2008 Korean Series

The 2008 Korean Series began on October 26, 2008. It featured the Doosan Bears, 3-time champions, versus the defending champion SK Wyverns in a rematch of the 2007 Korean Series. The Wyverns won their second Series in a row. Jung Choi won Korean Series MVP honors.

The Teams

SK Wyverns

The Wyverns had made history with a 82-40 record in 2008, setting a new Korea Baseball Organization record for wins. Jung Choi was third in the league in average (.328), Jae-hong Park 5th in homers (19) and Keun-woo Jung third in steals (40). The key element, though, was pitching. Kwang-hyun Kim almost won a pitching Triple Crown, leading in wins (16) and strikeouts (150) and finishing second in ERA (2.47) while Byung-yong Chae was 4th in ERA (2.70). Won-hyung Kim tied for 4th in wins (12) and Dae-hyun Jung was 4th in saves (20). Kwang-hyun Kim was the only player honored as the best at his position in the 2008 KBO.

Doosan Bears

Doosan had gone 70-56 to finish second in the league, then topped the Samsung Lions in the playoffs to move on to the finals. Doosan had no one in the top 5 in ERA, wins or strikeouts but had five hitters finish in the top 5 in a key area. Hyun-soo Kim won the batting title (.357) and was 5th in RBI (89). Sung-hoon Hong was second in average (.331). Dong-joo Kim was second in RBI (104). Jong-wook Lee was 2nd in steals (47) and Young-min Ko was 4th in that department (39). Hong (DH), HS Kim (OF), Lee (OF) and DJ Kim (3B) all were honored at the best at their positions in the 2008 KBO following the season.

The Games

• October 26: Bears 5, Wyverns 2. The Series opened at Munhak Stadium, but the Wyverns were unable to benefit from the home field advantage. Matt Randel allowed one run in 5 1/3 IP to give Doosan a strong start. With the game tied at one in the 6th, the Bears got two on with two out. Manager Kyung-moon Kim pinch-hit backup Jun-suk Choi for SS Dae-soo Lee and Choi delivered a 2-run double off of Kwang-hyun Kim for a 3-1 lead. Each team added one in the 7th. With the score 4-2 in the 9th, Sung-heon Hong homered to make it 5-2, the final margin of victory. Jae-woo Lee allowed one run in 3 2/3 relief innings for the save.

• October 27: Wyverns 5, Bears 2. In a reverse of game one, the Wyverns copied the Bears' 5-2 victory. SK started quickly against former major leaguer Sun-woo Kim. Keung-woo Jeong singled, advanced on a bunt and took third on a hit by RF Jae-hong Park. Jin-young Lee singled in Jeong to make it 1-0 and a wild pitch by Kim scored Park.

In the 4th, 3B Dong-joo Kim doubled against Byeong-yong Chae and Sung-heon Hong tripled. A sacrifice fly by Young-min Ko knotted the game at two apiece. Jeong led off the bottom of the 5th by reaching on an error by 3B Jae-won Oh. Jeong swiped second, then LF Jae-sang Park doubled to make it 3-2. Oh made two errors at third base after replacing Dong-joo Kim, who had also made two errors there for the bad fielding Bears.

In the 7th, Jae-hyun Kim delivered a 2-run insurance homer off of Tae-hoon Lim to end the scoring. Kil-hyun Yoon fanned 5 in two relief innings to end it for SK.

• October 29: Wyverns 3, Bears 2. After three straight 5-2 scores in Korean Series games, the winning team only had 3 this time while the loser again had two. At Jamsil Stadium, the Wyverns employ six different hurlers, who give up 11 hits but just the two runs. With the game tied it at one in the 6th, Jung Choi delivered the game-winning 2-run homer. Jae-won Lee had 3 hits and Jin-young Lee two for the victors. The losers were led by Seung-hwan Choi (solo HR in the 7th) and Dong-joo Kim (3 for 4).

• October 30: Wyverns 4, Bears 1. The Wyverns moved within one game of clinching the Series. They started strong against Matt Randel when LF Jae-sang Park singled, stole second and moved to third on a throwing error on the steal. Jae-hyun Kim grounded him in to make it 1-0. In the 2nd, Dong-joo Kim doubled for the Bears, took third on a single by Sung-heon Hong and scored on a double play grounder by Jae-won Oh. Six SK relievers combined to shut out the Bears for the final 6 2/3 innings.

SK took the lead in the 4th when 3B Jeong Choi doubled in a run. In the 7th, a throwing error by 2B Young-min Ko cost Doosan another run as they fell behind 3-1. In the 8th, Doosan loaded the bases but Byeong-yong Chae struck out PH Jae-woong Yoo to escape the jam. In the 9th, a wild pitch let the Wyverns score the game's final run.

• October 31: Wyverns 2, Bears 0. Kwang-hyun Kim had another huge game, tossing 6 1/3 shutout innings and allowing 4 hits and 4 walks for the victory. In the 7th, an error by 3B Dong-joo Kim with the bases loaded let SK score the winning run. Jung Choi drove in the second in the 8th with a 2-out single.

Source: Korean Times