As the end of the regular season nears in South Korean baseball, the postseason picture has become clearer at the top.
However, it is a different story at the bottom, with three clubs battling for the final two spots.
The Kia Tigers (83-53-2 in wins-losses-ties) secured the best record of the regular season in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) last Tuesday and grabbed a direct ticket to the Korean Series. The Samsung Lions (77-61-2) locked down the No. 2 seed Sunday and advanced directly to the second round of the five-team postseason.
Samsung Lions players and coaches celebrate after clinching the No. 2 seed in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason following their 9-8 win over the Kiwoom Heroes at Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu on Sept. 22, 2024, in this photo provided by the Lions. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
Samsung Lions players and coaches celebrate after clinching the No. 2 seed in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason following their 9-8 win over the Kiwoom Heroes at Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu on Sept. 22, 2024, in this photo provided by the Lions. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
The defending champions LG Twins (73-65-2) are headed to their sixth consecutive postseason and will grab the No. 3 seed either with their next win or one more loss by the Doosan Bears, currently in fourth place at 70-68-2. These two Seoul rivals each have four games remaining.
In the KBO postseason, the No. 3 seed advances to the first round, where it will face the winner of a wild card game between the No. 4 and No. 5 teams.
After losing two out of three against the Twins over the weekend, the Bears are unlikely to catch them for third place. And they may not even finish the season in fourth place, with the SSG Landers (68-68-2) and the KT Wiz (69-70-2) both breathing down their neck.
Under first-year manager Lee Sung-yong, the Landers are the hottest team in the KBO now, thanks to their six-game winning streak. Their past two wins came against the Wiz on Saturday and Sunday, as they climbed past the Wiz and into fifth place. The Landers now hold a half-game lead over the Wiz, while trailing the Bears by one game. The Landers own the best record in the league in September at 9-3-1.
Of the three teams, the Landers have the most games remaining with six, followed by the Bears with four and the Wiz with three.
Park Seong-han of the SSG Landers heads to first base after getting a hit against the Kiwoom Heroes during a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Incheon SSG Landers Field in the western city of Incheon on Sept. 19, 2024, in this photo provided by the Landers. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
Park Seong-han of the SSG Landers heads to first base after getting a hit against the Kiwoom Heroes during a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Incheon SSG Landers Field in the western city of Incheon on Sept. 19, 2024, in this photo provided by the Landers. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
The Landers will visit the Bears on Monday evening and then will host the Twins on Tuesday in Incheon, just west of the capital city.
This is the final season for the Landers’ outfielder and designated hitter Choo Shin-soo, a former American League All-Star who signed with the KBO club in 2021. Now the oldest player in the KBO at 42, Choo is trying to recover from his nagging shoulder injury in time for what he hopes will be one last postseason trip. He helped the Landers to the Korean Series title in 2022.
The Wiz, the 2021 champions, have been in every postseason since 2020. They have made a habit of starting out slowly — even falling to last place on occasion — before bouncing back in the latter portion of the season to reach the postseason. They seemed poised to pull off the same trick this year when then reached fourth place on Sept. 10. But they have gone 4-5 since, allowing the Landers to pass them.
The Bears are trying to make their second straight postseason under second-year manager Lee Seung-yuop, who has been in the hot seat since summer with his club moving in and out of the postseason picture.
Source: Yonhap News Agency