2006 Korea Baseball Organization

The 2006 Korea Baseball Organization season was the 25th KBO season. The season was dominated by rookie pitcher Hyun-jin Ryu of the Hanwha Eagles and Dae-ho Lee of the Lotte Giants. Ryu won the pitching Triple Crown (18-6, 2.23, 204 K), the first KBO pitcher to do so since Dong-yol Sun 15 years earlier. Ryu became the first player to win both the MVP and Rookie of the Year award. Lee (.336, 26 HR, 88 RBI) became the first Triple Crown winner since Man-soo Lee back in 1984. He was also a youngster, turning 24 during the season. The third player (behind Ryu and Dae-ho Lee) in MVP voting was second-year reliever Seung-hwan Oh, who set an Asian record with 47 saves while posting a 1.59 ERA and fanning 109 in 79 1/3 IP. The Samsung Lions won their second straight Korean Series, managed by Sun.

Awards

The KBO MVP and KBO Rookie of the Year was Hyun-jin Ryu.

The following players won Gold Gloves, which in the KBO go to the best overall player at each position are not a defensive (only) award.

• P: Hyun-jin Ryu, Hanwha Eagles
• C: Kab-yong Jin, Samsung Lions
• 1B: Dae-ho Lee, Lotte Giants
• 2B: Keun-woo Jeong, SK Wyverns
• 3B: Bum-ho Lee, Hanwha Eagles
• SS: Jin-man Park, Samsung Lions
• OF: Taek-keun Lee, Hyundai Unicorns
• OF: Yong-kyu Lee, KIA Tigers
• OF: Han-lee Park, Samsung Lions
• DH: Joon-hyuk Yang, Samsung Lions

Standings

1. Samsung Lions, 73-50-3
2. Hyundai Unicorns, 70-55-1
3. Hanwha Eagles, 67-57-2
4. KIA Tigers, 64-59-3
5. Doosan Bears, 63-60-6
6. SK Wyverns, 60-65-1
7. Lotte Giants, 50-73-3
8. LG Twins, 47-75-4

Playoffs: Hanwha def. Hyundai, 3 games to 1. Hanwha def. KIA, 2 games to 1.

2006 Korean Series: Samsung def. Hanwha, 4 games to 1, 1 tie.

Offensive Leaders

• Average - Dae-ho Lee, Lotte .336
• Home Runs - Dae-ho Lee, 26
• RBI - Dae-ho Lee, 88
• Steals - Jong-wook Lee, Doosan 51

Pitching Leaders

• ERA - Hyun-jin Ryu, Hanwha 2.23
• Wins - Ryu, 18
• Saves - Seung-hwan Oh, Samsung 47
• Strikeouts - Ryu, 204