2022 Korean Series

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

The Teams

Kiwoom Heroes

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

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

• 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-hyeok 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-hyeok 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

• KBO site
• Joongang Daily
• Yonhap News Agency