The LG Twins (Korean: LG 트윈스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul, South Korea. They are a member of the KBO League. The Twins play their home games at Jamsil Baseball Stadium, which they share with their rivals, the Doosan Bears.[1]
| LG Twins | |||||
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| LG 트윈스 | |||||
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| Information | |||||
| League | KBO League (1982–present) | ||||
| Location | Seoul | ||||
| Ballpark | Jamsil Baseball Stadium (1982–present) | ||||
| Established | 1982 | ||||
| League championships | 1990, 1994, 2023 | ||||
| Korean Series championships | 1990, 1994, 2023 | ||||
| Former name(s) | MBC Chungryong (1982–1989) | ||||
| Colors | Black, maroon and grey | ||||
| Retired numbers | 9, 33, 41 | ||||
| Ownership | LG Corporation | ||||
| Manager | Youm Kyoung-youb | ||||
| General Manager | Cha Myung-suk | ||||
| Website | www | ||||
| Uniforms | |||||
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History
edit
The club was established in 1982 as MBC Chungyong, owned by the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. In the first part of the 1982 season, the team played at Dongdaemun Baseball Stadium; in the second part of the season, they moved to their current home, Jamsil Baseball Stadium.
The Chungyong were initially led by player-manager Baek In-chun, who had spent 19 seasons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. Aged 38, Baek led the league in hitting in 1982, with a record-setting .412 batting average.[2] As manager, Baek brought the Japanese "small ball" technique to his team, focusing on sacrifice bunts, stolen bases, and sacrifice flies.[2] Although the team finished above .500 in 1982, Baek was dismissed by the team after the season.
In 1989, the franchise was acquired by the LG Corporation, which renamed the team the LG Twins. The following year, the Twins won their first Korean Series title with Baek In-chun as their manager. In 1994, they won their second championship. The Korean Series MVP was Kim Yong-soo in both Series, and his jersey number 41 was later retired. However, after their Korean Series appearance in 2002, the team went through the dark ages, not making the postseason for eleven years until 2013, when they earned the second seed in the regular season and qualified for the playoff series, where they were eliminated by the Doosan Bears. Between 2014 and 2022, the Twins made six postseason appearances, but failed to return to the Korean Series. In 2023, they reached their first Korean Series since 2002 by virtue of winning the regular season title.[3] In the finals, the Twins, led by captain and Korean Series MVP Oh Ji-hwan, defeated the KT Wiz 4–1 in five games, ending the club's 29-year championship drought.[4]
Season-by-season records
edit| Season | Stadium | League | Finish | Regular season | Postseason | Awards | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win% | BA | HR | ERA | ||||||
| MBC Chungyong | ||||||||||||||
| 1982 | Dongdaemun Baseball Stadium | KBO | 3/6 | 3/6 | 40 | 22 | 18 | 0 | .550 | .282 | 65 | 3.51 | Did not qualify | |
| Jamsil Baseball Stadium | 3/6 | 40 | 24 | 16 | 0 | .600 | ||||||||
| 1983 | KBO | 2/6 | 3/6 | 50 | 25 | 24 | 1 | .510 | .256 | 45 | 2.72 | Lost Korean Series vs. Haitai Tigers (0–1–4) | ||
| 1/6 | 50 | 30 | 19 | 1 | .612 | |||||||||
| 1984 | KBO | 4/6 | 3/6 | 50 | 27 | 22 | 1 | .551 | .253 | 47 | 3.19 | Did not qualify | ||
| 3/6 | 50 | 24 | 26 | 0 | .480 | |||||||||
| 1985 | KBO | 5/6 | 5/6 | 55 | 24 | 31 | 0 | .436 | .246 | 37 | 3.24 | Did not qualify | ||
| 6/6 | 55 | 20 | 34 | 1 | .370 | |||||||||
| 1986 | KBO | 3/7 | 4/7 | 54 | 28 | 22 | 4 | .560 | .265 | 37 | 2.78 | Did not qualify | Kim Keon-woo (ROTY) | |
| 3/7 | 54 | 31 | 19 | 4 | .620 | |||||||||
| 1987 | KBO | 5/7 | 5/7 | 54 | 24 | 27 | 3 | .472 | .258 | 36 | 3.36 | Did not qualify | ||
| 4/7 | 54 | 26 | 24 | 4 | .519 | |||||||||
| 1988 | KBO | 6/7 | 7/7 | 54 | 17 | 35 | 2 | .333 | .260 | 42 | 3.95 | Did not qualify | Lee Yong-chul (ROTY) | |
| 6/7 | 54 | 23 | 29 | 2 | .444 | |||||||||
| 1989 | KBO | 6/7 | 6/7 | 120 | 49 | 67 | 4 | .425 | .252 | 42 | 4.28 | Did not qualify | ||
| LG Twins | ||||||||||||||
| 1990 | Jamsil Baseball Stadium | KBO | 1/7 | 1/7 | 120 | 71 | 49 | 0 | .592 | .271 | 61 | 3.38 | Won Korean Series vs. Samsung Lions (4–0) | Kim Dong-soo (ROTY) |
| 1991 | KBO | 6/8 | 6/8 | 126 | 53 | 72 | 1 | .425 | .244 | 53 | 4.38 | Did not qualify | ||
| 1992 | KBO | 7/8 | 7/8 | 126 | 53 | 70 | 3 | .433 | .257 | 108 | 4.29 | Did not qualify | ||
| 1993 | KBO | 4/8 | 4/8 | 126 | 66 | 57 | 3 | .536 | .256 | 74 | 3.07 | Won semi-playoff vs. OB Bears (2–1) Lost playoff vs. Samsung Lions (2–3) |
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| 1994 | KBO | 1/8 | 1/8 | 126 | 81 | 45 | 0 | .643 | .282 | 88 | 3.14 | Won Korean Series vs. Pacific Dolphins (4–0) | Yu Ji-hyeon (ROTY) | |
| 1995 | KBO | 3/8 | 2/8 | 126 | 74 | 48 | 4 | .603 | .257 | 79 | 3.21 | Lost playoff vs. Lotte Giants (2–4) | ||
| 1996 | KBO | 7/8 | 7/8 | 126 | 50 | 71 | 5 | .417 | .246 | 98 | 4.11 | Did not qualify | ||
| 1997 | KBO | 2/8 | 2/8 | 126 | 73 | 51 | 2 | .587 | .267 | 83 | 3.78 | Won playoff vs. Samsung Lions (3–2) Lost Korean Series vs. Haitai Tigers (1–4) |
Lee Byung-kyu (ROTY) | |
| 1998 | KBO | 2/8 | 3/8 | 126 | 63 | 62 | 1 | .504 | .267 | 100 | 4.18 | Won semi-playoff vs. OB Bears (2–0) Won playoff vs. Samsung Lions (3–1) Lost Korean Series vs. Hyundai Unicorns (2–4) |
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| 1999 | Magic League | 3/8 | 3/4 | 132 | 61 | 70 | 1 | .466 | .281 | 145 | 5.49 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2000 | Magic League | 4/8 | 1/4 | 133 | 67 | 63 | 3 | .515 | .273 | 122 | 4.45 | Lost playoff vs. Doosan Bears (2–4) | ||
| 2001 | KBO | 6/8 | 6/8 | 133 | 58 | 67 | 8 | .464 | .276 | 85 | 5.13 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2002 | KBO | 2/8 | 4/8 | 133 | 66 | 61 | 6 | .520 | .261 | 100 | 3.94 | Won semi-playoff vs. Hyundai Unicorns (2–0) Won playoff vs. Kia Tigers (3–2) Lost Korean Series vs. Samsung Lions (2–4) |
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| 2003 | KBO | 6/8 | 6/8 | 133 | 60 | 71 | 2 | .458 | .249 | 106 | 4.01 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2004 | KBO | 6/8 | 6/8 | 133 | 59 | 70 | 4 | .457 | .259 | 102 | 4.38 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2005 | KBO | 6/8 | 6/8 | 126 | 54 | 71 | 1 | .432 | .260 | 105 | 4.90 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2006 | KBO | 8/8 | 8/8 | 126 | 47 | 75 | 4 | .385 | .246 | 81 | 4.22 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2007 | KBO | 5/8 | 5/8 | 126 | 58 | 62 | 6 | .483 | .268 | 78 | 4.34 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2008 | KBO | 8/8 | 8/8 | 126 | 46 | 80 | 0 | .365 | .256 | 66 | 4.88 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2009 | KBO | 7/8 | 7/8 | 133 | 54 | 75 | 4 | .406 | .278 | 129 | 5.42 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2010 | KBO | 6/8 | 6/8 | 133 | 57 | 71 | 5 | .445 | .276 | 121 | 5.23 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2011 | KBO | 6/8 | 6/8 | 133 | 59 | 72 | 2 | .450 | .266 | 94 | 4.15 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2012 | KBO | 7/8 | 7/8 | 133 | 57 | 72 | 4 | .442 | .261 | 59 | 4.02 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2013 | KBO | 3/9 | 2/9 | 128 | 74 | 54 | 0 | .578 | .282 | 59 | 3.72 | Lost playoff vs. Doosan Bears (1–3) | ||
| 2014 | KBO | 4/9 | 4/9 | 128 | 62 | 64 | 2 | .492 | .279 | 90 | 4.58 | Won semi-playoff vs. NC Dinos (3–1) Lost playoff vs. Nexen Heroes (1–3) |
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| 2015 | KBO | 9/10 | 9/10 | 144 | 64 | 78 | 2 | .451 | .271 | 114 | 4.62 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2016 | KBO | 4/10 | 4/10 | 144 | 71 | 71 | 2 | .500 | .290 | 118 | 5.10 | Won wild card vs. Kia Tigers (1–1) Won semi-playoff vs. Nexen Heroes (3–1) Lost playoff vs. NC Dinos (1–3) |
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| 2017 | KBO | 6/10 | 6/10 | 144 | 69 | 72 | 3 | .489 | .281 | 110 | 4.32 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2018 | KBO | 8/10 | 8/10 | 144 | 68 | 75 | 1 | .476 | .293 | 148 | 5.29 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2019 | KBO | 4/10 | 4/10 | 144 | 79 | 64 | 1 | .552 | .267 | 94 | 3.86 | Won wild card vs. NC Dinos (1–0) Lost semi-playoff vs. Kiwoom Heroes (1–3) |
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| 2020 | KBO | 4/10 | 4/10 | 144 | 79 | 61 | 4 | .564 | .277 | 149 | 4.37 | Won wild card vs. Kiwoom Heroes (1–0) Lost semi-playoff vs. Doosan Bears (0–2) | ||
| 2021 | KBO | 4/10 | 3/10 | 144 | 72 | 58 | 14 | .554 | .250 | 110 | 3.57 | Lost semi-playoff vs. Doosan Bears (1–2) | ||
| 2022 | KBO | 3/10 | 2/10 | 144 | 87 | 55 | 2 | .613 | .269 | 118 | 3.33 | Lost playoff vs. Kiwoom Heroes (1–3) | ||
| 2023 | KBO | 1/10 | 1/10 | 144 | 86 | 56 | 2 | .606 | .279 | 93 | 3.67 | Won Korean Series vs. KT Wiz (4–1) | ||
| 2024 | KBO | 3/10 | 3/10 | 144 | 76 | 66 | 2 | .535 | .283 | 115 | 4.63 | Won semi-playoff vs. KT Wiz (3–2) Lost playoff vs. Samsung Lions (1–3) |
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Team
editCurrent lineup
editManagers
edit- Baek In-chun (1982)
- Kim Dong-yeop (1983)
- Eo Woo-hong (1984–1985)
- Kim Dong-yeob (1986–1987)
- Yu Baek-man (1988)
- Bae Seong-seo (1989)
- Baek In-chun (1989–1991)
- Lee Kwang-hwan (1992–1994)
- Cheon Bo-seong (1995–1999)
- Lee Gwang-eun (2000–2001)
- Kim Sung-keun (2002)
- Lee Kwang-hwan (2003)
- Lee Sun-cheol (2004–2006)
- Kim Jae-bak (2007–2009)
- Park Jong-hun (2010–2011)
- Kim Ki-tae (2012–2014)
- Yang Sang-moon (2014–2017)
- Ryu Joong-il (2018–2020)
- Ryu Ji-hyun (2021–2022)
- Youm Kyoung-youb (2022–present)[5]
In popular culture
editThe team featured prominently in the tvN drama Reply 1994, where the team's 1994 head coach is a main character. In the drama, the team is referenced under a different name, "Seoul Twins" (Korean: 서울 쌍둥이), due to trademark issues with the LG Corporation.[citation needed]
In 2023, TVING released the original documentary Our Game: LG Twins, directed by Lee Hyun-hee, covering behind-the-scenes stories inside and outside the stadium. It received praise for its unique documentary and became the best original documentary in TVING's history in terms of paid subscriptions.[6]
References
edit- General
- "Complete league history and statistics" (in Korean). Korean Baseball League. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
- Specific
- ^ "LG Twins unable to get over Doosan Bears hump in KBO". Yonhap News Agency. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ a b Hyun-kyung, Kang. "Baseball: Korean baseball shifting to Major League style," The Korea Times (9 March 2017).
- ^ "LG Twins overcome KT Wiz in five, win their first Korean Series in 29 years". World Baseball Softball Confederation. 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ Jee-ho, Yoo (13 November 2023). "(LEAD) LG Twins capture 1st Korean Series title in 29 years". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "LG Twins hire new manager Youm Kyoung-youb". Yonhap News Agency. 6 November 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
- ^ Kim, Chae-yeon (4 April 2023). "야구팬 다 모였다".. '아워게임' 티빙 오리지널 다큐멘터리 유료가입기여자수 역대 1위 ["All baseball fans gathered".. 'Our Game' TVing Original Documentary No. 1 in the number of paid subscription contributors]. OSEN (in Korean). Retrieved 16 April 2023 – via Naver.
External links
edit- Official website (in Korean)