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Lotte Giants

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Lotte Giants
롯데 자이언츠
Information
LeagueKBO League (1982–present)
LocationBusan
BallparkSajik Baseball Stadium (1986–present)
Established1975; 49 years ago (1975)
Korean Series championships1984, 1992
Former ballparks
ColorsBlue and red
   
Retired numbers10, 11[1]
OwnershipLotte Corporation
ManagerKim Tae-hyoung
Websitewww.giantsclub.com

The Lotte Giants (Korean: 롯데 자이언츠) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Busan. They are a member of the KBO League. The Lotte Giants are owned by Lotte Corporation.

From 1982 through 1985, they played at Gudeok Baseball Stadium and since then have played at Sajik Baseball Stadium. They have won the Korean Series twice, in 1984 and 1992. The team drew about 1.38 million spectators during the 2009 season, a record which remains as the highest attendance[2] in a single season in any South Korean sports league. They are often called the Busan Seagulls (Korean: 부산 갈매기) because the official bird of the city of Busan is the seagull, and their main fight song is Moon Seung-jae's "Busan Seagulls".[3]

History

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Mascot emblem

Origins

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The Lotte Giants were founded as an amateur baseball team of the Korea Baseball Association in Seoul, South Korea, on 6 May 1975. On 22 February 1982, the Giants became professional and moved to Busan, the second-largest city in South Korea.

1980s

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The Lotte Giants made their KBO League debut against the Haitai Tigers at Gudeok Baseball Stadium on 28 March 1982. They defeated the Tigers 14–2, but finished the year in fifth place out of six teams with a .388 winning percentage. Choi Dong-won, Ryu Du-yeol and Sim Jae-won of the South Korea national baseball team postponed joining the Giants to play for the country in the 1982 Amateur World Series, held in Seoul.

In 1984, the Giants won their first Korean Series title in the third season after the KBO League was launched. They beat the Samsung Lions 4–3 in the Korean Series. They were led by Choi Dong-won, one of the most dominant pitchers in the Korea Professional Baseball league, who finished the 1984 season with 27 wins, 223 strikeouts, and a 2.40 ERA and won the regular season MVP Award.[4] In the 1984 Korean Series, he appeared in five out of seven games, had a 4–1 record (one shutout, three complete games, and one five-inning relief appearance), and pitched 40 innings in ten days.[4]

The Giants made one of the biggest trades in KBO League history after the 1988 season when they sent their star pitcher Choi Dong-won and Kim Yong-chul to the Samsung Lions, and received hitter Jang Hyo-jo and pitcher Kim Si-kin.[5]

1990s

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The Giants made it back to the Korean Series in 1995 and 1999, losing both times. They have not appeared in the Korean Series since 1999.

2000s

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From 2001 to 2007 the Giants did not qualify for the postseason, finishing in last place for four consecutive years (2001–2004). In mid-2001, the Giants' manager Kim Myung-seong, who had been in charge of the team since 1998, died of a heart attack.[6] He was replaced by Woo Yong-deuk.

Late in 2007, the Giants signed American Jerry Royster to become the manager of the Giants, making him the first-ever non-Korean to take the helm of one of South Korea's professional baseball clubs.[7][8] Royster served as the Giants' manager through the 2010 season, guiding the team to the playoffs in all three seasons.

Popularity and attendance

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Fans cheering for the Giants at Sajik Baseball Stadium in 2011.

The Giants are one of the most popular teams in the Korea Baseball Organization.[9] According to a Gallup Korea's survey conducted in 2011, the Giants were voted as the most popular team three times in a row.[9] In 1991, they became the first Korean team to attract more than one million spectators to their home games during a season.[10] In the 2009 season, they set the all-time record of home attendance of 1,380,018 fans.[2] In the 2011 season, they also led the league in the total home attendance with 1,358,322 fans at 67 home games.[11] The average attendance was 20,273 fans per game, meaning the stadium was 71% full on average per game.[11] From 2008 to 2012, they drew over 1 million fans for five consecutive seasons.[10]

Season-by-season records

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Season Stadium League Finish Regular season Postseason Awards
Rank Games Wins Losses Draws Win% BA HR ERA
1982 Gudeok Baseball Stadium KBO 5/6 5/6 40 13 27 0 .325 .256 59 3.95 Did not qualify
4/6 40 18 22 0 .450
1983 KBO 6/6 4/6 50 22 27 1 .449 .244 78 3.79 Did not qualify
6/6 50 21 29 0 .420
1984 KBO 1/6 4/6 50 21 28 1 .429 .257 71 3.31 Won Korean Series vs. Samsung Lions (4–3) Choi Dong-won (MVP)
1/6 50 29 20 1 .592
1985 KBO 2/6 4/6 55 27 28 0 .491 .256 77 3.05 Did not qualify  
2/6 55 32 23 0 .582
1986 Sajik Baseball Stadium KBO 5/7 3/7 54 30 20 4 .600 .248 37 2.74 Did not qualify  
5/7 54 20 32 2 .385
1987 KBO 3/7 3/7 54 27 25 2 .519 .268 40 3.36 Did not qualify
3/7 54 27 24 3 .528
1988 KBO 3/7 4/7 54 29 24 1 .546 .270 68 3.59 Did not qualify  
3/7 54 28 25 1 .528
1989 KBO 7/7 7/7 120 48 67 5 .421 .247 38 3.91 Did not qualify  
1990 KBO 6/7 6/7 120 44 71 4 .388 .245 41 4.43 Did not qualify  
1991 KBO 4/8 4/8 126 61 62 3 .496 .260 73 3.91 Lost semi-playoff vs. Samsung Lions (1–1–2)
1992 KBO 1/8 3/8 126 71 55 1 .563 .288 68 4.28 Won semi-playoff vs. Samsung Lions (2–0)
Won playoff vs. Haitai Tigers (3–2)
Won Korean Series vs. Binggrae Eagles (4–1)
Yeom Jong-seok (ROTY)
1993 KBO 6/8 6/8 126 62 63 1 .496 .248 29 3.33 Did not qualify
1994 KBO 6/8 6/8 126 56 67 3 .456 .257 58 4.44 Did not qualify  
1995 KBO 2/8 3/8 126 68 53 5 .560 .255 65 3.47 Won playoff vs. LG Twins (4–2)
Lost Korean Series vs. OB Bears (3–4)
1996 KBO 5/8 5/8 126 57 63 6 .476 .274 72 4.16 Did not qualify
1997 KBO 8/8 8/8 126 48 77 1 .385 .237 75 4.58 Did not qualify
1998 KBO 8/8 8/8 126 50 72 4 .410 .255 86 4.61 Did not qualify  
1999 Dream League 2/8 2/4 132 75 52 5 .591 .291 145 4.18 Won playoff vs. Samsung Lions (4–3)
Lost Korean Series vs. Hanwha Eagles (1–4)
2000 Magic League 5/8 2/4 133 65 64 4 .504 .260 104 4.02 Lost semi-playoff vs. Samsung Lions (1–2)  
2001 KBO 8/8 8/8 133 59 70 4 .457 .280 121 4.68 Did not qualify
2002 KBO 8/8 8/8 133 35 97 1 .265 .245 85 4.74 Did not qualify
2003 KBO 8/8 8/8 133 39 91 3 .300 .256 73 5.01 Did not qualify
2004 KBO 8/8 8/8 133 50 72 11 .410 .252 88 4.22 Did not qualify
2005 KBO 5/8 5/8 126 58 67 1 .464 .253 83 4.31 Did not qualify Son Min-han (MVP)
2006 KBO 7/8 7/8 126 50 73 3 .407 .250 88 3.88 Did not qualify
2007 KBO 7/8 7/8 126 55 68 3 .447 .270 76 4.14 Did not qualify  
2008 KBO 3/8 3/8 126 69 57 0 .548 .282 93 3.64 Lost semi-playoff vs. Samsung Lions (0–3)
2009 KBO 4/8 4/8 133 66 67 0 .496 .277 121 4.75 Lost semi-playoff vs. Doosan Bears (1–3)  
2010 KBO 4/8 4/8 133 69 61 3 .531 .288 185 4.82 Lost semi-playoff vs. Doosan Bears (2–3) Lee Dae-ho (MVP)
2011 KBO 3/8 2/8 133 72 56 5 .563 .288 111 4.20 Lost playoff vs. SK Wyverns (2–3)
2012 KBO 4/8 4/8 133 65 62 6 .512 .263 73 3.48 Won semi-playoff vs. Doosan Bears (3–1)
Lost playoff vs. SK Wyverns (2–3)		  
2013 KBO 5/9 5/9 128 66 58 4 .532 .261 61 3.93 Did not qualify  
2014 KBO 7/9 7/9 128 59 68 1 .457 .287 121 5.19 Did not qualify  
2015 KBO 8/10 8/10 144 66 77 1 .462 .280 177 5.07 Did not qualify
2016 KBO 8/10 8/10 144 66 78 0 .458 .288 127 5.63 Did not qualify  
2017 KBO 3/10 3/10 144 80 62 2 .563 .285 151 4.56 Lost semi-playoff vs. NC Dinos (2–3)  
2018 KBO 7/10 7/10 144 68 74 2 .479 .289 203 5.37 Did not qualify  
2019 KBO 10/10 10/10 144 48 93 3 .340 .250 90 4.83 Did not qualify  
2020 KBO 7/10 7/10 144 71 72 1 .497 .276 131 4.64 Did not qualify  
2021 KBO 8/10 8/10 144 65 71 8 .478 .278 107 5.37 Did not qualify  
2022 KBO 8/10 8/10 144 64 76 4 .457 .267 106 4.45 Did not qualify  
2023 KBO 7/10 7/10 144 68 76 0 .472 .265 69 4.15 Did not qualify  
2024 KBO 7/10 7/10 144 66 74 4 .471 .285 125 5.05 Did not qualify  

Team

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Current roster

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Retired numbers

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The club's first retired number is Choi Dong-won's squad number 11. Described as one of the top pitchers in the Korea Professional Baseball league, he played for the Giants between 1983 and 1988, and won the KBO MVP award in 1984. Choi died of cancer in 2011.[1] In 2022, the club retired the number 10 in honour of Lee Dae-ho, who spent more than 15 seasons with the Giants.[12]


Choi Dong-won

Managers

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References

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General
  • "Complete league history and statistics" (in Korean). Korean Baseball League. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
Specific
  1. ^ a b Yoon, Hyun (30 September 2011). "Iron arm Choi Dong-Won becomes Busans everlasting number 11" (in Korean). Ohmynews.com. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  2. ^ a b KBO 역대관중현황 Archived 4 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "KBO clubs invest in popular cheerleading songs". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. 3 May 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  4. ^ a b (in Korean) 한국시리즈 '나홀로 4승' 불꽃투, 우승 이끌다 Archived 26 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Sports Seoul. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  5. ^ Yoon, Chul (7 September 2011). "Korean baseball legend Jang dies at 55". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  6. ^ Yonhap. "KBO manager's collapse shows how stressful the job is," Korea JoongAng Daily (28 June 2020).
  7. ^ Herman, Ken (26 June 2008). "Ex-Brave Royster now managing in Korea". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  8. ^ Korea JoongAng Daily[usurped].[dead link‍]
  9. ^ a b 프로야구 롯데, 3회 연속 최고 인기구단 (in Korean). Article.joinsmsn.com. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  10. ^ a b "관중 현황" [Attendance Status]. koreabaseball.com (in Korean). Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  11. ^ a b 홈관중몰이 1위 롯데 (in Korean). News.sportsseoul.com. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  12. ^ "S. Korean baseball legend Lee Dae-ho retires after 22 seasons". Yonhap News Agency. 8 October 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
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