2008 Korea Professional Baseball season
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The 2008 Korea Professional Baseball season, officially known as the Samsung PAVV Pro Baseball 2008 (Korean: 2008 삼성 PAVV 프로야구) for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th season in the history of the KBO League, this was the first season with the Heroes, that had replaced the now-folded Hyundai Unicorns.
| Samsung PAVV Pro Baseball 2008 2008 삼성 PAVV 프로야구 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | Korea Professional Baseball |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | March 29–October |
| Games | 126 per team |
| Teams | 8 |
| Regular Season | |
| Season champions | SK Wyverns |
| Runners-up | Doosan Bears |
| Season MVP | Kim Kwang-hyun (SK) |
| League Postseason | |
| Semiplayoff champions | Samsung Lions |
| Semiplayoff runners-up | Lotte Giants |
| Playoff champions | Doosan Bears |
| Playoff runners-up | Samsung Lions |
| Korean Series | |
| Champions | SK Wyverns |
| Runners-up | Doosan Bears |
| Finals MVP | Choi Jeong (SK) |
The champions of the season were the SSG Langers known as SK Wyverns at that time.
Season structure
Season format
- Regular Season: 126 games for each team
- Semiplayoff: regular-season 3rd place vs. regular-season 4th place – best of 5
- Playoff: regular-season 2nd place vs. Semiplayoff winner – best of 7
- Korean Series: regular-season 1st place vs. Playoff winner – best of 7
Final standings
- Champion (1st place): Korean Series winner
- Runner-up (2nd place): Korean Series loser
- 3rd–8th place: sort by regular-season record except teams to play in the Korean Series
Sponsorship change
Hyundai stopped their sponsorship after the 2007 season, and the Unicorns were renamed the Woori Heroes after Centennial Investments sold the naming rights to the Woori Tobacco Company. They also announced possible player salary reductions.[1]
Standings
| Rank | Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SK Wyverns | 83 | 43 | .659 | – |
| 2 | Doosan Bears | 70 | 56 | .556 | 13.0 |
| 3 | Lotte Giants | 69 | 57 | .548 | 14.0 |
| 4 | Samsung Lions | 65 | 61 | .516 | 18.0 |
| 5 | Hanwha Eagles | 64 | 62 | .508 | 19.0 |
| 6 | Kia Tigers | 57 | 69 | .452 | 26.0 |
| 7 | Heroes | 50 | 76 | .397 | 33.0 |
| 8 | LG Twins | 46 | 80 | .365 | 37.0 |
Postseason
Semiplayoff
Samsung Lions win the series, 3–0
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samsung Lions – 12, Lotte Giants - 3 | October 8 | Sajik Baseball Stadium | 30,000 |
| 2 | Samsung Lions – 4, Lotte Giants - 3 | October 9 | Sajik Baseball Stadium | 27,559 |
| 3 | Lotte Giants – 4, Samsung Lions - 6 | October 11 | Daegu Baseball Stadium | 12,000 |
Playoff
Doosan Bears win the series, 4–2
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samsung Lions – 4, Doosan Bears – 8 | October 16 | Jamsil Baseball Stadium | 30,500 |
| 2 | Samsung Lions – 7, Doosan Bears – 4 (14 innings) | October 17 | Jamsil Baseball Stadium | 30,500 |
| 3 | Doosan Bears – 2, Samsung Lions – 6 | October 19 | Daegu Baseball Stadium | 12,000 |
| 4 | Doosan Bears – 12, Samsung Lions – 6 | October 20 | Daegu Baseball Stadium | 12,000 |
| 5 | Doosan Bears – 6, Samsung Lions – 4 | October 21 | Daegu Baseball Stadium | 12,000 |
| 6 | Samsung Lions – 2, Doosan Bears – 5 | October 23 | Jamsil Baseball Stadium | 30,500 |
Korean Series
SK Wyverns win the series, 4–1
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Doosan Bears – 5, SK Wyverns – 2 | October 26 | Munhak Baseball Stadium | 30,400 |
| 2 | Doosan Bears – 2, SK Wyverns – 5 | October 27 | Munhak Baseball Stadium | 30,400 |
| 3 | SK Wyverns – 3, Doosan Bears – 2 | October 29 | Jamsil Baseball Stadium | 30,500 |
| 4 | SK Wyverns – 4, Doosan Bears – 1 | October 30 | Jamsil Baseball Stadium | 30,500 |
| 5 | SK Wyverns – 2, Doosan Bears – 0 | October 31 | Jamsil Baseball Stadium | 30,500 |
Foreign hitters
| Team | Player | Position | In KBO since | Batting Average | Home runs | RBI | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doosan Bears | NONE | N/A | |||||
| Hanwha Eagles | Doug Clark | OF | 2008 | .246 | 22 | 79 | |
| Kia Tigers | Wilson Valdez | SS | 2008 | .281 | 1 | 16 | |
| LG Twins | Roberto Petagine | 1B | 2008 | .347 | 7 | 35 | Replaced starting pitcher Jamie Brown on the roster |
| Lotte Giants | Karim García | OF | 2008 | .283 | 30 | 111 | Golden Glove Award |
| Samsung Lions | Jacob Cruz | OF | 2007 | .282 | 2 | 21 | |
| SK Wyverns | NONE | N/A | Team had 3 foreign pitchers | ||||
| Woori Heroes | Cliff Brumbaugh | OF | 2003 | .293 | 13 | 61 | |
Statistics
Team statistics
| Team | Team BA | Team ERA | Runs Scored | Runs Allowed | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SK Wyverns | .282 | 3.22 | 632 | 461 | 89 |
| Lotte Giants | .282 | 3.64 | 624 | 518 | 93 |
| Doosan Bears | .276 | 3.89 | 647 | 542 | 68 |
| Heroes | .266 | 4.43 | 499 | 609 | 70 |
| Kia Tigers | .260 | 4.08 | 503 | 555 | 48 |
| Samsung Lions | .258 | 4.40 | 557 | 596 | 92 |
| LG Twins | .256 | 4.85 | 468 | 646 | 66 |
| Hanwha Eagles | .254 | 4.43 | 592 | 595 | 120 |
| Totals | 4,522 | 4,522 | 646 |
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