KBO
The KBO is South Korea’s annual professional baseball championship. The first edition took place in 1982 with six teams, with new sides joining since 1990. Each team is named after the company or conglomerate that owns it, following the Japanese style. Salaries have nothing to do with those in MLB. However, a top pitcher can earn a lot. A million dollars a year is considered a huge paycheck. Foreign recruits come from baseball powerhouses like the USA and Latin America and make up the majority of the dominant pitchers…
The preseason runs at the end of April. The regular season lasts from May to October, with 144 games. The playoffs are in November. The grand final is a best-of-four series.
10 teams make up the championship (number of titles). Kiwoom Heroes – Seoul (0), Kia Tigers – Gwangju (11), KT Wiz – Suwon (0), Lotte Giants – Busan (2), Hanwha Eagles – Daejeon (1), Doosan Bears – Seoul (6), SSG Landers – Incheon (4), Samsung Lions – Daegu (8), LG Twins – Seoul (2), NC Dinos – Changwon (1). In 2021, the KT Wiz are leading the pack. In 2020, the Dinos triumphed over the Bears 4-1.
22 Koreans have made it to the MLB. Shin-Soo Choo batted for Cleveland in 2009. In 2020, he donated $1,000 to each player in the Rangers’ minor league system to counter the pandemic! Park pitched for the Yankees in 2010. Hyun-Jin Ryu for the Dodgers in 2013, now with Toronto. Byung-hyun Kim (1999-2007) played for the Diamondbacks in 2001 for the World Series.
We’ll have the chance to come back to this in a future article. Cheers from every point on the diamond!
See you Sunday for the live coverage!
Vincent Picard
