Lotte Giants' fans becoming sarcastic

A Lotte Giants’ fan holds up the sign that reads, “1 win, 12 defeats, ha ha” at a baseball game between NC Dinos and Lotte Giants in Changwon Masan Baseball Stadium, Sunday. / Yonhap

By Kang Hyun-kyung

The Busan-based Lotte Giants’ 12 consecutive defeats in the matches against its regional rival NC Dinos this season have let its home fans down.

Disappointed by the losing streak, some fans jeer at the team they support.

“One win, 12 defeats? Ha ha,” reads one of the banners hung in the baseball stadium in the southeastern city of Changwon, Sunday.

Another banner goes somewhat insulting by questioning the qualifications of Giants players: “Are you really professionals? If so, how come pros could win only one out of 13 games, while giving Dinos the rest?”

The actual number of Giants’ defeats before Sunday was 11. But those fans used 12 losses, instead of 11, to show their low expectations for their team.

The Giants lost that game too, failing to regain fans’ trust.

“It’s hard to explain what caused the Giants to have such disappointing performances,” said baseball analyst Min Hoon-ki. “It’s true that the Dinos have a better bullpen than the Giants do. But 12 consecutive defeats in matches against the same team is uncommon in professional baseball. Even the strongest team would struggle to achieve 12 consecutive wins in matches against a weaker team.”

Busan fans are well-known for their enthusiasm for the Giants. Those loyal fans earned Busan a nickname ― the city of baseball.

Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) data about the accumulated spectators between 1982 and 2015 confirmed that Busan deserves that title. The Giants have attracted the second-most spectators, following Seoul-based LG Twins. Giants fans account for 11.5 percent of the total baseball spectators during the same period, while Twins’ fans stand slightly ahead with 12.5. The KBO considers all spectators showing up at teams’ home stadiums as theirs.

The figure for the Giants is something remarkable, considering that the population of Busan (3.5 million) is about one-third of Seoul’s. It shows that the actual attendance rate of Giants fans is much higher than that of the Twins.

“Giants fans are probably unrivaled when it comes to their unwavering support for their team,” said Min. “They are so attached to the Giants that they sometimes overreact to the results. They go crazy when the Giants win. If the team loses, Giants-bashing follows. Busan fans are direct and straightforward and rarely hide their emotions.”

The Giants stand ninth out of 10 teams in the KBO league this year. Chances for the team to be qualified for the postseason games seem bleak, given that only the top five teams continue in the postseason.

The Giants’ performance in the matches against Dinos remains a mystery. Some call the Dinos the natural enemy of the Giants.

Baseball analyst Lee Sung-deuk said a Giants-Dinos rivalry may be one reason behind the Busan-based team’s losing streak. The Dinos joining the KBO league in 2011 created the regional rivalry. The Giants represent the southeastern port city, whereas the Dinos have become the pride of the residents living in neighboring South Gyeongsang Province.

“You can feel that the younger Dinos take their matches against the Giants seriously. The Dinos players make their utmost efforts to beat the Giants who were once a reigning champion in the KBO league,” Lee said in a media interview. “But I think such seriousness is lacking in the Giants.”

Some say the cold streak is not the real reason the Giants fans are disappointed.

Kim Jae-myeong, once self-described as a Giants fan, raised “the Lotte factor” behind fans losing interest in the team. The Busan resident said some citizens have become sick and tired of the Giants because of Lotte, the group that owns the club.

“People here are all too familiar with Lotte’s greedy business practices. It purchased a local liquor company many years ago and resold it to another business years later. The business deal hurt the local economy,” the 42-year-old recalled.

According to Kim, Busan residents take pride in the Giants but the club owner views it simply as a cash cow. Busan fans skepticism about the Giants is a recent phenomenon caused by the clash of their perceptions, he said.

“Lotte treated its athletes badly, including pitcher Choi Dong-won and the now-major leaguer Lee Dae-ho,” he said. The late Choi (1958-2011) was a baseball legend and a hero admired by Busan residents. Among other stellar records the Busan-born pitcher had set during his years in professional baseball, he was the first member of the 1,000 strikeout club in 1990. Choi was traded to Samsung Lions in 1989, years after his failed endeavor to create a union to protect baseball players’ rights. He retired the following year. The baseball legend died of colon cancer in 2011, saddening his fans.

“In the past, bars and cafes in Busan turned on the TV when Giants matches against other teams were held to attract fans who couldn’t go to Sajik Baseball Stadium. I was one of those fans cheering for the Giants at bars,” Kim said. “These days, however, there are few bars that are using broadcasts of Giants’ games as a business tactic. People here are increasingly losing interest in baseball.”