Hes essentially an ideal lead-off hitter, with a batting average last year that was good for 11th-best in the KBO. The improvement showed in his stats too, as his ERA dropped from 5.20 to 3.00 (though his FIP just went from 4.06 to 3.73) and he raised his strikeout percentage by over 8 points from 20% to 29% (8.2 K/9 to 10.3). His career high is just 133. Today, the four teams in addition to the six above are: In addition to the KBO League, which represents the highest level of professional baseball in South Korea, the KBO also created a second-tier league in 1990 to serve as a farm system for the KBO League. Like his teammate Cho, Ahn dealt with some injuries during the 2020 season, getting a late start to the year due to a shoulder problem, and missing close to a month during the season with back issues as well. Best Pitcher: Casey Kelly or Tyler Wilson. He even tacked on 40 stolen bases in 2015, just for good measure. As a contact-oriented pitcher Jokisch was at the mercy of his defense, and luckily for him the Heroes were the best defensive team in the KBO. All-Time Greats: Stan Musial, Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth, Derek Jeter, Oscar Charleston, Ken Griffey Jr, Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, . Like the MLB, the KBO holds an All-Star Game partway through the season in July. Sampson does not have as big a track record as Strailys, but is younger and likely has a higher KBO ceiling. He rebounded from that rough stretch and finished the season with a 3.69 ERA in 97 2/3 innings, and should be a key member of the teams rotation moving forward. Kakao (May require a VPN). Their all-time winning percentage is .471, but they remain one of the most popular teams in the KBO. One of my favorite things about the Dinos is that they are the former employer ofEric Thames. Eddie Plank (230 WSAB/361 WS): Eddie Plank takes us back to the Mathewson erahe was the A's great lefthander before Grove. Baseball was first spread to the Korean Peninsula by Western missionaries as early as the late 19th century. Well, youre in luck. Chang-mo Koo (NC Dinos) The left-handed Koo dominated in the first half of last season in the KBO with a 9-0 record and 1.74 ERA, and since the KBO was the first league to get underway in 2020 he received international attention for his dominance. All major league baseball data including pitch type, velocity, batted ball location, In 2019, their best pitcher was most likely Gwang hyun-Kim. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers. The park replaced Daegu Baseball Stadium, which was the home of the Lions since their inception in 1982, and sat just 5,000 fans. My livelihood isnt affected by page views, so were cool here. The slight dip in production from 2018 to 2019 can mostly be attributed to the KBO de-juicing the ball. ), including in WHIP, ER allowed, QS, and opponent AVG. So why would you root for them? First team to win the Pennant Race, Korean Series and Asian Series in the same year. In the playoffs, games have a 15-inning limit. This is awesome. In 2012, he went to play in the JPL (Japanese Pacific League) where he won two championships while posting solid numbers. Most people agree that starting pitchers play a vital role in baseball betting odds. Required fields are marked *. His 9.59 K/9 led the league, but his 3.80 FIP suggests he benefited from some good fortune on the year. This tweet features a GIF randomizer featuring all 10 teams. The KBO's Brightest Star Meet Baek-Ho Kang, a 22-year-old first basemen from Seoul, South Korea, who has taken the KBO by storm and currently leads the league in WAR. In addition, keep an eye on foreigners Chris Flexen (who pitched 68 innings in the majors for the Mets from 2017-19, but showed flashes of potential in the minors) and Raul Alcntara (who pitched to a 4.01 ERA for the KT Wiz in 2019 and was described as the KBOs Kyle Hendricks by Ben Clemens at FanGraphs), both signed by Doosan in the offseason. The best walk-off interview I have ever seen. Except for the NC Dinos, who saw a 60% boost. As for a 2020 outlook, the Cardinals are still a well-equipped club, but play in a highly competitive division. Since then, South Korea and its major professional league, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) have become important sources of talent for major league clubs. 2022 Player Stats. The drop in velocity did allow Cho to deepen his repertoire, throwing more changeups which feature some fade away from lefties. Sadly, the Eagles fell back to the bottom of the standings in 2019 (59-85), but there is hope on the horizon. Pitchers. Despite winning the inaugural championship of the KBO League, the Bears had only mediocre success for several decades after, winning twice more in 1995 and 2001. Koo Chang-mo, NC Dinos you picked as best pitcher was in the bullpen half the year, thats why innings so low. In 2018, after nine consecutive losing seasons, the ragtag Eagles finished third in the league thanks in large part to one of the better relievers in the KBO: Woo-ram Jung. The KIA Tigers arrived in Terry Park in Fort Myers, Florida, for spring training. They often lost their best players to other teams or other leagues. Theyre used to being near the bottom of the league but are on the rise and could make a push to the top over the next few seasons. Between relaxing on the sofa and reading up on Drew Rucinski, deciding on which is the more appealing option doesnt seem like a difficult task. The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. At the end of the regular season, the top five teams qualify for the playoffs. Player photos and official team logos are the property of their respective teams. . In 2019 the Wyverns posted an 88-55 (.615 win percentage) which was good for the best in the league, tied with their main rivals and eventual 2019 champion Doosan Bears. Most Similar MLB Team: St. Louis Cardinals. The team as a collective posted a .488 SLG in 1999, which is the highest in KBO history, and earned them the nickname the Dynamite Bats (this is also a nod to the Hanwha conglomerates main business: explosives production). Kelly floated around with the San Diego Padres and a couple of other teams, never really finding much success. The long weekend is just around the corner. Just a 31-year-old pitcher upping his fastball velocity by a tick and a half by the time hes 34. He has had relative success getting swings and misses in the big leagues, with strikeout rates between 18-22% from 2012-2018. Naturally, 2020's gonna 2020 the NC Dinos and the Samsung Lions dealt with a rain delay early, while the Kia Tigers and Kiwoom Heroes had to wait through a fire delay. Award winners [ edit] References [ edit] After two years away from the game, Jae-Hoon Ha returned and signed with the Wyverns, this time taking the mound and role of closer. KBO League Most Valuable Player Award - Wikipedia KBO League Most Valuable Player Award The KBO League Most Valuable Player Award is given to the player judged the most valuable player in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League. While teams are typically named after their sponsoring corporation rather than their home city, local pride plays a huge role in sports fandom. In fact, they finished in last place in the KBO in each of their first three seasons, topping out at 53 wins in 2016. The change will continue into 2020, meaning the glory days of bat flip artistry in the KBO may be a thing of the past (or perhaps, the increased rarity drives it to new heights). for the latter part of his career. Kiwoom would eventually go on to be swept themselves in the Korean Series by Doosan. In many ways, it has been one of Asias best-kept secrets. The bad news: Since 2008, the Eagles have only qualified for the playoffs once. Hyun-jong Yang (), LHP, Kia Tigers (KBO) We addressed Yang, the KBO's top pitcher, earlier in the spring. Its not a perfect fit, as theres no longer an aging slugger equivalent to Byung-Ho Park on the Rays, but otherwise its a really nice fit. All UZR (ultimate zone rating) calculations are provided courtesy of Mitchel Lichtman. He signed with the Mariners in 2016, and despite relative success in the big leagues, he returned to the KBO, signing a four-year, $12.9M contract with his hometown Giants. Machado could not keep up with big-league pitching, but could find success as an above-average defensive infielder. If Jokisch can continue to find success, and stay healthy (he dealt with a minor shoulder injury last year) he could find his way back to the Majors as teams are always looking for left-handed pitchers. Even though 2019 was Rufs weakest season in the KBO, (although he still had a .911 OPS), his 22 home runs and 101 RBI still placed him inside the leagues top six and top five, respectively. The NC Dinos could have resigned Rucinski, but it probably would have cost them their entire foreign player budget, which is meant to sign up to three players. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Pitcher GIFS Inc. All Rights Reserved. The KBO season is slated to kick off on Tuesday, May 5, and Pitcher List has you covered on everything you need to know to get you ready. (Unofficial) KBO League stats, schedules, video links, live game day coverage and more. While Tae-kyun Kim may no longer be the ideal lead-off hitter due to his lack of speed, hes a great bat for the two spot. The matchup here is tough but Choi has been one of the more solid pitching options in the KBO over the past few seasons. A salary cap will go into effect in 2023. His fastball averaged 95, and in the KBO he could dominate by just throwing a bunch of fastballs and some sliders, which feature late, two-plane movement. The team hopes for big steps forward from 21-year-old Min Kim and 23-year-old. With only 10 teams, the KBO has no organization by division or league, meaning over the course of the 144-game regular season, each team plays each other team exactly 16 times. Here are some important team pitching categories and rankings for the 2021 KBO season. All KBO statistics courtesy of Statiz. Just look at the reigning champs, the NC Dinos, with a Korean ace in Chang-mo Koo. The belief is that his work in his former role as the leader of the teams data analysis should give him a good understanding of the teams players and put them in a position to succeed, which shouldnt be a foreign concept to fans of Major League Baseball. Not his zone rate, which remained essentially the same in each season. Take Merrill Kelly for example, whos serving as the de facto ace for the rebuilding Diamondbacks. Its unclear who will step up in 2020, but there will undoubtedly be a huge void to fill with Lindbloms departure. Feb 2. So I scrapped the expansion team idea and came up with the St. Louis Cardinals. If you measure success by the number of championships won, then the Tigers are incredibly successful, as theyve been champions eleven times, the most of any KBO Team. One of the factors you need to consider when betting on Korea Baseball Organization games is the starting pitcher. Career. This surely played a part in their struggles last season, and unfortunately for them, Ruf is no longer in the league, as he was attempting to make a major league return in 2020, signing a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants and was perhaps playing his way to a roster spot with a 1.469 OPS through 28 spring at-bats prior to the shutdown. History []. After struggling with Atlanta, he never saw the majors again, moving first to Japan, then back to the MiLB until he finally ended up finding a home in the KBO with Kiwoom in 2017. Brooks didnt have the strikeout numbers that Straily had, but he limited walks (only 24 allowed in 151 1/3 innings), throws harder (his fastball averaged just under 93 MPH) and is more than a year younger. The park replaced Daegu Baseball Stadium, which was the home of the Lions since their inception in 1982, and sat just 5,000 fans. At the time, he was around the same age as Rucinski is now, with a similar reputation for providing clean innings in bulk. The Bears face the Kiwoom-LG . Of course, as an Indians fan, Ill take that type of struggling! He doesnt have much mileage on his throwing arm, and I dont think hell age the way other starters typically do. But Rucinski isnt just some random starter the Athletics chose as their annual innings-eater. Thats a testament to how much hes improved, in terms of stuff, command, and durability. Pitchers Team W-L-SV ERA WHIP G GS QS IP R ER H HR SO BB K/BB; Raul Alcntara #43 . Since teams dont use foreign players to shore up their bullpens, homegrown pitching becomes important to be able to close out games. NC Dinos. According to an article from the Yonhap News Agency in March of 2019. , the Giants topped Gallup popularity polls from 2008-2013 and appeared back on top in 2018. Lotte has seen much less recent success than San Francisco, but in terms of current expectations and outlook, the two seem mighty familiar. The Bears had a top tier pitching staff as well, though like their lack of offensive power, they had a remarkably un-flashy lack of strikeouts, ending up in ninth place in total strikeouts. Rucinski throws a low 90s fastball with a cutter as his primary secondary pitch, and also incorporates a slider (with vertical break that looks curvy) and a splitter that can flash good drop and fade. Will he steal bases? Capital-G God.) Rucinsky might be more. Theirs is an organization filled with a rich history. Still struggling with what team you would like to support? Last year, the Heroes shocked everyone by making it all the way to the Korean Series where they were swept in four games by the Doosan Bears. The NL Central crown is certainly possible, but not at all a lock. With an aging squad (only one returning starter under the age of 30), the Bears are going to be heavily reliant on young, unproven talent if they want a shot at repeating. At the time, the ball-walloping first baseman was coming off an astonishing 53 HR season (in just 140 games!) As an original team when the KBO League was founded in 1982, the Tigers had been in the playoffs in 10 of the 14 years, winning the championship seven times at that time. If Im thinking about a team that is often shadowed by a rival team in the same city but also has an incredibly passionate fanbase its hard not to immediately think of the New York Mets. A lot. Something changed, but what? They were also one of the youngest teams in the league, which fits with the Rays focus on young players on controllable contracts. He seems to be an important part of Giants history, and his story deserves attention from all baseball fans. Oh made his professional baseball debut with the Lions and pitched for them for nine seasons from 2005 to 2013 before moving to Japan, and eventually to the majors for four seasons. Its hard to determine who the best pitcher is in on the Twins, but its one of these two. Drew Rucinski (NC Dinos) The right-handed Rucinski is one of the older players on this list (only about a month younger than Straily), which may limit his contract options in the future, but he is nonetheless one of the best pitchers in the KBO. In addition to fielding Olympians, both leagues feature players that have the upside to be future Major League contributors. The Kia Tigers are sitting with an on-base percentage of .347 in addition to a batting average of .262 for the year. Major League and Minor League Baseball data provided by Major League Baseball. by Retrosheet. AN Woo Jin (KIWOOM) 15 4. MyKBO Even with the backing of Kia since 1995, they have only managed 10 playoff trips and four championships. His less serious work can be found on Twitter @justinochoi. Which, fine, I understand. in offense, but were also the third-best pitching team in the KBO, which fits nicely with the Rays balance of offense and pitching, even if the Rays arent quite as proficient on the offensive side of the ball. In 1996, they were known as the Hiatai Tigers, and were sold in Kia in 2001. Between 2005 and 2011, he never had an OPS below .800, and posted three seasons with an OPS above 1.000. Their analytics department may not be the best. He also cut his strikeout rate from 21.2% to 17.2%, and raised his walk rate from 8.9% to 12.1%. I wanted to highlight the Wyverns status as an expansion team, so my mind turned to the Diamondbacks. All three are fantastic mascots and the moment I can figure out how to buy a shirt with DomDoml on it, I will have like 15 of them. Eric Jokisch (Kiwoom Heroes) Eric Jokisch can seem like a pitcher from another era. Montgomery. Ruf, now 33 years old, most notably played in parts of five major league seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies from 2012 to 2016, and in his last taste of the majors, slashed just .205/.236/.337 in 89 plate appearances for a Phillies team that finished 71-91. 2005 and 2011, he never had an OPS below.800, durability. To consider when betting on Korea Baseball Organization games is the starting pitcher, thats why innings so.! Since 2008, the Eagles have only qualified for the year, thats why innings so low serious. League ) where he won two championships while posting solid numbers would like to support never had an below! But play in a highly competitive division Tigers arrived in Terry Park in Fort Myers, Florida for... 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