Sports Seoul | Yoon Se-ho] It was October 19, 2007. It was an unusual regular season game in the midst of the postseason. Hanwha and KIA were playing their final regular season game after the playoff series between Hanwha and Doosan ended. Just 13 days after the pennant race ended, Hanwha and Kia were back in action.
Here’s what happened The original plan was to end the regular season on October 7. A game between Hanwha and KIA at Gwangju’s Musheung Stadium was scheduled to end the pennant race and kick off the postseason, but the game was canceled due to heavy rain.
The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) decided to start the postseason with Hanwha, which clinched third place regardless of whether it won or lost the final game of the regular season. In the 126-game format, Hanwha entered the postseason after playing only 125 games.
After defeating Samsung in the semifinals with a 2-1 series win, Hanwha was swept by Doosan in the playoffs. It didn’t end there. Two days after Game 3 of the playoffs, they played their final regular season game in Gwangju. The game was jokingly dubbed the “Super Korean Series” by fans.
The final game of the 2007 regular season between Hanwha and KIA at Gwangju Mudang Stadium on October 19, 2007. | KBO Homepage Capture
Along with the unusual game came an unusual record. Cho Bum-hyun, who signed a contract with KIA for the 2008 season, made his KIA managerial debut in 2007. The game didn’t attract a lot of attention with only 352 spectators, but the game was fierce. It was a game of ties and lead changes, and Hanwha won 4-3 to record their 67th win of the season. In 2007, the last-place KIA lost its last game.
A similar situation could happen this year, 16 years later. The KBO has set an Oct. 15 start date for the 2023 postseason, but there are still plenty of games left in the regular season. With 17 games remaining after Oct. 10, the 25-game cutoff date, the KBO is open to scheduling games during the postseason for lower-ranked teams that didn’t make the postseason. Nine teams, excluding KT, still have regular-season games to play after Oct. 10, and here’s how they stack up.
LG: 3 games: 1 game against NC, 2 games against Doosan
NC 5 games: 1 game against LG Electronics, 1 game against Doosan, 2 games against KIA, 1 game against Samsung Electronics
Doosan 6 games: 2 games against LG, 1 game against NC, 1 game against SSG, 1 game against KIA, 1 game against Lotte
SSG 3 games: 1 game against Doosan, 1 game against Samsung Electronics, 1 game against Kiwoom
KIA 5 games: 2 games against NC, 1 game against Doosan, 1 game against Lotte, 1 game against Kiwoom
LOTTE 5 games: 1 game against Doosan, 1 game against KIA, 3 games against Hanwha
Hanwha 3 games: 3 games against Lotte
Samsung 2 games: 1 game against NC, 1 game against SSG
Kiwoom 2 games: 1 game against SSG, 1 game against KIA
The week of October 11 through October 14 will be dominated by games that will determine who makes the postseason. Assuming the first round of wildcard games takes place on October 15, the first through fifth places should be decided. On the other hand, matches for teams in the bottom half of the standings could take place after October 15. Based on the current standings, No. 7 Lotte and No. 8 Hanwha will likely play one or two of their remaining three games during the postseason.
Lotte is scheduled to play a four-game series from Oct. 7-10. On Oct. 25, they will play fourth-ranked Doosan and sixth-ranked Kia before dropping a three-game series against Hanwha, making it a nine-game series. Assuming a nine-game series, the final date of the regular season would be October 15, which would overlap with the first game of the wild card deciding series. Considering the injury risk of playing too many games at the end of the season, the final game between Hanwha and Lotte could be moved to October 17. 카지노사이트가이드
Doosan also has a tough schedule to digest. They have to play six games, the most since October 10, and they have a good chance of making the postseason. Maybe they’ll end up like Hanwha in 2007 and have to play another regular season game after the postseason. A Hanwha-Lotte game or a Doosan-Lotte game would be the likely 2023 Super Korean Series matchups.
There’s also another variable. With fall rains in the forecast ahead of the Chuseok holiday, there could be rainouts on the 26th and 27th. If that happens, there will be more games to organize after October 10, which will increase the chances of the Super Korea Series being completed. The 2023 season has a lot to think about.