2023 Korean Series

The 2023 Korean Series was the 41st Korean Series. It featured the Kt Wiz against the LG Twins. LG won their first title in 29 years.

The Teams

Kt Wiz

The Kt Wiz had won the 2021 Korean Series. Their 79-62-3 record was second in the 2023 KBO, their 616 runs allowed being second-fewest (only six off the lead) while their offense was closer to the middle of the pack with 672 runs (4th). Wes Benjamin (15-6, 3.54) was second in wins and 4th in K (157), William Cuevas (12-0, 2.60) and Young-pyo Ko (12-7, 2.78) tied for 5th in wins and Jae-yun Kim (5-5, 32 Sv, 2.60) and Yeong-hyun Park (3-3, 4 Sv, 2.75) were key relievers. LF Anthony Alford hit .289/.357/.456 with 31 doubles and 1B Byung-ho Park batted .283/.357/.443 with 18 homers and 87 RBI.

LG Twins

The LG Twins had won two Korean Series, but it had been 29 years since their last title. They were 86-56-2 for the best regular-season record, having the best offense (767 R) and the fewest runs allowed (610). RF Chang-ki Hong hit .332/.444/.412 with 88 walks, 35 doubles and 109 runs; he was 4th in the batting race. The pop came from 1B Austin Dean (.314/.376/.517, 87 R, 23 HR, 95 RBI), who tied for third in dingers and was third in RBI. 3B Bo-gyeong Moon batted .301/.377/.448. Among their quality arms were Won-tae Choi (9-7, 4.30) and Chan-kyu Im (14-3, 3.42; 3rd in wins) atop the rotation (Adam Plutko was 11-3 with a 2.41 ERA before leaving the team in October due to a dispute) and Seung-hyun Park (2-0, 3 Sv, 1.58), Deok-ju Ham (4-0, 4 Sv, 1.62) and Jin-sung Kim (5-1, 4 Sv, 2.18) in relief.

The Games

• November 7: Kt 3, LG 2. The opener was a close affair. The Wiz scored off Casey Kelly in the first when veteran SS Sang-soo Kim singled, stole second, took third on Dong-won Park's throwing error on the play and scored on a grounder from 3B Jae-gyun Hwang. The Twins fired right back against Ko - Hae-min Park and Hyun-soo Kim both singled then Dean's grounder was bobbled by 2B Kyung-su Park, blowing a double play change and letting in a run. SS Ji-hwan Oh singled and Moon's sacrifice fly made it 2-1. Ko, Dong-hyun Son and Yeong-hyun Park shut out LG the rest of the game, though; they were helped by the second triple play in Korean Series history. Their team tied it in the 4th when Hwang and Alford drew walks, then Sung-woo Jang had a one-out single to score Hwang. Alford could have scored but he didn't notice that the relay bounced back Dong-won Park; by the time he charged home, it was too late as Dean (covering first) tagged him out. It remained 2-2 until the 9th, when LG's Woo-suk Go walked Jung-dae Bae with two outs and Moon hit a double off the left field wall to drive in Bae.

• November 8: LG 5, Kt 4. LG starter Choi lasted only 20 pitches, allowing four runs while retiring one. Steven Twins relievers held the Wiz scoreless over the next 8 2/3 innings. LG pecked away after that, scoring one apiece in the 3rd, 6th and 7th. Dong-won Park then hit the decisive two-run homer in the 8th to seal the comeback.

• November 10: LG 8, kt 7. The Twins scored all their runs with the long ball in the third straight one-run game. With a sellout crowd for the first Korean Series game at their home park, the Wiz fell behind in the 3rd when Dean hit a 3-run shot off Benjamin. Hwang's RBI double off Im closed it to 3-1 in the bottom of the inning. Kt took the lead in the 5th with 3 runs, LG trying three pitchers to stop them to little avail; they were not aided by two errors. Dong-won Park remained hot with a two-run shot of Son in the 6th as the Twins retook the lead. LG closer Go was unable to seal the deal again, giving up a RBI double to Hwang to tie it and a two-run homer to Byung-ho Park. The Wiz then turned to their closer, Jae-yun Kim, but he also struggled. Hong led off the 9th with a single. Kim got the next two outs but walked Dean on seven pitches and Ji-hwan Oh smashed a three-run homer to give LG the lead for the 3rd and final time. Go then got his chance at redemption. Kt loaded the bases before Sang-soo Kim grounded into a game-ending double play to end an exciting contest.

• November 11: LG 15, kt 4. Hyun-soo Kim and Bo-gyeong Moon hit two-run homers and Ji-hwan Oh smacks a three-run homer in a Game 4 romp to move one win from a title. Kim becomes the career postseason leader in RBI (44) and Oh became the first player to homer in three straight games in a single Series. Oh goes 4-for-4. The beneficiary of the offense is Yun-sik Kim, who allowed one run in 5 2/3 IP.

• November 13: LG 6, kt 2. A sellout crowd at Jamsil Baseball Stadium sees the Twins end the second-longest title drought in Korea. Kelly allowed one run in five, while the Twins got all they needed against Ko in the third. Sung-ju Moon singled and Min-jae Shin drew a walk. Following a bunt, Hae-min Park doubled them both home. Park then stole third and scored when Hyun-soo Kim's grounder ricocheted off the glove of Byung-ho Park at first. Hae-min Park would finish with two runs and also make an excellent run-saving catch in center. Hyun-soo Kim rapped three hits. Ji-hwan Oh was named Series MVP thanks to his work in games 2-4.

Sources

• KBO site
• Yonhap News Agency