2022 Korean Series

From BR Bullpen

The 2022 Korean Series, the 40th Korean Series, featured the Kiwoom Heroes versus the SSG Landers. SSG won its first title.

The Teams[edit]

Kiwoom Heroes[edit]

Kiwoom Heroes.png

The Kiwoom Heroes were playing in their first Korean Series. They finished third in the 2022 KBO regular-season at 80-62-2, edged the kt Wiz 3 games to 2 in the playoffs then beat the LG Twins 3 games to 1 in the next round to make the Series. Jung-hoo Lee (.349/.421/.575, 36 2B, 10 3B, 23 HR, 113 RBI) led the league in average, OBP and RBI to pace the offense, while Yasiel Puig was their second-best hitter at .277/.367/.474 with 21 home runs. Woo-jin An (15-8, 2.21) nearly won a pitching Triple Crown, falling one win shy, and Eric Jokisch was a solid #2 at 10-8, 2.57. Jae-woong Kim (3-2, 13 Sv, 2.01) was their ace reliever. They were managed by Won-ki Hong. They led the league with a 3.79 ERA.

SSG Landers[edit]

SSG Landers.jpg

The SSG Landers were in their first Series under their present identity, though they had won several when they had been the SK Wyverns. Guided by Won-hyung Kim, they finished first in the regular season (88-52-4) to get a bye to the finals. They tied for the most runs (720) in the 2022 KBO. 3B Jeong Choi (.266/.386/.505) was third in the loop with 26 homers and RF Yoo-seom Han (.264/.373/.478) was 5th with 100 RBI. Also hitting well were LF Juan Lagares (.315/.362/.464 in 49 G), CF Kang-min Kim (.303/.375/.449 in 84 G) and DH Shin-soo Choo (.259/.382/.430, 16 HR, 71 BB). Kwang-hyun Kim (13-3, 2.13) was second in the KBO in ERA though Shawn Morimando (7-1, 1.67) was better in limited time. Wilmer Font (13-6, 2.69) was third with 170 K. Dong-min Seo (1-1, 2.57) and Kyung-eun Noh (12-5, Sv, 3.05) were their best relievers as both players tried as closer had ERAs over 4.

The Games[edit]

  • November 1: Heroes 7, Landers 6. The opening was an exciting one with five lead chances. In the bottom of the second, SSG scored first off An. RF Han walked, 1B Joo-hwan Choi drew a two-out walk and 2B Sung-hyun Kim singled in Han (the first of his three hits). In the third, 3B Jeong Choi homered for a 2-0 lead. Meanwhile, Kwang-hyun Kim was cruising, shutting out Kiwoom for four. In the 5th, SS Whee-jip Kim singled and scored two outs later when Han made an error on a single by 3B Sung-min Song. A passed ball by Min-sik Kim made it 2-2. With An leaving early due to blisters on his hand, Kiwoom turned to Jokisch. In the bottom of the first, DH Choo singled and scored on a double by 3B Choi (LF Jun-wan Kim missing a diving catch attempt) to put SSG back ahead, 3-2.
Kiwoom took the lead in the 6th. CF Jung-hoo Lee reached. With two outs, 1B Tae-jin Kim singled to center and CF Ji-hoon Choi misread the bounce, the ball getting past him and letting Jung-hoo Lee score to tie it at three, Kim reaching second. C Ji-young Lee then singled to make it 4-3, knocking out Kwang-hyun Kim. In the bottom of the 6th, SSG evened it up, Sung-hyun Kim driving in another run. The Landers retook the lead in the bottom of the 8th against Dong-hyuk Kim. LF Lagares and SS Seong-han Park singled and backup 1B Tae-gun Oh hit a sacrifice fly to put his team up 5-4.
Kiwoom's backup first baseman came up even bigger in the top of the 9th when Byeong-woo Jeon hit a two-run homer off Noh to give Kiwoom a 6-5 edge. They turned to closer Jae-woong Kim but PH Kang-min Kim hit a one-out long ball to tie it once again. Jae-woong Kim walked two before escaping the jam to force it to extra innings. Jeon again played the hero, with a two-run single off Morimando in the 10th to put Kiwoom ahead, this time finally for good. It was not easy, though, as Jae-woong Kim allowed two singles in the 9th, bringing up Kang-min Kim. This time, Jae-woong Kim got the better of Kang-min Kim, who grounded back to the mound to end it.
  • November 2: Landers 6, Heroes 1. SSG evened the Series, getting all the runs they needed in the first. The first four batters reached against Tyler Eppler, RF Han drawing a bases-loaded walk for the first run. LF Lagares and SS Seong-han Park each grounded in a run for a 3-0 lead. CF Ji-hoon Choi homered as part of a three-hit day. Font went seven innings for the win.
  • November 4: Landers 8, Heroes 1. Jokisch pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings but was matched pretty well by SSG's Won-seok Oh. In the bottom of the 4th, RF Puig doubled and 1B Tae-jin Kim singled him home for Kiwoom's lone run. That held up until the 8th, when LF Lagares hit a two-run shot off Dong-hyuk Kim. They then made it a rout with a six-run 9th.
  • November 5: Heroes 6, Landers 3. Kiwoom turns to a surprise starter, going with reliever Seung-ho Lee, his first start in over a year. Lee allows one run in four to outduel Morimando, who is knocked out during a five-run third. 3B Sung-min Song's two-run double is the big hit.
  • November 7: Landers 5, Heroes 4. The Heroes got to Kwang-hyun Kim early, with 1B Tae-jin Kim singling in two in the first then the team adding another in the second on a sac fly by LF Jun-wan Kim. The team made it 4-0 in the 6th and Woo-jin An shut out SSG for 6 2/3 IP. Once he left, though, SSG staged a successful comeback. 3B Jeong Choi hit a two-run homer off Jae-woong Kim in the 8th. In the 9th, Won-tae Choi came in to try to close it out but he walked SS Seong-hun Park and then 1B Joo-hwan Choi singled in a 10-pitch at-bat. Pinch-hitter Kang-min Kim then hit a three-run shot to left to complete the comeback win in dramatic fashion.
  • November 8: Landers 4, Heroes 3. DH Ji-yeol Im hit a two-run homer off Font in the top of the third to put the Heroes ahead. A two-run error by 1B Jeon in the bottom of the inning tied it up against Eppler. In the top of the 6th, CF Jung-hoo Lee took Font deep and Kiwoom was back in front. The lead was short-lived, though. Facing reliever Jokisch, LF Lagares reached on an error and SS Seong-han Park drew a walk. After a sacrifice bunt, 2B Sung-hyun Kim doubled in the tying run and the go-ahead run to give SSG its first title. SSG made some fine defensive plays, with some fine work in the 7th by Seong-han Park and 1B Joo-hwan Choi. Kwang-hyun Kim closed it out for the save. Kang-min Kim became the oldest Series MVP; even though he had not started a game, his clutch homers off the bench were hard to overlook.

Sources[edit]

Korean Series

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