KBO League

KBO League
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2024 KBO League season
SportBaseball
Founded1982 (1982)
First season1982
Organising bodyKorea Baseball Organization
No. of teams10
CountrySouth Korea
Most recent
champion(s)
LG Twins (3rd title)
(2023)
Most titlesKia Tigers (11 titles)
TV partner(s)Korea
KBS
MBC
SBS
SPOTV
Streaming partner(s)Korea
TVING
Outside Korea
SOOP
Related
competitions
KBO Futures League
(minor league)
Official websiteOfficial website

The KBO League (KoreanKBO 리그) is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea.[1] The Kia Tigers are the most successful team, having won 11 of the 42 championships.

In comparison with American Major League Baseball, ESPN reports that the KBO level of play "appears to be somewhere between Double-A and Triple-A, on average, though the best players are more likely to be MLB-quality than your typical Double-A league."[2] Historically, the KBO is known for its vocal and exuberant fan base,[3][4] as well as the widespread practice of bat flips (ppa-dun (Korean: 빠던), a portmanteau of the "first syllables of the words for 'bat' and 'throw'")[5][6] by hitters after stroking what they think will be a home run.[5][6] In the KBO, the bat flipping tradition dates to the 1990s.[6]

  1. ^ [2017 결산] 프로야구, 역대 최다 840만 관중..국민스포츠 공고 (in Korean). star.mt.co.kr. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  2. ^ Szymborski, Dan. "How good would Mike Trout be in the KBO? We have the numbers," ESPN (May 13, 2020).
  3. ^ Kim Young-jin (3 July 2013). "The 'mercenaries'". The Korea Times. Seoul. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  4. ^ Roscher, Liz. "A KBO primer: Here's what you need to know to enjoy the return of baseball in South Korea," Yahoo! Sports (May 1, 2020).
  5. ^ a b Keh, Andrew (2 September 2015). "Bat flipping draws shrugs in South Korea but scorn in America". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  6. ^ a b c Kimes, Mina (4 October 2016). "The Art of Letting Go: The great Korean bat flip mystery". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.

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