Let’s Go LG Twins: Getting Into the KBO

Why the KBO?

Well, they’re actually playing. The KBO season has been up and running for about a month already thanks to a proactive approach by the country, which Time magazine recently acknowledged in an article on the best global responses to COVID-19.

It’s been interesting to get a look at baseball played in empty stadiums. Kinda reminds me of the lean years during the Metrodome era. Ha!

Another thing the KBO has going for it is broadcasts and highlights are relatively easy to find compared to other leagues that operate overseas. Some KBO games are even available on ESPN, but all of their games are available on Twitch with the Korean broadcast teams.

Japan’s NPB, which starts Friday, is a step above the KBO in terms of talent, but it appears it’s more difficult to watch games here in the states. Taiwan’s CPBL is more accessible, with many games available in english on Twitter, but the talent is a few steps below the KBO and there’s only five teams.

KBO compared to MLB

The brand of baseball played in the KBO represents something closer to what some American baseball fans long for. There’s fewer plate appearances that end in one of the “three true outcomes” — a strikeout, walk or home run. Last season, 35.1% of MLB plate appearances ended in one of those three outcomes. The KBO is at 29.0% so far in 2020, a mark the MLB hasn’t been below since 2008.

Narrowing things down further, the most significant difference comes in K%. MLB’s K% in 2019 was 23.0%, while it’s at just 17.6% in the KBO so far this year. One thing that’s noticeable between the leagues is KBO defenders generally lack the range and arm strength of their MLB counterparts. As a result, the league average BABIP in the KBO this year is .312, while MLB’s BABIP was .298 last year.

This all results in the mean KBO batting average coming out to .273. MLB was at .252 in 2019, and the last time it surpassed that KBO mark was 1939. So there’s a lot more traffic on the bases than you’re used to seeing from the MLB.

Why are they the Twins?

Uh … if you find out, please let me know.

This was one of the KBO’s original franchises, so its roots go back to 1982. Up until 1990, however, they were known as the MBC Chungryong, or Blue Dragons. The LG Corporation purchased the club and renamed them the Twins. Again, not sure how they landed on that name.

How are the LG Twins similar to the Minnesota Twins?

One connection between the KBO Twins and the MLB Twins is that their most recent glory days are more than 25 years in the past.

The KBO Twins won the Korean Series Championship in 1990 and again in 1994. After a decade-long stretch of futility, they’ve been to the playoffs in four of the past seven seasons, but are still chasing another championship.

In an excellent KBO preview, Pitcher List had the New York Mets as the most similar MLB team to the LG Twins. The logic was the Twins play second fiddle to the Doosan Bears, a dominant KBO team who they share a stadium with in Seoul. The Mets comp is natural, but I think most Minnesota Twins fans can also identify with that concept of being constantly overshadowed by a Yankees-adjacent team.

On Twitter, Baseball Brit compared the LG Twins to the Los Angeles Dodgers, another team that hasn’t tasted championship glory in quite some time. The fact that Joey is an LG fan is as much of an endorsement as I need. If you’re not familiar with him, here’s a good interview Sports Illustrated did on his quest to attend 162 baseball games last year.

About the 2020 LG Twins

The good news is the Twins are off to a strong start this season, boasting a 21-13 record, putting them third in the 10-team league. The bad news is slugger Roberto Ramos, a former Rockies prospect, was recently placed on the Injured List with back and ankle pain. Ramos is coming off back-to-back 30-home run seasons in the minors, and was leading the KBO in home runs at the time of his injury.

https://twitter.com/AlexFast8/status/1268892869206716416

Among the other current LG Twins who previously played in the states include former Baltimore Orioles outfielder Hyun Soo Kim. When Kim returned to South Korea, O’s teammate Tyler Wilson followed. The right-hander is in his third year in the LG Twins’ rotation. Former big leaguer Casey Kelly, another starting pitcher for the Twins, is in his second year with the team.

A standout hitter who's never played in the states is right fielder Weun-Sung Chae. The pitching staff features some exciting prospects, the youngest of which is Min-ho Lee, an 18-year-old who’s off to a great start. The Twins also have 20-year-old Jung Woo-young, who was the 2019 KBO Rookie of the Year, in the bullpen.

https://twitter.com/TFTwins/status/1271927197100630016

Watching the KBO without its fans feels like missing out on the best part of the entire experience, but that’s what we’ll have to settle for at the moment. Here’s a look at what a KBO game looks like under normal circumstances:

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