2008 Korea Baseball Organization

The 2008 Korea Baseball Organization was dominated by the SK Wyverns. They went 83-43 then won the 2008 Korean Series in five games. Jerry Royster made history as the first American to manage in the Korea Baseball Organization, taking the Lotte Giants to a third-place finish. Jin-woo Song also made history, by being the first pitcher in KBO history to collect 2,000 career strikeouts.

The Woori Heroes were a new team, replacing the Hyundai Unicorns, but they did not perform well, placing 7th.

Awards

The KBO MVP was Kwang-hyun Kim, who led in wins (16) and strikeouts (150) and was second in ERA. The KBO Rookie of the Year was Samsung hitter Hyung-woo Choi, who hit 19 home runs.

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: Kwang-hyun Kim, SK Wyverns
• C: Min-ho Kang, Lotte Giants
• 1B: Tae-kyun Kim, Hanwha Eagles
• 2B: Sung-hwan Cho, Lotte Giants
• SS: Ki-hyuk Park, Lotte Giants
• 3B: Dong-joo Kim, Doosan Bears
• OF: Karim Garcia, Lotte Giants
• OF: Hyun-soo Kim, Doosan Bears
• OF: Jong-wook Lee, Doosan Bears
• DH: Sung-hoon Hong, Doosan Bears

Standings

1. SK Wyverns, 83-43
2. Doosan Bears, 70-56
3. Lotte Giants, 69-57
4. Samsung Lions, 65-61
5. Hanwha Eagles, 64-62
6. KIA Tigers, 57-69
7. Woori Heroes, 50-76
8. LG Twins, 46-80

Playoffs: Samsung def. Lotte, 3 games to 0; Doosan def. Samsung, 4 games to 2

2007 Korean Series: SK def. Doosan, 4 games to 1.

Offensive Leaders

• Average - Hyun-soo Kim, Doosan .357
• Home Runs - Tae-kyun Kim, Hanwha 31
• RBI - Karim Garcia, Lotte 111
• Steals - Dae-hyung Lee, Lotte 63

Pitching Leaders

• ERA - Suk-min Yoon, KIA 2.33
• Wins - Kwang-hyun Kim, SK 16
• Saves - Seung-hwan Oh, Samsung 39
• Strikeouts - Kwang-hyun Kim, SK 150