CHANGWON, South Korea-The ND Dynos defeated the SK Wyverns to earn a Wild Card and open the KBO post season. The Korean Series, with regular season Kia Tigers already qualified, will begin on Tuesday 24 October
The post season of the KBO (Korean Baseball Organization) took off on Thursday, 5 October as the NC Dinos defeated (2-0) SK Wyverns, picked up the Wild Card and earned a spot in the best of 5 semi play off series against the Lotte Giants that will start on Sunday 8 October.
KBO is a 10 team League. The club that wins the 143 game regular season advances to the Korean Series. The number 2 seed has direct access to the best of 5 play off series to earn the other spot in the best of 7 final series. The team that comes third secures a spot in the semi play off and the number 4 and 5 seed compete in a best of 3 series for the Wild Card, with the number 4 taking the field with the advantage of a 1-0 lead.
Kia Tigers (based in the southwestern city of Gwangju) won the regular season with 85 wins, 56 losses and 1 draw. They are the most succesful team in the league with 10 titles, but haven’t won since 2009.
Doosan Bears (based in the Capital city Seul) finished second with an 84-57-3 record. They are the 2 time defending champions.
Lotte Giants (based in Busan) qualified as the number 3 seed (80-62-2).
NC Dinos (Changowon) finished fourth with a 79-62-3 record and SK Wyverns (Incheon) qualified through the fifth sport with a 75-68-1 record.
The winner of the series between Dinos and Giants will play a best of 5 series against the Doosan Bears starting Monday, 16 October.
The best of 7 Korean Series will begin on Tuesday, 24 October.
KBO, a proud member of WBSC, attracted over 8.4 million fans to their games during the regular season. Bears, Twins, Giants and Tigers all attracted over 1 million fans. The average game attendance was just above 11,600 fans.
Right handed pitcher David Nippert (Doosan Bears) is the player with the highest salary in the league: US$ 2.1 millions. Born in Beallsvulle (Ohio) in 1981, Nippert played for the West Virginia University before being drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He made his debut in the US Major Leagues in 2005, played also for the Texas Rangers (and pitched a 7 inning no hitter for their Triple A team), then moved to Korea in 2011.
Dustin Nippert signs autographs