en 2021 KBO League season

2021 KBO League
2021 KBO League
League	KBO League
Sport	Baseball
Duration	April 3 – October 31
Number of games	144 per team
Number of teams	10
TV partner(s)	KBS, MBC, SBS, SPOTV, ESPN
Regular Season
Season champions	KT Wiz
Season MVP	Ariel Miranda (Doosan)
Postseason
Wild Card champions	Doosan Bears
Wild Card runners-up	Kiwoom Heroes
Semi-playoffs champions	Doosan Bears
Semi-playoffs runners-up	LG Twins
Playoffs champions	Doosan Bears
Playoffs runners-up	Samsung Lions
Korean Series
Champions	KT Wiz
Runners-up	Doosan Bears
Finals MVP	Park Kyung-su
KBO League seasons
	← 2020 2022 →

The 2021 KBO League season, also known by naming rights sponsorship as 2021 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League (Korean: 2021 신한은행 SOL KBO 리그), was the 40th season in the history of the KBO League.

At the conclusion of the regular season, all five playoff positions were undecided going into the final day of the schedule. The Samsung Lions and KT Wiz met in a tiebreaker game to decide the regular season champion, the first such game since 1985.^[1] The NC Dinos became the first defending champion to miss the playoffs since the Kia Tigers in 2010,^[2] while the Doosan Bears qualified for the seventh consecutive year. In the postseason, the Korean Series was won by KT Wiz, who defeated the Doosan Bears who had advanced the championship series as a wild card.

2021 also marked the first KBO season for the SSG Landers, formerly known as the SK Wyverns.

Season format

The KBO is a 10-team league. Each team plays 144 games, facing the other nine teams 16 times apiece. Games are declared ties after 12 innings (15 in the postseason), and those contests have no bearing on a team’s winning percentage. Five teams make the playoffs, where the league uses a step-ladder format; the fifth- and fourth-placed teams battle in a Wild Card round, the winner faces the three seed, and so on. Teams are limited to three foreign players each. Only two such players are allowed in the lineup at any one time, so teams generally roster two pitchers and one position player.^[3]

Standings

Regular season standings^[4]
Rank	Team	GP	W	L	D	Pct.	GB	Postseason
T-1**	KT Wiz	144	76	59	9	.563	—	Korean Series
T-1*	Samsung Lions	144	76	59	9	.563	—	Playoff
3	LG Twins	144	72	58	14	.554	1½	Semi-playoff
4	Doosan Bears	144	71	65	8	.522	5½	Wildcard Game
5	Kiwoom Heroes	144	70	67	7	.511	7	Wildcard Game
6	SSG Landers	144	66	64	14	.508	7½	Did not qualify
7	NC Dinos	144	67	68	9	.496	9
8	Lotte Giants	144	65	71	8	.478	11½
9	Kia Tigers	144	58	76	10	.433	17½
10	Hanwha Eagles	144	49	83	12	.371	25½

*Samsung Lions hosted tiebreaker game by virtue of head-to-head record with KT Wiz (9-6-1)

**KT Wiz won against Samsung Lions 1-0 in the tiebreaker game

Postseason


Wild Card			Semi-playoff			Playoff			Korean Series



									1	KT Wiz	4

						2	Samsung Lions	0	4	Doosan Bears	0

			3	LG Twins	1	4	Doosan Bears	2

4	Doosan Bears	2	4	Doosan Bears	2

5	Kiwoom Heroes	1

Wild Card

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

Doosan Bears (2) vs. Kiwoom Heroes (1)

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	November 1	Kiwoom Heroes – 7, Doosan Bears – 4	Jamsil Baseball Stadium	4:09	12,422
2	November 2	Kiwoom Heroes – 8, Doosan Bears – 16	Jamsil Baseball Stadium	3:52	9,425

Semi-playoff

LG Twins (1) vs. Doosan Bears (2)

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	November 4	Doosan Bears – 5, LG Twins – 1	Jamsil Baseball Stadium	4:05	19,846
2	November 5	LG Twins – 9, Doosan Bears – 3	Jamsil Baseball Stadium	4:10	21,679
3	November 7	Doosan Bears – 10, LG Twins – 3	Jamsil Baseball Stadium	3:40	23,800

Playoff

Samsung Lions (0) vs. Doosan Bears (2)

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	November 9	Doosan Bears – 6, Samsung Lions – 4	Daegu Samsung Lions Park	3:28	22,079
2	November 10	Samsung Lions – 3, Doosan Bears – 11	Jamsil Baseball Stadium	3:45	22,109

Korean Series

KT Wiz (4) vs. Doosan Bears (0)

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	November 14	Doosan Bears – 2, KT Wiz – 4	Gocheok Sky Dome	2:51	16,200
2	November 15	Doosan Bears – 1, KT Wiz – 6	Gocheok Sky Dome	2:38	12,904
3	November 17	KT Wiz – 3, Doosan Bears – 1	Gocheok Sky Dome	3:26	13,312
4	November 18	KT Wiz – 8, Doosan Bears – 4	Gocheok Sky Dome	3:45	13,796

References

^ Yoo, Jee-ho (30 October 2021). "With 1st place at stake, Lions and Wiz to clash in KBO tiebreaker game". Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on 2021-10-30. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
^ "Dinos fail to reach playoffs, lose chance to defend KBO title". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
^ Gawlowski, Brendan (April 2, 2021). "Presenting a 2021 KBO Preview". fangraphs.com. Archived from the original on 2021-04-02. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
^ "Team Standings". mykbostats.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-27. Retrieved October 27, 2021.

[1] Yoo, Jee-ho (30 October 2021). "With 1st place at stake, Lions and Wiz to clash in KBO tiebreaker game". Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on 2021-10-30. Retrieved 30 October 2021.

[2] "Dinos fail to reach playoffs, lose chance to defend KBO title". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2021-10-30.

[3] Gawlowski, Brendan (April 2, 2021). "Presenting a 2021 KBO Preview". fangraphs.com. Archived from the original on 2021-04-02. Retrieved July 1, 2021.

[4] "Team Standings". mykbostats.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-27. Retrieved October 27, 2021.

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2021 KBO League season