SK, Kia, LG, Hanwha poised for final playoff push

The Samsung Lions’ designated hitter Lee Seung-yuop stands in the batter’s box during his team’s Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League game against the NC Dinos at Daegu Samsung Lions Park, Sunday. The KBO said its attendance reached 7,365,242 through Sunday’s games, surpassing the previous record of 7,360,530 set last year. / Yonhap

By Baek Byung-yeul

As there are 12 to 23 games left to the end of the season in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League, four teams are poised for the final playoff push this week.

While the Doosan Bears have steadily been at the top of the standings, recording 82 wins, one draw and 46 losses, and the NC Dinos (70-2-49) and Nexen Heroes (70-1-57) ranked second and third, there are only three games separating fourth place from seventh while the cutoff for the playoff berth is at least fifth through the season’s end.

Among four teams ― SK Wyverns (65-0-67), Kia Tigers (62-1-65), LG Twins (62-1-65) and the Hanwha Eagles (58-4-66), the Tigers are expected have a tough week during this Chuseok holiday season as the No. 5 team is scheduled to have three two-game series with the their natural enemy, the Heroes, at their home field in Gwangju, then play the Twins in Seoul and the Eagels in Daejeon.

The Tigers seem to have secured their playoff berth weeks ago as they were positioned in fourth place but after taking only two wins they are sharing fifth place with the Twins.

Their first hurdle this week will be the Heroes. During their previous games, the Tigers only had two wins while taking 10 losses. After hurdling over the Heroes, things would be a little easier as they have won seven games against the Twins and the Eagles while playing 13 games respectively.

The No. 4 Wyverns, who were swept by the Eagles last weekend, will play the Bears, the Samsung Lions and the Dinos this week. The No. 5 Twins, who recorded five wins and one loss last week, will have a two-game series with the Dinos, the Tigers and the Samsung Lions.

Before playing the two-game series with the Tigers, the Eagles will play the Lions and the No. 9 Lotte Giants (56-0-70).

KBO sets attendance record

Amid fierce competition for playoff berths, the 10-team professional baseball league set a new single season attendance record, Sunday.

The KBO said its attendance reached 7,365,242 through Sunday’s games, surpassing the previous record of 7,360,530 set last year, which is 85 games ahead of last year’s pace.

At this pace, the KBO anticipates they will draw some 8.4 million fans to the ball parks by the end of the season. Teams have played 635 out of 720 games so far and the KBO added this is 85 games faster than last year.

The two newly built baseball stadiums contributed the most to the record as the Lions’ new stadium, Daegu Samsung Lions Park, has seen a 64 percent increase in attendance while the Heroes’ new home Gocheok Sky Dome witnessed a 55 percent increase.

The Seoul-based Bears have garnered the most spectators with 1,048,856. The team surpassed the one million mark on Sept. 2 to become the first professional sports team to reach one million in attendance for eight consecutive seasons. The Bears are followed by the Twins, who share their home, Jamsil Baseball Stadium, with the Bears, with 968,170, the Busan-based Giants with 778,941, the Heroes with 762,533 and the Wyverns with 760,655. The Changwon-based Dinos have suffered with the smallest attendance at 448,389.