2020 Korean Series

The 2020 Korean Series, the 38th Korean Series, featured the Doosan Bears versus the NC Dinos. NC won its first title.

The Teams

Doosan Bears

The Doosan Bears, managed by Tae-hyeong Kim, made their 6th straight Series, having won three of them, including 2019. They were 79-61-4 in the 2020 KBO season, finishing third then beat the kt Wiz 3 games to 1. They did lead the league in both ERA (4.31) and average (.293) but were second in runs (816) and third in fewest runs allowed (695). José Miguel Fernandez (.340/.404/.497, 104 R, 105 RBI) led with 199 hits and was 5th in average, while Jae-hwan Kim (.260/.373/.494, 30 HR) was 5th in RBI (112). Raúl Alcántara (20-2, 2.54) led the league in wins, was second in K (182) and was 4th in ERA and Chris Flexen was at 8-4, 3.01. Chi-guk Park (4-4, 2.89) was their best reliever.

NC Dinos

The NC Dinos had played in one prior Korean Series, losing in 2016 to Doosan. Managed by Dong-wook Lee, they had the best regular-season record (83-55-6) to win a direct spot in the Series. They led with 880 runs but were in the middle of the pack on runs allowed (660). Their high-powered attack included Min-woo Park (.345/.402/.475, 4th in average), Seok-min Park (.306/.436/.466, 1st in OBP), Eui-ji Yang (.328/.400/.603, 33 HR, 124 RBI, 2nd in RBI, tied for 4th in HR), Sung-bum Na (.324/.390/.596, 37 2B, 34 HR, 115 R, 112 RBI, 2nd in runs, 3rd in HR) and Aaron Altherr (.278/.352/.541, 31 HR, 108 RBI). Drew Rucinski (19-5, 3.05) was 2nd in wins, 4th in K (167) and 5th in ERA. Sung-min Ong (1-0, 1.04), Chang-mo Koo (9-0, 1.74) and Jin-sung Kim (3-0, 2.66) led the bullpen corps while Jong-hyan Won (3-5, 4.26) was second with 30 saves.

The Games

• November 17: NC 5, Doosan 3. The Dinos' sluggers win their opening match with Doosan's stronger pitching. #8 hitter/CF Altherr's 3-run shot in the 4th off ace Alcántara is the big blow, while RF Na goes 4-for-4. Rucinski gets the win and Won the save.
• November 18: Doosan 5, NC 4. Doosan ties it up as SS Jae-ho Kim hits his first postseason homer (in his 207th postseason AB) and sets a record by going 37 Korean Series games until his first Korean Series dinger. He also provides strong defense to make a winner of Flexen, while Min-kyu Kim gets the save and Koo takes the loss after his 9-0 regular season.
• November 20: Doosan 7, NC 6. SS Jae-ho Kim stars again, driving in three, including the game-winning run in the 7th. Chi-guk Park got the win
• November 21: NC 3, Doosan 0. Myung-gi Song and three relievers combined on a three-hitter, Rucinski getting the save. Min-kyu Kim matched Song for five but Eui-ji Yang singled in the winning run in the 6th. Jae-ho Kim continued to be the surprise offensive leader for the Bears, getting all three of their hits.
• November 23: NC 5, Doosan 0. NC again got dominant pitching as Koo went seven scoreless. Flexen matched him for four before fading. Na and Yang remained hot, Na getting three hits and Yang a two-run homer.
• November 24: NC 4, Doosan 2. The Dinos wrapped up their first title with Rucinski throwing five shutout innings on two days' rest, while Won saves it. Myung-ki Lee's RBI single off Alcantara in the 5th breaks open the game.

Yang (.318, 3 RBI) won his second Series MVP, edging Rucinski (2-0, Sv, 1.69) 36 votes to 33.

Sources

• KBO site
• Korea Times
• Yonhap News Agency