2021 Korean Series

The 2021 Korean Series, the 39th Korean Series, featured the Doosan Bears versus the kt Wiz. The Wiz won their first championship, pulling off a sweep.

The Teams

Doosan Bears

The Doosan Bears, managed by Tae-hyeong Kim, made their 7th straight Series, having won three of them. While they were clearly a dynasty, they were the underdog this time, having finished 4th in the 2021 KBO at 71-65-8 and having to win three playoff rounds to get here. They were the first team to go from the Wild Card Game to the Korean Series. They were second in the league in offense (738) and 3rd in ERA (4.26). Jae-hwan Kim (.274/.382/.501, 27 HR, 102 RBI) tied for 2nd in RBI, Kun-woo Park (.325/.400/.441, 13-13 SB) was 5th in average and they got support from Suk-hwan Yang (.273/.337/.490, 28 HR, 96 RBI) and José Fernandez (.315/.391/.443). Ariel Miranda (14-5, 2.33) led the league in ERA and K (225) and tied for 4th in wins; other reliable starters were Walker Lockett (9-9, 2.98) and Won-joon Choi (12-4, 3.30) while Kang-ryul Kim (3-0, 21 Sv, 2.09) was the closer.

kt Wiz

The kt Wiz were making their first Korean Series. They won the regular-season title at 75-59-9, earning a straight trip to the Series. They were second in ERA (3.67) but in the middle of the pack on offense (719 R). Young-pyo Ko (11-6, 2.92) was the staff ace and was 3rd in ERA, while Odrisamer Despaigne (13-10, 3.39) was 4th with 165 strikeouts. Jae-yoon Kim (4-3, 32 Sv, 2.42) was 4th in saves while Si-young Park (3-3, 2.40) was another fine reliever. Baek-ho Kang (.347/.450/.451, 40 2B, 102 RBI) was 3rd in average, 2nd in OBP and tied for 2nd in RBI while Han-joon Yoo hit .309/.409/.418. They were guided by Kang-chul Lee.

The Games

• November 14: kt 4, Doosan 2. The Wiz get a nice opener from William Cuevas, who strikes out eight and allows one run in 7 2/3 IP. 1B Baek-ho Kang was 3 for 3 with a walk and a homer to provide the offensive support. Young-ha Lee took the loss in relief of Gwak Been, who allowed only one run in five.
• November 15: kt 6, Doosan 1. 3B Jae-gyun Hwang homered early and 1B Baek-ho Kang was 2 for 2 with two walks (he had now tied the Series record with eight straight times reaching base) to lead LG's offense, while the team turned four double plays to back the staff. Hyeong-jun So pitched six shutout innings (3 H) despite five walks for the win over Won-joon Choi (6 R in 4 1/3 IP). DH Fernandez had half of the Bears' six hits.
• November 17: kt 3, Doosan 1. In the first Korean postseason battle of Cuban hurlers, Despaigne goes 5 2/3 scoreless to beat Miranda (1 R in 5 IP). 2B Kyung-su Park homered and made some big plays on defense before leaving with an injury. Even though Park missed Game 4 due to the injury, he still won Series MVP.
• November 18: kt 8, Doosan 4. The Wiz became the first team to sweep a Korean Series with four different starting pitchers getting wins, as Ja-seong Bae got the win while Jae-yoon Kim registered his third save of the Series, Been taking the loss. 3B Hwang hit a couple RBI doubles, while RF Jared Hoying smacked a two-run homer as part of a four-hit day.

Sources

• KBO site
• Korea Times
• Yonhap News Agency