The postseason of the KBO (Korean Baseball Organization) officially began on Oct. 5, as the NC Dinos defeated the SK Wyverns, picking up the Wild Card berth and earning a spot in the best of five semi playoff series which started on Oct. 8 against the Lotte Giants. This year, in the 2020 regular season, the standings for the top five teams that are eligible for the postseason are the NC Dinos, KT Wiz, Doosan Bears, LG Twins, and Kiwoom Heroes.
“To be honest, I’m just happy that we got to witness a full season occur without any suspensions in between and I’m sure all KBO fans will agree with me,” said Jaewan On (12), avid baseball fan. “Now that the season is over, I cannot wait to see what the KBO postseason has to give after the dramatic MLB postseason. The fact that the postseason started when it was supposed to be over makes it more interesting than ever. I hope next year we can all go back to normal and experience the unique KBO culture.”
The Kiwoom Heroes lost to the LG Twins in the Wild Card Round. As a result, there will now be a best of three semi-playoffs between the Doosan Bears and LG Twins. Historically, the last stretch of the regular season is known for being highly competitive. The Kiwoom Heroes, the team in fifth place, was only one game away from the second place team, the KT Wiz. In fact, the final standings for the postseason this year was undecided until the very last day of the regular season due to how competitive the second to fifth place competition was.
“I think fans are increasingly focusing on the wins and losses in this postseason once again,” said Daniel Min (12), baseball fan. “As a baseball fan, I know that the regular season is extremely competitive, with the top teams having similar skills and results. Now that the standings are decided, I am looking forward to watching the intense games and performances among teams, especially the games where my favorite team would be playing in.”
Although baseball fans wanted to go see the postseason live, they were concerned about going to audience-packed games due to the pandemic, indicated by the rate to which tickets were being sold out. As a result, the KBO announced that baseball fans who miss out on the postseason tickets or are concerned about the current situation with the pandemic will be able to watch live games on cinema screens in several locations in Korea. They have contacted Lotte Cinema, and agreed that they will collaboratively be streaming live postseason games in ten locations so that a larger range of fans are able to watch them and enjoy the season.
“I know most about the Doosan Bears because it is the team that I am a fan of,” said James Tyvand, history teacher. “It has been quite of a nice diversion to watch baseball in the evenings, and I would expect the Doosan Bears to do well in their next games as they earned their wins in the past couple of games, and there are also two foreign pitchers in the team who are doing very well. I am positive about their chances, and overall I am enjoying the availability to watch baseball.”