The 2020 KBO League season, also known by naming rights sponsorship as 2020 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League (Korean: 2020 신한은행 SOL KBO 리그), was the 39th season in the history of the KBO League.
| 2020 KBO League | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | KBO League |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | May 5 – October 31 |
| Number of games | 144 per team |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Total attendance | 328,317 |
| TV partner(s) | KBS, MBC, SBS, SPOTV, ESPN |
| Regular Season | |
| Season champions | NC Dinos |
| Season MVP | Mel Rojas Jr. (KT Wiz) |
| Postseason | |
| Wild Card champions | LG Twins |
| Wild Card runners-up | Kiwoom Heroes |
| Semi-playoffs champions | Doosan Bears |
| Semi-playoffs runners-up | LG Twins |
| Playoffs champions | Doosan Bears |
| Playoffs runners-up | KT Wiz |
| Korean Series | |
| Champions | NC Dinos |
| Runners-up | Doosan Bears |
| Finals MVP | Yang Eui-ji (NC Dinos) |
Season schedule
editThe 2020 KBO League season schedule was released in December 2019. Opening Day was originally scheduled on 28 March 2020.[1] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea, the Korea Baseball Organization announced in March 2020 that all ten exhibition games would be cancelled, and the start of the season would be delayed until April.[2][3]
The Kia Tigers, a KBO League team that had arrived in the United States on 30 January 2020 to hold a portion of its spring training activities, remained in their early spring training venue, Terry Park Ballfield in Fort Myers, Florida (United States) through March.[4][5] Preseason KBO League games began on 21 April. The regular season began on 5 May.[6]
An Chi-hong was the only free agent to move to the Lotte Giants.
Starting with the 2020 season, if a tie exists for the No. 1 seed, and automatic trip to the Korean Series, then the tiebreaker (head to head record) will not be implemented; instead, a one game playoff system will be used to determine the automatic bye.
Standings
edit| Rank | Team | P | W | L | D | Pct. | GB | Postseason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NC Dinos | 144 | 83 | 55 | 6 | .601 | — | Korean Series |
| 2 | KT Wiz | 144 | 81 | 62 | 1 | .566 | 4.5 | Playoff |
| 3 | Doosan Bears | 144 | 79 | 61 | 4 | .564 | 5.0 | Semi-playoff |
| 4 | LG Twins | 144 | 79 | 61 | 4 | .564 | 5.0 | Wild Card |
| 5 | Kiwoom Heroes | 144 | 80 | 63 | 1 | .559 | 5.5 | |
| 6 | Kia Tigers | 144 | 73 | 71 | 0 | .507 | 13.0 | Did not qualify |
| 7 | Lotte Giants | 144 | 71 | 72 | 1 | .497 | 14.5 | |
| 8 | Samsung Lions | 144 | 64 | 75 | 5 | .460 | 19.5 | |
| 9 | SK Wyverns | 144 | 51 | 92 | 1 | .357 | 34.5 | |
| 10 | Hanwha Eagles | 144 | 46 | 95 | 3 | .326 | 38.5 |
Postseason
edit| Wild Card | Semi-playoff | Playoff | Korean Series | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | NC Dinos | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | KT Wiz | 1 | 3 | Doosan Bears | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Doosan Bears | 2 | 3 | Doosan Bears | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | LG Twins | 2 | 4 | LG Twins | 0 | |||||||||||||
| 5 | Kiwoom Heroes | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
Wild Card
editThe series started with a 1–0 advantage for the fourth-placed team.
Korean Series
editNC Dinos won the series, 4–2.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | November 17 | Doosan Bears – 3, NC Dinos – 5 | Gocheok Sky Dome | 3:21 | 8,200[8] |
| 2 | November 18 | Doosan Bears – 5, NC Dinos – 4 | Gocheok Sky Dome | 3:38 | 8,200[9] |
| 3 | November 20 | NC Dinos – 6, Doosan Bears – 7 | Gocheok Sky Dome | 4:24 | 5,100[10] |
| 4 | November 21 | NC Dinos – 3, Doosan Bears – 0 | Gocheok Sky Dome | 3:28 | 5,100[11] |
| 5 | November 23 | Doosan Bears – 0, NC Dinos – 5 | Gocheok Sky Dome | 3:01 | 5,100[12] |
| 6 | November 24 | Doosan Bears – 2, NC Dinos – 4 | Gocheok Sky Dome | 3:34 | 1,670[13] |
League leaders
edit| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batting Average | Choi Hyung-woo | Kia Tigers | .354 |
| Home runs | Mel Rojas Jr. | KT Wiz | 47 |
| Runs Batted In | Mel Rojas Jr. | KT Wiz | 135 |
| Runs | Mel Rojas Jr. | KT Wiz | 116 |
| Hits | José Fernández | Doosan Bears | 199 |
| Stolen Bases | Sim Woo-jun | KT Wiz | 35 |
| On-base percentage | Park Suk-min | NC Dinos | .436 |
| Slugging percentage | Mel Rojas Jr. | KT Wiz | .680 |
| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earned run average | Eric Jokisch | Kiwoom Heroes | 2.14 |
| Wins | Raúl Alcántara | Doosan Bears | 20 |
| Saves | Cho Sang-woo | Kiwoom Heroes | 33 |
| Holds | Ju Kwon | KT Wiz | 31 |
| Innings pitched | Odrisamer Despaigne | KT Wiz | 207.2 |
| Strikeouts | Dan Straily | Lotte Giants | 205 |
| WHIP | Dan Straily | Lotte Giants | 1.02 |
Foreign hitters
editForeign hitters
edit| Team | Player | Batting Average |
Home Runs | RBI | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doosan Bears | José Miguel Fernández | .340 | 21 | 105 | KBO hits leader; Golden Glove Award |
| Hanwha Eagles | Jared Hoying | .194 | 4 | 14 | Released by the team |
| Brandon Barnes | .265 | 9 | 42 | Signed to replace Jared Hoying | |
| Kia Tigers | Preston Tucker | .306 | 32 | 113 | |
| Kiwoom Heroes | Taylor Motter | .114 | 1 | 3 | Released by the team |
| Addison Russell | .254 | 2 | 31 | Signed to replace Taylor Motter | |
| KT Wiz | Mel Rojas Jr. | .349 | 47 | 135 | KBO League Most Valuable Player Award; HR and RBI leader; Golden Glove Award |
| LG Twins | Roberto Ramos | .278 | 38 | 86 | |
| Lotte Giants | Dixon Machado | .280 | 12 | 67 | |
| NC Dinos | Aaron Altherr | .271 | 31 | 108 | |
| Samsung Lions | Tyler Saladino | .280 | 6 | 27 | Waived due to injury |
| Daniel Palka | .209 | 8 | 23 | Signed to replace Tyler Saladino | |
| SK Wyverns | Jamie Romak | .282 | 32 | 91 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Baseball league announces 2020 regular season schedule". The Korea Herald. Yonhap News Agency. 16 December 2019. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2020. Alt URL
- ^ "(LEAD) Pro baseball league postpones start of regular season over coronavirus". Yonhap News Agency. 10 March 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ "The Latest: South Korean baseball season postponed". WTMJ-TV. Associated Press. 12 March 2020. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ Barie, Sean (20 February 2020). "Korean baseball team makes Terry Park home for spring training". WBBH-TV. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ Dorsey, David (4 March 2020). "Coronavirus prolongs South Korean baseball team's spring training stay in Fort Myers". Fort Myers News-Press. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ "Baseball quietly returns to South Korea as games begin without fans". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 20 April 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
- ^ "Team Standings". KoreaBaseball.com. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- ^ Yoo Jee-ho (2020-11-17). "Baseball postseason crowd to be reduced under tighter social distancing rules". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
- ^ Kim Gyeong-yoon (2020-11-18). "프로야구 한국시리즈 2차전 매진…누적 관중 7만9천112명" (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
- ^ Lee Jae-sang (2020-11-20). "3차전 5100석 매진…한국시리즈 27경기 연속" (in Korean). News1. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
- ^ Moon Sang-hyeok (2020-11-21). "송명기 무실점, 양의지 결승타…NC, 4차전 3:0 승리" (in Korean). JTBC. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
- ^ Kim Tae-woon (2020-11-23). "구창모, 7이닝 무실점…NC, 첫 우승까지 '1승'" (in Korean). Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
- ^ Jang Hyun-goo (2020-11-24). "'공룡군단' NC, 창단 9년 만에 첫 KS 우승…주장 양의지 MVP" (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
- ^ "Batting Leaders". KBO.
- ^ "Pitching Leaders". KBO.