KIA and Samsung Clash in Korean Series for the First Time in 31 Years... Even Match Kim Do-young vs Gu Ja-wook

'Tigers Kim Do-young Who Dominated the League'
'Personal Best' Lions Koo Ja-wook
'Expectations' Like 1993 MVP Lee Jong-beom

Professional baseball teams KIA Tigers and Samsung Lions will clash in the 2024 Korean Series starting from the 21st to compete for the KBO League championship.

Although these two teams shine as the top two in KBO League history with the most championships (KIA 11 times including 9 times as their predecessor Haitai, Samsung 8 times), their meeting in the Korean Series is the first in 31 years since 1993. It is also the first postseason matchup between the two teams in 31 years. Coincidentally, since their 1993 Korean Series confrontation, the two teams have never faced each other in the playoffs or any postseason games.

The 1993 Korean Series is remembered as a legendary battle that sparked many stories. It featured a showdown between two monster rookies, Lee Jong-beom (KIA) and Yang Joon-hyuk (Samsung), the first 7-game Korean Series in 9 years since 1984 (Haitai won 4 games, 1 draw, 2 losses), and Samsung pitcher Park Chung-sik’s 15-inning, 181-pitch complete game (Game 3). This year’s Korean Series resembles the 1993 series in many ways. In 1993, the regular season’s 1st and 2nd place teams were Haitai and Samsung, just like this year, and Samsung advanced to the Korean Series by defeating LG in the playoffs. Samsung was also the team with the most home runs in 1993 (133), the same as this year (Samsung leads with 185).

KIA Tigers Kim Do-young [Photo by Yonhap News]

Samsung Lions Koo Ja-wook [Photo by Yonhap News]

This year’s Korean Series is expected to be heated by the matchup between 10-year age gap players Kim Do-young (21) and Gu Ja-wook (31). Both were representative hitters of the league this year.

Kim Do-young is in his third year since debut. Although he struggled in his highly anticipated debut year of 2022, he showed potential in his second year, and in his third year this season, he truly dominated the league. Kim Do-young played in 141 games this season, recording a batting average of 0.347 (3rd), 189 hits (3rd), 38 home runs (2nd), 109 RBIs (7th), 143 runs scored (1st), 40 stolen bases (4th), slugging percentage of 0.647 (1st), and on-base percentage of 0.420 (3rd). He narrowly missed becoming the first domestic KBO player to achieve 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a season. He is already considered the favorite for the regular season MVP.

It is predicted that if Kim Do-young had not been present, the regular season MVP would have gone to Gu Ja-wook. Gu achieved his personal best in his 10th season this year. In 129 games, he recorded a batting average of 0.343 (4th), 169 hits (8th), 33 home runs (5th), 115 RBIs (4th), 92 runs scored (9th), 13 stolen bases, slugging percentage of 0.627 (3rd), and on-base percentage of 0.417 (4th). He set personal bests in home runs, RBIs, and slugging percentage.

Both Kim Do-young and Gu Ja-wook hail from their teams’ home cities, Gwangju and Daegu respectively, giving them strong symbolic representation for their teams. Gu Ja-wook was also the team captain this year.

Both Kim Do-young and Gu Ja-wook hope to perform as impressively as Lee Jong-beom did in the 1993 Korean Series. Known as the ‘Son of the Wind,’ Lee Jong-beom lost the 1993 regular season Rookie of the Year to Yang Joon-hyuk but claimed the Korean Series MVP, ending on a high note.

Yang Joon-hyuk played 106 games in the 1993 regular season, leading the league in batting average (0.341), on-base percentage (0.436), and slugging percentage (0.598), and ranking second in home runs (23) and RBIs (90). However, he struggled in the Korean Series, batting only 0.160 over 7 games, hitting just 4 singles with no extra-base hits, and driving in 2 runs. In contrast, Lee Jong-beom played all 126 regular season games, posting a .280 batting average, 133 hits (2nd), 16 home runs (4th), 53 RBIs, 85 runs scored (1st), slugging percentage of 0.432, and on-base percentage of 0.331, and excelled in the Korean Series as well. Over 7 games, he batted .310 with 9 hits including 3 doubles, 4 RBIs, and 3 runs scored. He attempted 7 steals and succeeded in all.

The key question is whether Kim Do-young can show the strong nerves to perform as well on the big stage of the Korean Series, which he is experiencing for the first time, as he did in the regular season. Although this is his third year, Kim Do-young graduated from Dongsung High School and is only 21 years old. He is younger than Lee Jong-beom was during his first Korean Series appearance. Lee Jong-beom entered the pros after graduating from Konkuk University and was 23 years old in 1993.

Samsung’s Gu Ja-wook experienced the Korean Series in his rookie year in 2015. Gu was drafted by Samsung in 2012 but immediately joined the Sangmu Baseball Team to fulfill his military service, entering the professional stage in 2015. At that time, Samsung was a powerhouse team, having finished first in the regular season for five consecutive years since 2011 and winning the Korean Series four years in a row. In the 2015 Korean Series, Samsung aimed for a fifth consecutive championship, but just before the series started, a player gambling scandal during an away game was revealed, and key pitchers Yoon Sung-hwan, Ahn Ji-man, and Lim Chang-yong were excluded from the Korean Series roster. Samsung won the first game but then lost four straight games, surrendering the championship to the Doosan Bears.

During that series, Gu Ja-wook appeared once as a pinch hitter in Game 2 and started as the leadoff left fielder from Game 3. He recorded a .267 batting average, 4 hits, 2 RBIs, and 1 run scored over 4 games.

Although this is Gu Ja-wook’s second Korean Series, it is his first Korean Series at Daegu Samsung Lions Park. The 2015 series was the last year Samsung used Daegu Citizens Baseball Stadium as their home field.