By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) -- With the first half of the 2023 season in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in the books, two leading contenders have established themselves as alpha dogs, with seven teams vying for the three remaining postseason berths in an unusually competitive race.
The LG Twins, trying to win their first Korean Series title since 1994, are in first place at 49-30-2 (wins-losses-ties). They lead the defending champions SSG Landers (46-32-1) by 2.5 games.
In this file photo, LG Twins players celebrate their 3-1 win over the Kia Tigers in a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on July 2, 2023. (Yonhap)
Under new manager Youm Kyoung-youb, the Twins have been the best hitting team all season and also have the most steals with 86. They have also been caught 54 times. Five teams -- half of the league -- don't even have that many steals.
Despite a weaker-than-expected bullpen, the Twins boast the lowest ERA in the league, thanks in large part to their starting pitching.
The Twins have gone 6-2 against the Landers, who are trying to become the first team since the 2015-16 Doosan Bears to win consecutive Korean Series titles.
Unlike the Twins, the Landers have had to rely on their bullpen to stay at or near the top of the standings, with their starters having issues early on. They have the second-best bullpen ERA but the worst ERA by starters.
In this file photo, Guillermo Heredia of the SSG Landers hits a two-run single against the Kia Tigers during a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, west of Seoul, on July 6, 2023. (Yonhap)
The Doosan Bears, under rookie manager Lee Seung-yuop, have gone undefeated in July at 9-0, soaring to third place at 42-36-1 and sitting four games back of the Landers.
Their current nine-game winning streak is the team's longest in five years. Few pundits expected the young Bears to even contend for a postseason spot, but they now find themselves in the thick of a tight race.
A half-dozen clubs that have been running hot and cold all season are lurking below the Bears.
The NC Dinos are in fourth place at 39-38-1, a game up on the Lotte Giants (38-39).
The Giants were the darlings of the KBO in the early going, and they were in first place on May 1. Things have gone sideways since, with the club shuffling its coaching staff and replacing injured outfielder Zach Reks along the way.
The Kia Tigers have gone 7-2 this month, including a six-game winning streak, to climb to sixth place at 36-39-1, after suffering two different three-game losing streaks in late June.
Few others could embody the tumultuous nature of this season quite the way these Tigers have, though the KT Wiz gave it a try.
Doosan Bears players celebrate their 4-1 win over the SSG Landers in a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, west of Seoul, on July 12, 2023. (Yonhap)
The Wiz (37-41-2) have climbed out of last place with some hot streaks, which were often interrupted by multiple losses in a row. They came into this week on a four-game losing skid, which came on the heels of four straight victories. And they won all three games this week.
The Kiwoom Heroes, runners-up to the Landers in last year's Korean Series, have suffered a letdown in 2023. They staggered into the All-Star break with a seven-game slide, and they fell from sixth to ninth place in a span of four days.
The Heroes (38-46-2) are looking up at the Hanwha Eagles in the standings, something that couldn't be said about any team at the end of the past three seasons.
The Eagles, after enjoying their first eight-game winning streak in 18 years earlier this month, are now in eighth place at 34-40-4, only 2.5 games out of the final postseason berth.
Their most recent trip to the postseason came in 2018. And the one before that had come all the way back in 2007.
In this file photo from June 30, 2013, Hanwha Eagles starter Moon Dong-ju pitches against the Samsung Lions during a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, southeast of Seoul. (Yonhap)
The Samsung Lions have been by far the most disappointing team this season. At 31-49, they are in last place by five games -- only two seasons after coming within a win of winning the regular season crown.
Manager Park Jin-man, elevated to full-time status after guiding the team on an interim basis late last season, has had rotten injury luck with some key players.
The first three months of the season saw three different teams post the best monthly record: the Giants in April (14-8), the Twins in May (16-6-1) and the Wiz in June (15-8). The Bears are leading the way in July at 9-0.
Teams have climbed or fallen multiple spots in the standings in a hurry, and nine teams, aside from the Lions, all have a legitimate chance to compete in the postseason in 2023.
Eight of the 10 teams have changed at least one of their foreign players so far, with the Twins and the Dinos being the exceptions.
In this file photo from April 23, 2023, Samsung Lions players bow to their fans after losing to the Kia Tigers 5-3 in a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, south of Seoul. (Yonhap)
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