TheSamsung Lions(Korean:삼성 라이온즈)[1]are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982. They are based in the southeastern city ofDaeguand are members of theKBO League.Their home stadium isDaegu Samsung Lions Park.They have won theKorean Championshipeight times, and also finished as runners-up on eleven occasions. The Samsung Lions are the first team to win four consecutive Korean Series titles (2011–2014), and are also the first team to win the regular season league title for five consecutive years (2011–2015).
| Samsung Lions | |||||
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| 삼성 라이온즈 | |||||
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| Information | |||||
| League | KBO League(1982–present) | ||||
| Location | Daegu | ||||
| Ballpark |
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| Established | 1982 | ||||
| League championships | 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015 | ||||
| Korean Series championships | 1985, 2002, 2005, 2006,2011,2012,2013,2014 | ||||
| Former ballparks | Daegu Baseball Stadium(1982–2015) | ||||
| Colors | Blue, white and grey | ||||
| Retired numbers | 10,22,36 | ||||
| Ownership | Cheil Worldwide (Samsung's subsidiary) | ||||
| Manager | Park Jin-man | ||||
| Website | www | ||||
| Uniforms | |||||
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History
editThe Samsung Lions were founded in 1982 as one of the original sixKBO Leagueteams. They won their first championship in 1985, going 40-14-1 in the first half and 37-18 in the second half for a total of 77–32 for the best one-seasonwinning percentagein KBO League history (a record that still stands). The 1985 team had two 25-game-winners on their staff,Kim Si-jinandKim ll-young;as the Lions were winners of both half-season pennants that year, noKorean Serieswas held and the Lions were declared champions outright.[2]
The Lions would also win the championship in 2002, 2005 and 2006, having the best record in each one of those years. In 2010,Ryu Jung-ilwas hired as the new manager of the Samsung Lions. He led the team to the best record in the league and its fifth KBO title in 2011. After the KBO League, the Samsung Lions won theAsian Serieschampionship. The Samsung Lions became the first team to win the pennant race, the Korean Series, and the Asian Series in the same year.
In 2012, one of the most notable players on the team,Lee Seung-yuop,returned to South Korea from Japan. With his help, the Samsung Lions won their sixth championship in the 2012 season. They won another two championships in 2013 and 2014, for a total of eight Korean Series championships.[3][4]In 2016, Samsung Lions moved to their new stadium,Daegu Samsung Lions Park.[5]
Season-by-season records
edit| Season | Stadium | League | Finish | Regular season | Postseason | Awards | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win% | BA | HR | ERA | ||||||
| 1982 | Daegu Baseball Stadium | KBO | 2/6 | 2/6 | 40 | 26 | 14 | 0 | .650 | .266 | 57 | 2.70 | LostKorean Seriesvs.OB Bears(1–1–4) | |
| 1/6 | 40 | 28 | 12 | 0 | .700 | |||||||||
| 1983 | KBO | 4/6 | 5/6 | 50 | 21 | 26 | 3 | .447 | .263 | 90 | 3.42 | Did not qualify | Lee Man-soo(MVP) | |
| 2/6 | 50 | 25 | 24 | 1 | .510 | |||||||||
| 1984 | KBO | 2/6 | 1/6 | 50 | 32 | 18 | 0 | .640 | .270 | 78 | 3.35 | LostKorean Seriesvs.Lotte Giants(3–4) | ||
| 5/6 | 50 | 23 | 27 | 0 | .460 | |||||||||
| 1985 | KBO | 1/6 | 1/6 | 55 | 40 | 14 | 1 | .741 | .276 | 97 | 2.98 | Not held[a] | ||
| 1/6 | 55 | 37 | 18 | 0 | .673 | |||||||||
| 1986 | KBO | 2/7 | 1/7 | 54 | 39 | 15 | 0 | .722 | .276 | 74 | 2.95 | Wonplayoff vs.OB Bears(3–2) LostKorean Seriesvs.Haitai Tigers(1–4) |
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| 4/7 | 54 | 31 | 22 | 1 | .585 | |||||||||
| 1987 | KBO | 2/7 | 1/7 | 54 | 33 | 21 | 0 | .611 | .300 | 105 | 3.58 | LostKorean Seriesvs.Haitai Tigers(0–4) | Jang Hyo-jo(MVP) | |
| 1/7 | 54 | 31 | 23 | 0 | .444 | |||||||||
| 1988 | KBO | 3/7 | 5/7 | 54 | 23 | 30 | 1 | .435 | .278 | 85 | 4.18 | Lostplayoff vs.Binggrae Eagles(0–3) | ||
| 2/7 | 54 | 33 | 20 | 1 | .620 | |||||||||
| 1989 | KBO | 4/7 | 4/7 | 120 | 57 | 58 | 5 | .496 | .272 | 96 | 4.42 | Did not qualify | ||
| 1990 | KBO | 2/7 | 2/7 | 120 | 66 | 52 | 2 | .558 | .263 | 131 | 4.13 | Wonsemi-playoff vs.Binggrae Eagles(2–0) Wonplayoff vs.Haitai Tigers(3–0) LostKorean Seriesvs.LG Twins(0–4) |
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| 1991 | KBO | 3/8 | 3/8 | 126 | 70 | 55 | 1 | .560 | .272 | 108 | 4.23 | Wonsemi-playoff vs.Lotte Giants(2–1–1) Lostplayoff vs.Binggrae Eagles(1–3) |
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| 1992 | KBO | 4/8 | 4/8 | 126 | 67 | 57 | 2 | .540 | .265 | 124 | 4.55 | Lostsemi-playoff vs.Lotte Giants(0–2) | ||
| 1993 | KBO | 2/8 | 2/8 | 126 | 73 | 48 | 5 | .599 | .268 | 133 | 2.95 | Wonplayoff vs.LG Twins(3–2) LostKorean Seriesvs.Haitai Tigers(2–1–4) |
Kim Seong-rae(MVP) Yang Joon-hyuk(ROTY) | |
| 1994 | KBO | 5/8 | 5/8 | 126 | 60 | 64 | 2 | .484 | .260 | 106 | 3.47 | Did not qualify | ||
| 1995 | KBO | 5/8 | 5/8 | 126 | 60 | 60 | 6 | .500 | .250 | 94 | 3.90 | Did not qualify | Lee Dong-su(ROTY) | |
| 1996 | KBO | 6/8 | 6/8 | 126 | 54 | 67 | 5 | .448 | .249 | 88 | 4.23 | Did not qualify | ||
| 1997 | KBO | 3/8 | 4/8 | 126 | 66 | 53 | 7 | .552 | .277 | 165 | 4.23 | Wonsemi-playoff vs.Ssangbangwool Raiders(2–1) Lostplayoff vs.LG Twins(2–3) |
Lee Seung-yuop(MVP) | |
| 1998 | KBO | 3/8 | 2/8 | 126 | 66 | 58 | 2 | .532 | .268 | 143 | 4.32 | Lostplayoff vs.LG Twins(1–3) | ||
| 1999 | Magic League | 4/8 | 1/4 | 132 | 73 | 57 | 2 | .562 | .273 | 207 | 5.16 | Lostplayoff vs.Lotte Giants(3–4) | Lee Seung-yuop(MVP) | |
| 2000 | Dream League | 3/8 | 3/4 | 133 | 69 | 59 | 5 | .539 | .269 | 177 | 4.64 | Lostplayoff vs.Hyundai Unicorns(0–4) | ||
| 2001 | KBO | 2/8 | 1/8 | 133 | 81 | 52 | 0 | .609 | .277 | 162 | 4.39 | LostKorean Seriesvs.Doosan Bears(2–4) | Lee Seung-yuop(MVP) | |
| 2002 | KBO | 1/8 | 1/8 | 133 | 82 | 47 | 4 | .636 | .284 | 191 | 3.92 | WonKorean Seriesvs.LG Twins(4–2) | Lee Seung-yuop(MVP) | |
| 2003 | KBO | 4/8 | 3/8 | 133 | 76 | 53 | 4 | .589 | .284 | 213 | 4.37 | Lostsemi-playoff vs.SK Wyverns(0–2) | Lee Seung-yuop(MVP) | |
| 2004 | KBO | 2/8 | 2/8 | 133 | 73 | 52 | 8 | .584 | .269 | 132 | 3.76 | Wonplayoff vs.Doosan Bears(3–1) LostKorean Seriesvs.Hyundai Unicorns(2–3–4) |
Bae Young-soo(MVP) | |
| 2005 | KBO | 1/8 | 1/8 | 126 | 74 | 48 | 4 | .607 | .268 | 111 | 3.83 | WonKorean Seriesvs.Doosan Bears(4–0) | Oh Seung-hwan(ROTY) | |
| 2006 | KBO | 1/8 | 1/8 | 126 | 73 | 50 | 3 | .593 | .255 | 73 | 3.33 | WonKorean Seriesvs.Hanwha Eagles(4–1–1) | ||
| 2007 | KBO | 4/8 | 4/8 | 126 | 62 | 60 | 4 | .508 | .254 | 86 | 3.71 | Lostsemi-playoff vs.Hanwha Eagles(1–2) | ||
| 2008 | KBO | 4/8 | 4/8 | 126 | 65 | 61 | 0 | .516 | .258 | 92 | 4.42 | Wonsemi-playoff vs.Lotte Giants(3–0) Lostplayoff vs.Doosan Bears(2–4) |
Choi Hyoung-woo(ROTY) | |
| 2009 | KBO | 5/8 | 5/8 | 133 | 64 | 69 | 0 | .481 | .275 | 146 | 4.98 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2010 | KBO | 2/8 | 2/8 | 133 | 79 | 52 | 2 | .594 | .272 | 118 | 3.94 | Wonplayoff vs.Doosan Bears(3–2) LostKorean Seriesvs.SK Wyverns(0–4) |
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| 2011 | KBO | 1/8 | 1/8 | 133 | 79 | 50 | 4 | .612 | .259 | 95 | 3.35 | WonKorean Seriesvs.SK Wyverns(4–1) | Bae Young-seop(ROTY) | |
| 2012 | KBO | 1/8 | 1/8 | 133 | 80 | 51 | 2 | .611 | .272 | 89 | 3.44 | WonKorean Seriesvs.SK Wyverns(4–2) | ||
| 2013 | KBO | 1/9 | 1/9 | 128 | 75 | 51 | 2 | .595 | .283 | 113 | 3.99 | WonKorean Seriesvs.Doosan Bears(4–3) | ||
| 2014 | KBO | 1/9 | 1/9 | 128 | 78 | 47 | 3 | .624 | .301 | 161 | 4.52 | WonKorean Seriesvs.Nexen Heroes(4–2) | ||
| 2015 | KBO | 2/10 | 1/10 | 144 | 88 | 56 | 0 | .611 | .302 | 176 | 4.70 | LostKorean Seriesvs.Doosan Bears(1–4) | Koo Ja-wook(ROTY) | |
| 2016 | Daegu Samsung Lions Park | KBO | 9/10 | 9/10 | 144 | 65 | 78 | 1 | .455 | .293 | 142 | 5.65 | Did not qualify | |
| 2017 | KBO | 9/10 | 9/10 | 144 | 55 | 84 | 5 | .396 | .280 | 145 | 5.90 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2018 | KBO | 6/10 | 6/10 | 144 | 68 | 72 | 4 | .486 | .288 | 146 | 5.19 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2019 | KBO | 8/10 | 8/10 | 144 | 60 | 83 | 1 | .420 | .256 | 122 | 4.64 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2020 | KBO | 8/10 | 8/10 | 144 | 64 | 75 | 5 | .460 | .268 | 129 | 4.78 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2021 | KBO | 3/10 | 2/10 | 144 | 76 | 59 | 9 | .563 | .267 | 133 | 4.30 | Lostplayoff vs.Doosan Bears(0–2) | ||
| 2022 | KBO | 7/10 | 7/10 | 144 | 66 | 76 | 2 | .465 | .270 | 103 | 4.29 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2023 | KBO | 8/10 | 8/10 | 144 | 61 | 82 | 1 | .427 | .263 | 88 | 4.60 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2024 | KBO | 2/10 | 2/10 | 144 | 78 | 64 | 2 | .549 | .269 | 185 | 4.68 | Wonplayoff vs.LG Twins(3–1) LostKorean Seriesvs.Kia Tigers(1–4) |
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- ^The 1985 Korean Series was not played, as the Samsung Lions finished first in both parts of the regular league season and were thus declared champions outright.
Team
editCurrent roster
editKorean Baseball League MVP
edit- 1983:Lee Man-soo(catcher)
- 1987:Jang Hyo-jo(outfielder)
- 1993:Kim Seong-rae(infielder)
- 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003:Lee Seung-yuop(infielder)
- 2004:Bae Young-soo(pitcher)
Player Records (batter)
editBatting average
edit- 1983Jang Hyo-joAVG.369
- 1984Lee Man-sooAVG.340
- 1985Jang Hyo-joAVG.373
- 1986Jang Hyo-joAVG.329
- 1987Jang Hyo-joAVG.387
- 1993Yang Joon-hyukAVG.341
- 1996Yang Joon-hyukAVG.346
- 1998Yang Joon-hyukAVG.342
Home runs
edit- 1983Lee Man-soo27 HR
- 1984Lee Man-soo23 HR
- 1985Lee Man-soo22 HR
- 1987Kim Seong-rae22 HR
- 1993Kim Seong-rae28 HR
- 1997Lee Seung-yuop32 HR
- 1999Lee Seung-yuop54 HR
- 2001Lee Seung-yuop39 HR
- 2002Lee Seung-yuop47 HR
- 2003Lee Seung-yuop56 HR
- 2007Shim Jeong-soo31 HR
- 2011Choi Hyoung-woo30 HR
Retired numbers
editThe first number retired by the Samsung Lions organization was number 22, in honour of catcher and sluggerLee Man-soo,who played for the team from 1982 to 1997, and was later a coach with theChicago White Soxof theMLBand theSK Wyverns.Lee was a five-timeKBO League Golden Glove Award-winner with the Lions, won theKBO League MVPin 1983,[6]and the hittingTriple Crownin 1984. The second number retired by the Samsung Lions organization was number 10, in honour of left-handed batterYang Joon-hyuk,who played for the team from 1993 to 1998 and from 2002 to 2010.[6]Yang led the league in batting four times, and holds six career batting records (including at one time the home run record with 351, now surpassed byLee Seung-yeop).[6]The third retired number, 36, was retired in honour ofLee Seung-yuop,who has spent 15 seasons with the club and is the all-time KBO League leader in home runs with 467.[7]Lee also holds the KBO records for runs scored, RBIs, total bases, slugging percentage, and OPS.
 Yang Joon-hyuk RF, DH |
 Lee Man-soo C |
 Lee Seung-yuop IF |
Managers
edit- Seo Young-moo(1982–1983)
- Lee Chung-nam(1983)
- Kim Yeong-duk(1984–1986)
- Jeong Dong-jin(1986)(caretaker)
- Park Young-gil(1987–1988)
- Jeong Dong-jin(1989–1990)
- Kim Sung-keun(1991–1992)
- Woo Yong-deuk(1993–1995)
- Baek In-chun(1996–1997)
- Cho Chang-soo(1997)(caretaker)
- Seo Jeong-hwan(1998–1999)
- Kim Yong-hee(2000)
- Kim Eung-ryong(2001–2004)
- Sun Dong-yol(2005–2010)
- Ryu Joong-il(2011–2016)
- Kim Han-soo(2017–2019)
- Heo Sam-young(2020–2022)
- Park Jin-man(2022–present)
References
edit- General
- "Complete league history and statistics"(in Korean).Korean Baseball League.Retrieved8 September2017.
- Specific
- ^삼성라이온즈(in Korean). Samsung Lions official website.Retrieved23 March2012.
- ^Young Hoon Lee, Rodney Fort, editors.The Sports Business in The Pacific Rim: Economics and Policy(Springer, Oct 31, 2014)p. 178.
- ^"Samsung wins 3rd straight title in Game 7".The Korea Observer. 2 November 2013.Retrieved2 November2013.
- ^Nam Hyun-woo (21 November 2014)."Lion King! Samsung wins 4th straight KBO title".The Korea Times.Retrieved23 March2016.
- ^Jung, Yunsik (22 March 2016)."삼성 라이온즈 파크' 개장…" 국내 최고 시설 "[Samsung Lions Park is opened] (in Korean). news.sbs.co.kr.Retrieved13 November2016.
- ^abc레전드[History -> Legends] (in Korean). Samsung Lions.Retrieved13 November2016.
- ^"Legendary slugger homers twice in final game".Yonhap News Agency. 3 October 2017.Retrieved3 October2017.
External links
edit
- Official website(in Korean)