The 2016 KBO League season was the 35th season in the history of the Korea Professional Baseball League.

Season structure

Stadium changes for 2016 season

*The

Nexen Heroes The Kiwoom Heroes () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. They are a member of the KBO League. The Heroes play their home games at Gocheok Sky Dome in Gocheok-dong, a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of Se ...

left the 12,500-seat

Mokdong Baseball Stadium Mokdong Baseball Stadium is a stadium located in Seoul, South Korea. The stadium was the home of the Nexen Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization between 2008 and 2015. The stadium is part of the Mokdong Sports Complex. See also * Mokdo ...

and began play in the newly built 17,000-seat

Gocheok Sky Dome The Gocheok Sky Dome () is a domed baseball stadium located in Gocheok-dong, Seoul, South Korea. It is the home ballpark of KBO club Kiwoom Heroes. The stadium is primarily used for baseball and has a capacity for 16,744 spectators for baseball ...

. *The

Samsung Lions The Samsung Lions () are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982. They are based in the southeastern city of Daegu and are members of the KBO League. Their home stadium is Daegu Samsung Lions Park. They have won the Korean Champ ...

left the 10,000-seat

Daegu Baseball Stadium Daegu Baseball Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Daegu, South Korea. It is currently used mostly for baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The ...

and began play in the newly built 24,000-seat

Daegu Samsung Lions Park The Daegu Samsung Lions Park is a multi-use stadium in Daegu, South Korea. It is used mostly for baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game ...

. *

Munhak Baseball Stadium The Incheon SSG Landers Field is a baseball stadium located in Incheon, South Korea. Formerly named the Munhak Baseball Stadium, it is the home of the KBO League team SSG Landers. The stadium has been remodeled with Shinsegae affiliate brands, inc ...

, home of the

SK Wyverns SSG Landers () are a South Korean professional baseball team. The team was originally established as the SK Wyverns but was renamed as the SSG Landers in 2021 after Shinsegae acquired the team from SK Group. They are a member of the KBO League. B ...

, was fitted with a 12,257 square feet scoreboard before the start of the season

Regular season

Each KBO team played 144 games during the regular season with all teams playing each other 16 times. The 144-game-schedule began in the 2015 season due to the addition of the

KT Wiz KT Wiz ( ko, KT 위즈) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Suwon. They are a member of the KBO League. Their home stadium is Suwon Baseball Stadium in Suwon. History On 11 January 2013, the Korea Baseball Organization off ...

. During the 2014 season, each team had played 128 games.

All-Star Game

On July 16, the best players participated in the 2016 KBO All-Star Game at

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

. The participating franchises were divided into two regions, the Dream All-Stars (

Doosan Bears The Doosan Bears ( ko, 두산 베어스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. Founded in 1982, they are a member of the KBO League. The Bears have won six Korean Series titles (1982, 1995, 2001, 2015, 2016, and 2019) and ...

Lotte Giants The Lotte Giants ( ko, 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, which also owns the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Pro ...

) and Nanum All-Stars (

Kia Tigers Kia Tigers ( ko, KIA 타이거즈) are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982 and based in the southwestern city of Gwangju. Until 2001, they were known as the Haitai Tigers. The Tigers are a members of the KBO League and are ...

Hanwha Eagles The Hanwha Eagles ( ko, 한화 이글스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Daejeon. They are a member of the KBO League. The Eagles' home ballpark is Daejeon Hanbat Baseball Stadium. The Eagles have won the Korean Series on ...

LG Twins LG Corporation (or LG Group) (), formerly Lucky-Goldstar from 1983 to 1995 (Korean: ''Leokki Geumseong''; ), is a South Korean multinational conglomerate founded by Koo In-hwoi and managed by successive generations of his family. It is ...

NC Dinos The NC Dinos ( ko, NC 다이노스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Changwon. They are a member of the KBO League. Since 2019, their home stadium is Changwon NC Park. NC Dinos are owned by video game developer NCSoft Corpo ...

). The Nanum All-Star team emerged victorious with an 8–4 victory over the Dream All-Star Team in front of a sold-out crowd of 16, 300 fans. Doosan Bears outfielder Min Byung-hun, who hit two home runs during the game, was named the MVP of the game. The KBO All-Star Game however does not determine home-field advantage in the

Korean Series The Korean Series is the final championship series of the KBO League. It has been held since the KBO League's first season in and is the final series of the post-season play-offs. From to 2013, the winner of the Korean Series went on to play in ...

Postseason

The 2016 KBO League season culminates in its championship series, known as the

. Before the 2015 season, the Semi-playoff format was tweaked. Previously, the top four teams after the end of the regular season qualified for the postseason, but in 2015, the top five teams qualified for the postseason. The team with the best record gained a direct entry into the Korean Series, while the other four teams competed for the remaining place in a step-ladder playoff system. Starting in 2015, the fourth-place and the fifth-place teams played in a "Wildcard" game/series.

Procedure to Determine Final Standings

*Champion (first place): Korean Series Winner *Runner-up (second place): Korean Series Loser *Third–Tenth place: Regular Season records determine third to tenth place spots in Final Standings

Standings

Source KBO League (2016)
Team Standings
Accessed on 10 Jun 2020.

Postseason

Wild Card

The series started with a 1–0 advantage for the fourth-placed team.

Semi-playoff

Playoff

Korean Series

Foreign players

Each team could have signed up to three foreign players. Due to the high proportion of pitchers signed in previous years, beginning in 2014 the league mandated that at least one of the foreign players must be a position player. Also with the

being an expansion team that started play in 2015, they were given an exemption and were allowed to sign four foreign players instead of just the normally allowed three.

Foreign hitters

Attendances

References

External links

Official website
{{KBO League KBO League seasons KBO League season KBO League season