2020 KBO League season

2020 KBO League
LeagueKBO League
SportBaseball
DurationMay 5 – October 31
Number of games144 per team
Number of teams10
Total attendance328,317
TV partner(s)KBS, MBC, SBS, SPOTV, ESPN
Regular Season
Season championsNC Dinos
Season MVPMel Rojas Jr. (KT Wiz)
Postseason
Wild Card championsLG Twins
  Wild Card runners-upKiwoom Heroes
Semi-playoffs championsDoosan Bears
  Semi-playoffs runners-upLG Twins
Playoffs championsDoosan Bears
  Playoffs runners-upKT Wiz
Korean Series
ChampionsNC Dinos
  Runners-upDoosan Bears
Finals MVPYang Eui-ji (NC Dinos)
KBO League seasons
This article is about the 2020 KBO League season only. For the previous season, see 2019 KBO League season. For information on all of baseball, see 2020 in baseball.

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.

Season schedule

The 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

Regular season standings[7]
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

Wild Card

The series started with a 1–0 advantage for the fourth-placed team.

Korean Series

Main article: 2020 Korean Series

NC 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

Batting leaders[14]
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
Pitching leaders[15]
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

Foreign hitters

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

References

  1. ^ "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
  2. ^ "(LEAD) Pro baseball league postpones start of regular season over coronavirus". Yonhap News Agency. 10 March 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ Barie, Sean (20 February 2020). "Korean baseball team makes Terry Park home for spring training". WBBH-TV. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ "Baseball quietly returns to South Korea as games begin without fans". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 20 April 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Team Standings". KoreaBaseball.com. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  8. ^ Yoo Jee-ho (2020-11-17). "Baseball postseason crowd to be reduced under tighter social distancing rules". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  9. ^ Kim Gyeong-yoon (2020-11-18). "프로야구 한국시리즈 2차전 매진…누적 관중 7만9천112명" (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  10. ^ Lee Jae-sang (2020-11-20). "3차전 5100석 매진…한국시리즈 27경기 연속" (in Korean). News1. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  11. ^ Moon Sang-hyeok (2020-11-21). "송명기 무실점, 양의지 결승타…NC, 4차전 3:0 승리" (in Korean). JTBC. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  12. ^ Kim Tae-woon (2020-11-23). "구창모, 7이닝 무실점…NC, 첫 우승까지 '1승'" (in Korean). Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "Batting Leaders". KBO.
  15. ^ "Pitching Leaders". KBO.