2013 Korea Professional Baseball season

2013 Korea Yakult 7even Baseball [1]
LeagueKorea Professional Baseball
SportBaseball
DurationMarch 2013 – November 2013
Number of games128 per team
Number of teams9
Regular Season
Season championsSamsung Lions
Season MVPPark Byung-ho (Nexen)
Postseason
Semi-Playoff championsDoosan Bears
  Semi-Playoff runners-upNexen Heroes
Playoff championsDoosan Bears
  Playoff runners-upLG Twins
Korean Series
ChampionsSamsung Lions
  Runners-upDoosan Bears
Finals MVPPark Han-yi (Samsung)
KBO seasons

The 2013 Korea Professional Baseball season was the 32nd season in the history of the Korea Professional Baseball. The Samsung Lions won the regular season and Korean series.

Season structure

Regular season

For the 2013 season, due to the admission of the NC Dinos as the KBO's ninth team, each team's schedule was reduced from 133 games to 128 games during the regular season with the new schedule arranging for each team to play every other team 16 times.[2]

All-Star Game

On 19 July, the best players in the KBO participated in the Korean All-Star game at Pohang Baseball Stadium. The franchises participating were divided into two regions: Eastern League (Samsung Lions, Doosan Bears, Lotte Giants, SK Wyverns) and Western League (Kia Tigers, Hanwha Eagles, LG Twins, Nexen Heroes, NC Dinos). The titles 'Eastern' and 'Western' do not directly correspond to the geographical regions of the franchises involved, as both SK and Doosan, being from Incheon and Seoul respectively, are based in the Western region of Korea, despite representing the Eastern League. Unlike in Major League Baseball, the Korean All-Star Game does not determine home-field advantage in the Korean Series. The 2013 Korean All-Star Game was won by the Eastern League, 4–2.

Postseason

The 2013 Korea Professional Baseball season culminated in its championship series, known as the Korean Series. The top four teams qualified for the postseason based on their records. The team with the best record gained a direct berth into the Korean Series, while the other three teams competed for the remaining spot in the Korea Series in a step-ladder playoff system:

  • Semi-playoff (best-of-five-game series, had been originally best-of-three-game-games, became best-of-five-game series in 2008)
    • Regular-season third-place team vs. regular-season fourth-place team
  • Playoff (best-of-five-game-series, had been originally best-of-seven-game series, became best-of-five-game-series in 2009)
    • Regular-season second-place team vs. semi-playoff winner
  • Korean Series (best-of-seven-game series)
    • Regular-season first-place-team vs. playoff winner

Unlike the regular season, no playoff game can result in a draw so each series can be completed as it was intended to be, whether it be a best-of-five-game or best-of-seven-games series.

To determine the final standings

  • Champion (1st place): Korean Series winner
  • Runner-up (2nd place): Korean Series loser
  • 3rd–9th place: sort by regular-season record except teams to play in the Korean Series.

Standings

Rank Team GP W D L Pct. Postseason
1 Samsung Lions 128 75 2 51 0.595 2013 Korean Series Champion
2 LG Twins 128 74 0 54 0.578 Playoff Loser
3 Nexen Heroes 128 72 2 54 0.571 Semi-Playoff Loser
4 Doosan Bears 128 71 3 51 0.568 Semi-Playoff & Playoff Winner, 2013 Korean Series Runner-up
5 Lotte Giants 128 66 4 58 0.532 Did not qualify
6 SK Wyverns 128 62 3 63 0.496
7 NC Dinos 128 52 4 72 0.419
8 Kia Tigers 128 51 3 74 0.408
9 Hanwha Eagles 128 42 1 85 0.331
Regular Season Champion

Samsung Lions

Postseason

Semi-playoff

Doosan Bears won the series, 3–2.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 8 October 2013 Doosan Bears 3–4 Nexen Heroes Mokdong Baseball Stadium, Seoul - - 
2 9 October 2013 Doosan Bears 2–3 Nexen Heroes (10th inning) Mokdong Baseball Stadium, Seoul - - 
3 11 October 2013 Nexen Heroes 3–4 Doosan Bears (14th inning) Jamsil Baseball Stadium, Seoul - - 
4 12 October 2013 Nexen Heroes 1–2 Doosan Bears Jamsil Baseball Stadium, Seoul - - 
5 14 October 2013 Doosan Bears 8–5 Nexen Heroes (13th inning) Mokdong Baseball Stadium, Seoul - -

Playoff

Doosan Bears won the series, 3–1.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 16 October 2013 Doosan Bears 4–2 LG Twins Jamsil Baseball Stadium, Seoul - - 
2 17 October 2013 Doosan Bears 0–2 LG Twins Jamsil Baseball Stadium, Seoul - - 
3 19 October 2013 LG Twins 4–5 Doosan Bears Jamsil Baseball Stadium, Seoul - - 
4 20 October 2013 LG Twins 1–5 Doosan Bears Jamsil Baseball Stadium, Seoul - -

Korean Series

Samsung Lions won the series, 4–3.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 24 October 2013 Doosan Bears 7–2 Samsung Lions Daegu Baseball Stadium, Daegu - - 
2 25 October 2013 Doosan Bears 5–1 Samsung Lions (13th inning) Daegu Baseball Stadium, Daegu - - 
3 27 October 2013 Samsung Lions 3–2 Doosan Bears Jamsil Baseball Stadium, Seoul - - 
4 28 October 2013 Samsung Lions 1–2 Doosan Bears Jamsil Baseball Stadium, Seoul - - 
5 29 October 2013 Samsung Lions 7–5 Doosan Bears Jamsil Baseball Stadium, Seoul - - 
6 31 October 2013 Doosan Bears 2–6 Samsung Lions Daegu Baseball Stadium, Daegu - - 
7 1 November 2013 Doosan Bears 3–7 Samsung Lions Daegu Baseball Stadium, Daegu - -
2013 Korean Series Champion

Samsung Lions
(Seventh title)

Foreign players

For the second straight year, there are no foreign hitters in the KBO, as all nine teams use their foreign player allotments on pitchers.

References

  1. ^ "한국야쿠르트 '역대 최고액' 프로야구 스폰서". Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  2. ^ Korea Baseball Organization (2013). 2013 달라지는점 Archived 22 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine (Korean). Retrieved 18 March 2013.