SK Wyverns
| SK Wyverns | |||||
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| SK 와이번스 | |||||
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| Information | |||||
| League | KBO League (2000–present) | ||||
| Location | Incheon | ||||
| Ballpark | Munhak Baseball Stadium (2002–present) | ||||
| Year founded | 2000 | ||||
| Nickname(s) | Wyverns | ||||
| League championships | (3) 2007, 2008, 2010 | ||||
| Korean Series championships | (3) 2007, 2008, 2010 | ||||
| Colors |
Red and orange | ||||
| Mascot | Wyvern | ||||
| Ownership | SK Telecom | ||||
| Manager | Trey Hillman | ||||
| General Manager | Shin Young-chul | ||||
| Website | http://www.sksports.net/wyverns | ||||
| Uniforms | |||||
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| SK Sports | ||||||||||||
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SK Wyverns Baseball Club (Hangul: SK 와이번스 야구단) is a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 2000. They are a member of the KBO League. Based in Incheon, on the coast near Seoul, they play their home games at Munhak Baseball Stadium.
Their current manager is Trey Hillman.[1]
History
In the 2000 season, the Ssangbangwool Raiders, a team that previously had represented the Jeollabuk-do region since 1991, was dissolved because of the bankruptcy of the Ssangbangwool Group, the team's owner. The franchise was subsumed by the KBO, who then awarded a new franchise to the SK conglomerate. The new franchise was named the SK Wyverns. So the Raiders and the Wyverns have no historical links although the new team consisted mostly of former Raiders players.
The Unicorns moved out of Incheon to go to Seoul but failed because of resistance of Doosan Bears and LG Twins and then moved to Suwon, and the SK Wyverns filled the void left in Incheon. Their first Korean Series appearance came in 2003, where somewhat ironically, they were defeated by the Hyundai Unicorns in seven games.
In 2007, SK defeated the Doosan Bears in six games to win the 2007 Korean Series – the first time the franchise had won the Korean Series – after finishing the season in first place. They became the first team in Korean Series history to win after losing the first two games. Designated Hitter Kim Jae-hyun was the series MVP.
SK went on to compete in the Konami Cup, a short competition between the champions of the Korean Baseball League, the Japanese Baseball League, the Taiwanese Baseball League, and the China All-Stars.
On November 8, 2007, SK Wyverns defeated the Chunichi Dragons (6–3), giving Chunichi their first ever loss in Konami Cup history. On November 9, 2007, they soundly defeated the China All-Stars (13–0), causing the game to be called in the 7th inning, due to the 'Mercy Rule'. On November 10, 2007, they repeated their performance, defeating the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions of Taiwan (13–1) in 7 innings.
The final game, on November 11, 2007, was a rematch of the first game, between Chunichi Dragons and SK Wyverns. In an extremely close game, Chunichi won the game, 6–5.
SK went to the Korean Series again in 2008, once again facing their main rivals, Doosan Bears. In a repeat of 2007, SK defeated Doosan to win their second Korean Series championship. Choi Jeong was named the 2008 Korean Series MVP.
SK once again went on to compete in the Konami Cup. On November 13, 2008, SK Wyverns defeated the Seibu Lions (4–3), marking the second straight year in which the Korean champions handed the Japanese champions a loss in this competition. On November 14, 2008, they once again defeated the Chinese representatives, Tianjin Lions, in a "mercy-rule" shortened game. On November 15, 2008, they were soundly defeated in a rematch with Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions of Taiwan (10–4) and failed to qualify for the championship game for a second straight year.
In 2009, however, SK were runners-up in the 2009 KBO season and 2009 Korean Series, where they were defeated by the KIA Tigers in seven games.
SK rebounded to form in 2010, dominating the regular season and winning the Korean Series in a 4–0 sweep against the Samsung Lions. It was SK's fourth straight Korean Series appearance and their third title in four years.
In 2011, manager Kim Sung-keun was ousted mid-season after a long-standing disagreement between him and the SK front office. This led to then – head coach Lee Man-soo taking over the reins – a move that brought a lot of protests from the SK Wyverns fans, as Kim had led SK to the Korean Series in every year that he had been at the helm.
In both 2011 and 2012, SK reached the Korean Series, where they were both times defeated by the Samsung Lions. SK has reached the Korean Series in each season since 2007 (six straight seasons).
The Wyverns also had a 23-game winning streak that ended in April 2010. This is the longest winning streak in Korean Baseball, and the second longest in the world, after the New York Giants.
Season-by-season records
| Year | Stadium | Rank | Regular Season | Postseason | Awards | |||||||||
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| Standings | Games | W | L | D | Win% | BA | HR | ERA | ||||||
| 2000 | Sungui Baseball Stadium | 8/8 | 4/4 | 133 | 44 | 86 | 3 | .338 | .260 | 105 | 5.99 | Did not qualify | Lee Seung-ho (ROY) | |
| 2001 | 7/8 | 7/8 | 133 | 60 | 71 | 2 | .458 | .260 | 113 | 4.41 | Did not qualify | |||
| 2002 | Munhak Baseball Stadium | 6/8 | 6/8 | 133 | 61 | 69 | 3 | .469 | .270 | 158 | 4.47 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2003 | 2/8 | 4/8 | 133 | 66 | 64 | 3 | .508 | .272 | 156 | 4.44 | Won Semi-playoff vs. Samsung Lions, 2–0 Won Playoff vs. KIA Tigers, 3–0 Lost Korean Series vs. Hyundai Unicorns, 3–4 | |||
| 2004 | 5/8 | 5/8 | 133 | 61 | 64 | 8 | .488 | .272 | 138 | 4.40 | Did not qualify | |||
| 2005 | 3/8 | 3/8 | 126 | 70 | 50 | 6 | .583 | .269 | 122 | 3.41 | Lost Semi-playoff vs. Hanwha Eagles, 2–3 | |||
| 2006 | 6/8 | 6/8 | 126 | 60 | 65 | 1 | .480 | .254 | 99 | 3.80 | Did not qualify | |||
| 2007 | 1/8 | 1/8 | 126 | 73 | 48 | 5 | .603 | .264 | 112 | 3.24 | Won Korean Series vs. Doosan Bears, 4–2 | |||
| 2008 | 1/8 | 1/8 | 126 | 83 | 43 | 0 | .659 | .282 | 89 | 3.22 | Won Korean Series vs. Doosan Bears, 4–1 | Kim Kwang-hyun (MVP) | ||
| 2009 | 2/8 | 2/8 | 133 | 80 | 47 | 6 | .602 | .285 | 166 | 3.67 | Won Playoff vs. Doosan Bears, 3–2 Lost Korean Series vs. KIA Tigers, 3–2 | |||
| 2010 | 1/8 | 1/8 | 133 | 84 | 47 | 2 | .641 | .274 | 120 | 3.71 | Won Korean Series vs. Samsung Lions, 4–0 | |||
| 2011 | 2/8 | 3/8 | 133 | 71 | 59 | 3 | .546 | .263 | 100 | 3.35 | Won Semi-playoff vs. KIA Tigers, 3–1 Won Playoff vs. Lotte Giants, 3–2 Lost Korean Series vs. Samsung Lions, 1–4 | |||
| 2012 | 2/8 | 2/8 | 133 | 71 | 59 | 3 | .546 | .258 | 108 | 3.82 | Won Playoff vs. Lotte Giants, 3–2 Lost Korean Series vs. Samsung Lions, 2–4 | |||
| 2013 | 6/9 | 6/9 | 128 | 62 | 63 | 3 | .496 | .265 | 124 | 4.16 | Did not qualify | |||
| 2014 | 5/9 | 5/9 | 128 | 61 | 65 | 2 | .484 | .291 | 115 | 5.51 | Did not qualify | |||
| 2015 | 5/10 | 5/10 | 144 | 69 | 73 | 2 | .486 | .272 | 145 | 4.71 | Lost Wild Card vs. Nexen Heroes, 0–1 | |||
| 2016 | 6/10 | 6/10 | 144 | 69 | 75 | 0 | .479 | .291 | 182 | 4.87 | Did not qualify | |||
| 2017 | 5/10 | 5/10 | 144 | 75 | 68 | 1 | .524 | .271 | 234 | 5.02 | Lost Wild Card vs. NC Dinos, 0–1 | |||
| Overall record | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win% | ||||||||||
| Regular Season | 1220 | 1116 | 53 | .522 | ||||||||||
| Postseason | 40 | 29 | 0 | .580 | ||||||||||
Current lineup
SK Wyverns roster | ||||||
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| Players | Coaches/Other | |||||
| Pitchers Starting rotation
Bullpen
Closer
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
updated on 28 November 2017 | |||
References
- General
- "Complete league history and statistics" (in Korean). Korean Baseball League. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
- ↑ "Trey Hillman, Coaching staff introduction". SK sports.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to SK Wyverns. |
- Official website (in Korean)
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