Korea Professional Baseball (KBO), which started with six original teams in 1982 based on their hometowns, started its 42nd season on April 1st. How about enjoying fried chicken and beer with friends, family, or a lover while watching a baseball game in this warm spring weather?
1. KBO Teams
1) SSG Landers - They finally ‘landed’ on the pinnacle of KBO! The SSG Landers, based in Incheon became the first “wire-to-wire” team in KBO history to stay at first place throughout an entire season. SSG Landers had the best season of all time last year, recording first place in the number of home spectators and succeeding in performance. It is expected that Landers will be able to reveal the majesty of the ’defending champion’ in the upcoming 2023 season.
2) Kiwoom Heroes - The home of the 2022 season runner-up team, Kiwoom Heroes, is Seoul. Although they did not win the championship, they are a strong team that consistently advances into the postseason. Based on its excellent training ability and young players, Heroes is being discussed as one of the favorites to win the 2023 championship.
3) LG Twins - The first professional baseball team in Seoul, the LG Twins is maintaining its position as the most popular team with the highest cumulative attendance records among all Korean professional sports teams. In the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), which was held last month, six players, the most out of the 10 KBO clubs, were selected for the final entry, proving the strength of their squad.
4) KT WIz - Founded in 2013, KT Wiz is the youngest club in the KBO League based in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do. It is a team that maintains the best strength with strong pitchers, active player recruitment and trade. KT Wiz has advanced to the postseason for three consecutive years and won the championship in the 2021 season.
5) KIA Tigers - KIA Tigers, a prestigious club with a 100% win rate in the Korean Series (final championship of the KBO League), is based in Gwangju. The club is one of the most popular teams with the most number of Korean Series titles at 11 championships. The KIA Tigers is a club that captivates the largest numbers of fans in KBO league, and it is a team that has produced legendary players such as Sun Dong-yeol and Lee Jong-beom.
6) NC Dinos – The NC Dinos, based in Changwon, is the 2020 championship team. Although it is a relatively fledgling club founded in 2011, it emerged as a strong club that has advanced to the postseason five times. It is the most data-centric team among the KBO clubs that seeks to improve power by using big data and AI technology.
7) Samsung Lions – “One Team One Body!” is the main catchphrase of the Samsung Lions club. Its hometown is Daegu, and the club holds numerous records including the most appearances in the Korean series and the most wins in the regular season. But unfortunately, the team's recent performance is hitting the low point.
8) Lotte Giants – The passion of the fans of the Lotte Giants, based in Busan, is the strongest in the league. Sajik Baseball Stadium, home of the Lotte Giants, is also called ‘Sajik Karaoke’ because of its unique cheering culture and simple, familiar cheering songs. This is the team of Lee Dae-ho, the legend of Lotte Giants, who retired with the end of the 2022 season.
9) Doosan Bears – The Doosan Bears, home of Seoul, are called rivals with the LG Twins because they share the baseball field of the Seoul Sports Complex. Last year, they placed ninth, but as a club that won six championships, they show a strong image in the postseason to the extent that they are called the ‘Miracle Doosan’, which is coming alive as the season nears its end. Its baseball field takes about 25 minutes by subway from Chung-Ang University, so it would be nice to go see a Doosan Bears game!
10) Hanhwa Eagles – The hometown of Hanwha Eagles is Chungcheong Province, including Daejeon. Their mascot, the baby eagle, is chosen as the cutest mascot in the KBO league and is loved by baseball fans. Fans who always give enthusiastic support despite Hanwha's sluggish performance are called 'Bodhisattva', famous with their phrases that represent Hanwha, such as “I am happy” and ”Hanwha can't be stopped.”
2. Season Format and Rules
The pennant race, involving the 10 teams introduced above starts from late March to early April every year and ends in late October. Each team plays 144 matches, 73 of which are played at each team's home stadium and the remaining 71 played at other teams’ stadiums. KBO games are held every week from Tuesday to Sunday, and all games are broadcasted through sports TV channels and internet platforms. However, because baseball games are held at outdoor baseball fields, some games may be canceled in case of bad weather. The season rankings within the league are calculated in order of winning percentage, and the top five teams advance to the KBO postseason, also called ‘fall baseball’. When determining which teams will advance to the postseason, if there is a tie for 1st place and a tie for 5th place by the end of the season, a ranking game will be played.
Among the 10 teams that have completed the pennant race, the 4th and 5th ranked teams will play two games, with the 4th place team being given a one-win advantage, and the 5th place team must win both games to advance to the semi-playoffs. This is called the wild card game. The semi-playoff is a game between the team that finished in third place and the winning team of the wild card game in a best-of-five series, with two games each being played at each team’s home stadium. After that, the team that placed second and the team that won the semi-playoff play a best-of-five playoff. Finally, the Korean Series is a match between the team that placed first in the pennant race and the team that won the playoffs. It is very difficult to get tickets for this game because anyone who likes baseball wants to go to see and enjoy the game!
3. Korean Baseball Cheering Culture of KBO League
1) Fight songs: Fight songs are the key part of KBO cheering culture. All 10 Korean baseball teams have a club and songs for individual players. Each batter has a personal fight song, sung when the batter enters the batter’s box. Under the lead of the cheering squad for each club, cheering songs suitable for the situation, such as line-up songs, chants for the opposing team’s pitcher, full count cheers, and victory songs, resound throughout the innings. In particular, at the end of the eighth inning, all the lights in the stadium are turned off and spectators hold up the flashlight on their phones while singing specific songs. These songs usually represent the region the club belongs.
2) Cheering tools: A representative cheering tool is a cheering stick. Each club has its own color of cheering sticks and cheering chants to tap along the fight songs. Another interesting thing of Korean baseball cheering culture is the fans wearing team uniform shirts with player’s names. Wearing the same uniform with the players and cheering for them doubles the sense of belonging and solidarity. In fact, there is a lot of merchandise including flags, hair bands, mufflers, etc. Cheering tools can be purchased at the store in the baseball stadium.
3) Foods: The most famous baseball stadium food is fried chicken and beer. In addition, various cheering foods are sold in each ballpark. These are often the representative foods of the region where the stadium is located. It is also recommended to sit at a table and watch the game while enjoying the famous delicacies of each team.
The long-awaited baseball season, spring, has returned. This April, why don’t you go to a baseball stadium and have a new experience of enjoying the excitement and passion unique to sports? You are also more than welcome to have delight in cheering that continues until the end of the game, and the delicious foods of each stadium. Even if you don't know the rules, it doesn't matter. In the moment you feel the passion of the players on the field and listen to the addictive fight songs and cheers of the fans around you, you will find yourself completely immersed in the game.
