await the winner of the best-of-five series between the No. 3 and No. 4 teams. The winner then plays the No. 2 team in a best-of-five series to determine who will oppose the No. 1 team in the Korea Series, which is best-of-seven. Extra inning games are limited to 12 innings (When a 12-inning game is finished at the same score, two teams share the draw). Each team is allowed two foreign-born players. Like in Japan, teams are named after a large corporation where corporate bragging rights are on the line when teams compete. The calibre of play is approximately AAA level. Foreign-born players earn about $170,000-200,000 (U.S.) per season, and are usually signed to one-year contracts initially. Only the very best Korean players earn about the same amount. The minimum salary is about $20,000 (U.S.) Korean pros are locked into a seven-year contract before they can be posted to an MLB team and nine years before they can test free agency. Teams hold spring camp in Hawaii, some at Aloha Stadium, while others have trained at Pirate City in Bradenton and at other sites in Florida.

Ballparks

Ballparks in Korea are less than 30,000 in capacity and are all outdoor, with a mix of natural grass at some parks and artificial turf at others. Like in Japan, there is often a large amount of foul territory. Moonhak Stadium in Incheon is Korea’s most modern and pleasant place to catch a ballgame. The ballpark features an excellent sound system, and the SK Wyverns cheerleading squad is among the most enthusiastic in the league. Incheon is where U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur helped push back the North Koreans during a key moment of the Korean War. Suwon Stadium, home of the Hyundai Unicorns, is the nicest urban ballpark on the peninsula, downtown Suwon. Seoul’s ballpark, shared by the LG Twins and Doosan Bears, is across the street from the main stadium used during the 1988 Summer Olympics. Very few ballparks have actual “dugouts,” with most at street level.

“Kim-bobs” — rings of seaweed with a center of crab, lobster and Korean sausage pieces — with an OB beer are standard fare at the concession stand. Western-style food is also available.

Korean baseball games feature female cheerleaders like those found at college football games in the U.S. Usually one male “cheerleader” will blow a whistle, employ a megaphone and begin popular team chants to get fans fired up. Like Japan, a strong contingent of fans also follow their favorite team on the road. Kia, Samsung and LG traditionally have enjoyed the best attendance.

KOREAN BASEBALL:  BETTING LINES