Which KBO team to root for?: Choose your team #2

민서 이
2024년 2월 17일
3분 분량

Do you want to be part of a group of truly loyal fans? These KBO teams are just for you!

In KBO, there are 10 teams centered around hometowns.

Doosan Bears, Nc Dinos, Hanwha Eagles, Lotte Giants, Kiwoom Heroes, Kt Wiz, Samsung Lions, Kia Tigers, LG Twins, and SSG Landers.

In our last post, we introduced 5 of the 10 teams in Korean professional baseball. This post will introduce the remaining five teams(NC Dinos, Hanwah Eagles, Lotte Giants, Samsung Lions, KIA Tigers) whose fans usually have high loyalty.

In Korean baseball, hometown plays a significant role. When Korean professional baseball was launched, the initial affiliation system was a regional affiliation system centered on six regions. They were Seoul, Gyeonggi area, Jeonnam area, Gyeongnam area, Gyeongbuk area, and Chungcheong area.

However, because this region is based on a large area, it was nearly impossible to make new teams. Therefore, the system was changed to be based on cities rather than large regions, and through this, one team disbanded and five more teams were created. The teams we will introduce today, except for the NC Dinos, have existed since the launch of Korean professional baseball.

6. NC Dinos

Location: Changwon
Ballpark: Changwon NC park
Established: 2011
Korean Serious Championship: 2020
Former name(s): -

NC Dinos was founded in 2011 and is considered as a relatively new club. Despite being a new team, it has shown stable performance and is recognized as one of the most competitive teams in the league. Also, they hold a variety of sports entertainment for their fans and attract the attention of them. There are a lot of foreigns fans rooting for NC Dinos.

7. Hanwha Eagles

Location: Daejeon
Ballpark: Eagles Park
Established: 1986
Korean Serious Championship: 1999
Former name(s): Binggrae Eagles

Hanwha Eagles' performance is so poor that fans' nickname is "Bodhisattva." In particular, due to the lack of infielders, there are many bonehead plays are made during games. However, despite these frequent mistakes, fans always support them. Although they support a team that is not good, Hanwha fans are very loyal.

8. Lotte Giants

Location: Busan
Ballpark: Sajik Baseball Stadium
Established: 1982
Korean Serious Championship: 2 times(1984, 1992)
Former name(s): -

Lotte Giants are most famous for the support of their fans. Because it is based in Busan, there are many cheering songs with related to Busan, beach and seagull. Although it has now faded into memory, the "bongdari cheer", which is cheering by wearing an orange plastic bag like a headband, was famous.

9. Samsung Lions

Location: Daegu
Ballpark: Lions Park
Established: 1982
Korean Serious Championship: 8 times (1985, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2011~2014)
Former name(s): -

Samsung Lions is one of the oldest teams in the KBO league. It is known as a team for its tradition and history. They operate good player development systems to nurture new players and currently have many promising pitchers. There is a legendary player named Seungyeop Lee.

10. KIA Tigers

Location: Gwangju
Ballpark: Gwangju Champions Field
Established: 2001
Korean Serious Championship: 11 times (1983, 1986~1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2009, 2017) ※ Including Haetae Tigers winning records
Former name(s): Haetae Tigers

KIA Tigers also have really passionate fans. There are mainly older male fans from the Jeolla-do region, and they would never leave the team, just support the KIA Tigers. It is a powerful team that has won many championships in the past, and is currently doing quite well by coaching young players well. There are many legendary players like Jongbeom Lee and Dongyeol Sun.