KT Wiz sweep Doosan Bears, earn their first KBO Korean Series title

KT Wiz sweep Doosan Bears, earn their first KBO Korean Series title
18/11/2021
Dominant pitching was the key to success. Veteran second baseman Kyung-su Park was named the series MVP.

The KT Wiz swept the Doosan Bears to win the Korean Series for the first time in their seven-year history in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League. It was the ninth four-game sweep in the 39-year history of the Korean Series.

Korean Series-the results:

KT Wiz-Doosan Bears 4-2
KT Wiz-Doosan Bears 6-1
KT Wiz-Doosan Bears 3-1
KT Wiz-Doosan Bears 8-4

Veteran second baseman Kyung-su Park, despite missing the fourth game due to an injury, was named the series MVP. He batted 2-for-8 with a home run in three games but made a big impact on the series with his defence. In particular, Park started a first-inning double play that prevented the Bears from taking the lead in game two. The Wiz added two more double plays in that game.

Right-hander Je-seong Bae earned the win in game four going five innings. Center fielder Jung-dae Bae helped protect the lead with a sliding catch in the seventh that stopped a comeback attempt by the Bears. Closer Jae-yoon Kim earned his third save in four games. Jared Hoying had a four-hit game, including the home run that sealed the lead in the eighth.

Bae was the fourth starter used by the Wiz in the series. William Cuevas went 7.2 innings to win game one. Hyeong-jun So pitched six shutout innings to win the second game. Odrisamer Despaigne won the duel with fellow Cuban Ariel Miranda, the first-ever all-Cuban pitching matchup in KBO postseason history and earned the win in game three.

Wiz manager Kang-chul Lee, a submarine pitcher in his playing days, became the first former Korean Series MVP (1996) to win the title as a manager.

"I wanted to do this because I knew I'd be the first one," said Lee to the Yonhap news agency.

The manager then confessed he felt empty after the game ended.

"For a while, I wondered, 'Is this what I've been working so hard for'. But I know it's going to feel great. We're going to try to repeat."

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