2024 KBO League season

The 2024 KBO League season, officially known as the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League season (Korean: 2024 신한 SOL 뱅크 KBO 리그) for sponsorship reasons, was the 43rd season in the history of the KBO League. The league's format and makeup were not changed in the 2024 season from the previous season, with the same ten teams competing; the Kia Tigers, Doosan Bears, Lotte Giants, NC Dinos, LG Twins, Hanwha Eagles, KT Wiz, Samsung Lions, SSG Landers, and the Kiwoom Heroes.[1] The LG Twins entered the season as the defending champions from the previous season.[2] The Landers updated their team logo and cap insignia before the 2024 season.[3]

2024 KBO League Season
AssociationKBO
LeagueKBO League
SportBaseball
Defending championsLG Twins (2023)
HostsShinhan Bank
DurationMarch 23 – October 1
Number of games144 per team
Number of teams10
Total attendance10,731,646
Average attendance15,115
TV partner(s)KBS, MBC, SBS & SPOTV
Streaming partner(s)TVING (South Korea)
SOOP Live (international)
Regular season
Season championsKia Tigers | 87–55–2 (.613)
  Second placeSamsung Lions | 78–64–2 (.549)
  Third placeLG Twins | 76–66–2 (.535)
  Fourth placeDoosan Bears | 74–68–2 (.521)
  Fifth placeKT Wiz | 72–70–2 (.507)
Season MVPKim Do-yeong (Kia)
Preseason
First placeDoosan Bears
  Runners-upLG Twins
All-Star Game
2024 KBO All-StarsNanum All-Stars
  Runners-upDream All-Stars
Season MVPChoi Hyoung-woo (Kia)
Postseason
Wild Card championsKT Wiz
  Wild Card runners-upDoosan Bears
Semi-playoff championsLG Twins
  Semi-playoff runners-upKT Wiz
Playoff championsSamsung Lions
  Playoff runners-upLG Twins
Korean Series
DateOctober 21 – 28
VenueGwangju-Kia Champions Field & Daegu Samsung Lions Park
ChampionsKia Tigers (12th title)
  Runners-upSamsung Lions
Finals MVPKim Sun-bin (Kia)
KBO League seasons
2025 →

The preseason started on March 9 and ended on March 19, with the Doosan Bears holding the top spot in the standings, finishing with a record of 8–0–1. The regular season started on March 23 and ended on October 1, with each team having played 144 games. The Kia Tigers were the regular season champions with a record of 87–55–2.

KT Wiz and SSG Landers finished the regular season with an identical record in fifth place, so they played a game against each other on October 1 to determine the final standings. KT won the tiebreaker game and advanced to the playoffs, while the Landers were eliminated.

In the 2024 Korean Series, the Kia Tigers defeated Samsung Lions 4–1 and clinched their record-extending twelfth title.

Events

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Retirements

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Choo Shin-soo, RFSSG Landers

In December 2023, it was announced that the 2024 season would be Choo Shin-soo's final season in professional baseball. Choo, who spent 15 years in Major League Baseball from 2005 to 2020, played in Seattle, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Texas. He turned 42 on July 13. Sadly, due to a shoulder injury, he was limited to playing only 77 of the 144 games played.[4]

Draft

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The 2024 KBO draft took place at Westin Chosun Hotel in Jung District, Seoul at 2 pm on February 14.

Preseason

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These are the final preseason standings.

The preseason began on March 9, and ended on March 19, 2024.[5]

Preseason standings[6]
Rank Team GP W L D PCT GB Home Road
1 Doosan Bears 9 8 0 1 1.000 - 4–0–0 4–0–1
2 LG Twins 8 6 2 0 0.750 2 2–0–0 4–2–0
3 Hanwha Eagles 10 5 3 2 0.625 3 3–3–2 2–0–0
4 NC Dinos 10 6 4 0 0.600 4–2–0 2–2–0
5 KT Wiz 9 4 4 1 0.500 4 3–2–0 1–2–1
6 Kia Tigers 10 4 6 0 0.400 5 2-2-0 2–4-0
Samsung Lions 10 4 6 0 0.400 2-3-0 2–3–0
8 Lotte Giants 8 3 5 0 0.375 2-3-0 1–2–0
9 SSG Landers 10 3 7 0 0.300 6 2-4-0 1–3-0
10 Kiwoom Heroes 8 1 7 0 0.125 7 0–0–8 1–7–0

Regular season

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The regular season of the 2024 season began on March 23 and ended on October 1. Each team played 144 games, facing every other team 16 times. Regular season games were played every day except Mondays.

Standings

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These are the final 2024 KBO League regular season standings.

Regular season standings[6]
Rank Team GP W L D PCT GB Home Road STRK Postseason
1 Kia Tigers 144 87 55 2 0.613 - 42-30-1 45-25-1 W2 Korean Series
2 Samsung Lions 144 78 64 2 0.549 9 41-32-0 37-32-2 L1 Playoff
3 LG Twins 144 76 66 2 0.535 11 39-33-1 37-33-1 W2 Semi-Playoff
4 Doosan Bears 144 74 68 2 0.521 13 39-31-1 35-37-1 W4 Wild Card Game
5 KT Wiz 144 72 70 2 0.507 15 34-36-1 38-34-1 W3
6 SSG Landers 144 72 70 2 0.507 15 35-35-1 37-35-1 W4 Did not qualify
7 Lotte Giants 144 66 74 4 0.471 20 37-31-3 29-43-1 W1
8 Hanwha Eagles 144 66 76 2 0.465 21 30-39-2 36-37-0 L2
9 NC Dinos 144 61 81 2 0.430 26 34-39-0 27-42-2
10 Kiwoom Heroes 144 58 86 0 0.403 30 32-41-0 26-45-0 L5

Note: Draw results are ignored by the league when calculating win percentage and games behind.

All-Star Game

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On July 6, the KBO hosted an all-star game for the 2024 season. Like in previous all-star games, the ten KBO teams were divided into two All-Star teams: the Nanum All-Stars (나눔) and the Dream All-Stars (드림). The game was hosted at Incheon SSG Landers Field, the SSG Landers' home stadium. The Nanum All-Stars won the match 4–2.

2024 KBO All-Star Teams
Team All-Star Team
Kia Tigers Nanum All-Stars
Hanwha Eagles
LG Twins
NC Dinos
Kiwoom Heroes
Doosan Bears Dream All-Stars
KT Wiz
Lotte Giants
Samsung Lions
SSG Landers

The best players (candidates) from each team were voted by fans, and the players with the most votes played in the all-star game.

The most voted infielders and pitchers within their position group played in the all-star game. The top 3 outfielders played in the all-star game in available positions, regardless if they are all on the same team.

Nanum All-Stars Lineup

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Manager: Youm Kyoung-youb (LG Twins)

Nanum All-Stars Batting
# Name No. Pos. Team BA AB R H HR RBI BB SO HBP Votes PV Score
1 Kim Do-yeong 5 3B Kia 0.200 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1,353,562 160 44.26
2 Kim Hye-seong 3 2B Kiwoom 0.500 3 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1,286,124 189 45.50
3 Ronnie Dawson 27 CF Kiwoom 0.000 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1,012,694 96 30.91
4 Austin Dean 23 1B LG 0.500 4 2 2 1 2 0 0 0 -
5 Na Sung-bum 47 RF Kia 0.250 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1,133,876 114 35.21
6 Choi Hyoung-woo 34 DH Kia 0.750 4 1 3 1 2 0 1 0 1,167,426 98 34.45
7 Yonathan Perlaza 30 LF Hanwha 0.000 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1,276,715 142 40.92
8 Park Dong-won 27 C LG 0.500 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 923,264 130 32.14
9 Park Chan-ho 1 SS Kia 0.500 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1,130,559 124 36.07
Nanum All-Stars Pitching
Name No. Pos. Team ERA IP NP R HR SO BB HB Votes PV Score
Ryu Hyun-jin 99 SP Hanwha 0.00 1 12 0 0 1 0 0 979,867 155 35.69
Jeon Sang-hyun 51 RP Kia 0.00 1 15 0 0 0 0 0 1,254,528 111 37.55
Joo Hyun-sang 66 CP Hanwha 0.00 1 12 0 0 1 0 0 1,396,077 144 43.69

Dream All-Stars Lineup

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Manager: Lee Kang-chul (KT Wiz)

Dream All-Stars Batting
# Name No. Pos. Team BA AB R H HR RBI BB SO HBP Votes PV Score
1 Koo Ja-wook 5 DH Samsung 0.000 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,183,482 74 32.56
2 Jung Soo-bin 31 CF Doosan 0.000 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1,041,628 87 30.70
3 Yang Eui-ji 25 C 0.000 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,362,773 195 47.72
4 Choi Jeong 14 3B SSG 0.500 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 963,312 159 35.71
5 David MacKinnon 24 1B Samsung 0.667 3 1 2 1 2 0 0 0 1,167,200 95 34.17
6 Yoon Dong-hee 91 RF 0.000 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1,038,735 66 28.68
7 Ryu Ji-hyuk 16 2B 0.333 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1,303,367 49 32.83
8 Lee Jae-hyeon 7 SS Samsung 0.000 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,178,109 71 32.17
9 Hwang Seong-bin 0 LF Lotte 0.333 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 -
Dream All-Stars Pitching
Name No. Pos. Team ERA IP NP R HR SO BB HB Votes PV Score
Won Tae-in 18 SP Samsung 0.00 1 21 0 0 1 1 0 1,282,671 111 38.16
Kim Taek-yeon 63 RP Doosan 9.00 1 10 1 0 1 0 0 1,345,257 211 48.83
Oh Seung-hwan 21 CP Samsung 0.00 2/3 6 0 0 0 0 0 846,628 112 28.80

Result

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July 6, 2024 6:04 – 8:52 PM KST at Incheon SSG Landers Field
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Nanum All-Stars 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 11 1
Dream All-Stars 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 0
Starting pitchers:
Nanum: Ryu Hyun-jin
Dream: Won Tae-in
WP: Ryu Hyun-jin   LP: Kim Min   Sv: Joo Hyun-sang
Home runs:
Nanum: Choi Hyoung-woo (Top 2nd, solo off Kim Min) & Austin Dean (Top 3rd, 2 run off William Cuevas)
Dream: David MacKinnon (Bottom 4th, 2 run off Kim Jae-yeol)
Attendance: 22,500
Umpires: Lee Ki-joong, Moon Dong-gyoon, Kim Jun-hui, Lee Yong-hyuck, Jung Jong-soo, Jung Jun-yung

Postseason

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The 2024 KBO League postseason began on October 2. The Kia Tigers, Samsung Lions, LG Twins, Doosan Bears and KT Wiz qualified for the playoffs. The Tigers won the pennant race (first place).

Qualification

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In order for a team to qualify for the postseason, they must rank fifth or higher in the regular season. Fifth and fourth place are guaranteed to play in the Wild Card, third in the semi-playoff, second in the playoff, and first in the Korean Series.

In the regular season standings, there is a Postseason column; indicating the postseason status of each team.

Postseason bracket

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Statistics and scores

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Fifth place tiebreaker game

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This year, the KT Wiz and SSG Landers tied in standings, causing an extra tiebreaker game to be played.[7]

October 1, 2024 17:00 KST at Suwon KT Wiz Park
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
SSG Landers 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 5 0
KT Wiz 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 5 0
Home runs:
SSG: Choi Jeong (#1, 8th inning off Ko Young-pyo, 1 run)
KT: Rojas (#1, 1st inning off Elías, 1 run; #2, 8th inning off Kim Kwang-hyun, 3 run)
Umpires: Park Joong-chul, Kim Jung-guk, Kim Ik-su, Ham Ji-woong
Boxscore

Wild Card

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The series started with a 1–0 advantage for the Bears. KT won the series 2–1. This was the first time in KBO history that a fifth-placed team advanced to the semi-playoffs.

Doosan Bears vs KT Wiz
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Wild Card
Game Date Score Venue Time Duration Attendance
1 October 2, 2024 KT Wiz – 4, Doosan Bears – 0 Jamsil Baseball Stadium 18:30 KST 3:13 23,750
2 October 3, 2024 KT Wiz – 1, Doosan Bears – 0 14:00 KST 2:55 23,750

Semi-playoff

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Quarterfinals – best of 5 series.

The Twins eliminated the Wiz in five games.

LG Twins vs KT Wiz
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Semi-playoff
Game Date Score Venue Time Duration Attendance
1 October 5, 2024 KT Wiz – 3, LG Twins – 2 Jamsil Baseball Stadium 14:00 KST 2:36 23,750
2 October 6, 2024 KT Wiz – 2, LG Twins – 7 14:00 KST 3:17 23,750
3 October 8, 2024 LG Twins – 6, KT Wiz – 5 Suwon KT Wiz Park 18:30 KST 3:07 17,600
4 October 9, 2024 LG Twins – 5, KT Wiz – 6 14:00 KST 4:10 17,600
5 October 11, 2024 KT Wiz – 1, LG Twins – 4 Jamsil Baseball Stadium 18:30 KST 2:42 23,750

Playoff

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Semi-finals – best of 5 series.

Game 2 was rained out, so the game was played on October 15, instead of the 14th.[8][unreliable source?]

Game 4 was rained out, so the game was played on October 19, instead of the 18th.[9][unreliable source?]

Samsung ultimately won the series 3–1.

Samsung Lions vs LG Twins
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Playoff
Game Date Score Venue Time Duration Attendance
1 October 13, 2024 LG Twins – 4, Samsung Lions – 10 Daegu Samsung Lions Park 14:00 KST 3:15 23,550
2 October 15, 2024 LG Twins – 5, Samsung Lions – 10 18:30 KST 3:20 23,550
3 October 17, 2024 Samsung Lions – 0, LG Twins – 1 Jamsil Baseball Stadium 18:30 KST 2:48 23,750
4 October 19, 2024 Samsung Lions – 1, LG Twins – 0 14:00 KST 2:54 23,750

2024 Korean Series

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Finals – best of 7 series.

The Tigers won the 2024 Korean Series in five games.

Kia Tigers vs Samsung Lions
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2024 Korean Series
Game Date Score Venue Time Duration Attendance
1 October 21–23, 2024 Samsung Lions – 1, Kia Tigers – 5 Gwangju-Kia Champions Field 18:30 KST, 16:00 KST 3:16 (1:48, 1:28) 19,300
2 October 23, 2024 Samsung Lions – 3, Kia Tigers – 8 18:30 KST 3:08 19,300
3 October 25, 2024 Kia Tigers – 2, Samsung Lions – 4 Daegu Samsung Lions Park 18:30 KST 3:09 23,550
4 October 26, 2024 Kia Tigers – 9, Samsung Lions – 2 14:00 KST 3:17 23,550
5 October 28, 2024 Samsung Lions – 5, Kia Tigers – 7 Gwangju-Kia Champions Field 18:30 KST 3:51 19,300

Legend • WC: Wild Card winner • SPO: Semi-playoff winner • PO: Playoff winner


Note: All dates and times are in KST (Korea Standard Time).

References

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  1. ^ "KBO". eng.koreabaseball.com. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  2. ^ "LG Twins Ends 29-Year Long Wait With Historic Win". LG Global. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  3. ^ "New look Landers". Korea JoongAng Daily. January 15, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  4. ^ "Ex-MLB All-Star Choo Shin-soo makes final KBO regular-season appearance". The Korea Times. October 1, 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  5. ^ "New KBO season to open March 23, doubleheaders in play from beginning". The Korea Times. October 29, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "KBO". eng.koreabaseball.com. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  7. ^ 사상 첫 5위 결정전 성사…KT-SSG, 내일 수원서 단판 '끝장 승부'. The Dong-A Ilbo (in Korean). September 30, 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  8. ^ "Game 2 of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO Playoff (best of five) between the LG Twins and the Samsung Lions, which was scheduled to be held at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on the 14th, was postponed due to rain". Maeil Business Newspaper. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  9. ^ "Game 4 of the playoffs was eventually postponed due to rain". Maeil Business Newspaper. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
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