The 2017 Korean Series was the

championship series In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

of the

2017 KBO League season The 2017 KBO League season was the 36th season in the history of the KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises ...

. The

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 ...

, as the regular season champions, automatically advanced to the Korean Series. They played the winner of the playoff series, the

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 ...

, who had defeated the

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 ...

in the playoff. Kia won the

best-of-seven There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly k ...

series, 4–1.

Yang Hyeon-jong Yang Hyeon-jong (Hangul: 양현종, Hanja: 梁玹種) (born March 1, 1988) is a Korean professional baseball pitcher for the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas ...

was named the series'

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

Summary

Matchups

Game 1

Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (; ; born 24 January 1953) is a South Korean former politician, civil servant and lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea between 2017 and 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs an ...

, the

President of South Korea The president of the Republic of Korea (), also known as the president of South Korea (often abbreviated to POTROK or POSK; ), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Korea. The president leads the State Council, and is ...

, threw the

ceremonial first pitch The ceremonial first pitch is a longstanding ritual of baseball in which a guest of honor throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Originally, the guest threw a ball from their seat in the grandstand to ...

Dustin Nippert Dustin David Nippert (born May 6, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball, and the Doosan Bears and KT Wiz of the KBO League. Nippert won the KBO ...

started Game 1 for Doosan and

Héctor Noesí Héctor Noesí (; born January 26, 1987) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and Miami Mar ...

started for Kia.

Oh Jae-won Oh Jae-won (born February 9, 1985) is a retired South Korean professional baseball infielder who spent his entire career with the Doosan Bears of the KBO League. He graduated from Yatap High School and was selected by the Doosan Bears in a 20 ...

drew a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ov ...

with the

bases loaded B backdoor breaking ball :A breaking pitch, usually a slider, curveball, or cut fastball that, due to its lateral motion, passes through a small part of the strike zone on the outside edge of the plate after seeming as if it would miss the p ...

in the fourth inning to score Doosan's first run. In the fifth inning,

Park Kun-woo Park Kun-woo (Hangul: 박건우; born September 8, 1990) is a South Korean professional baseball outfielder for the NC Dinos of the KBO League. He joined the Doosan Bears through the second draft in 2009 after graduating from Seoul High School. ...

hit a

run batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBI)

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, and Kim Jae-hwan and

Oh Jae-il Oh Jae-il (Hangul: 오재일, Hanja: 吳在一; born October 29, 1986) is a South Korean professional baseball infielder for the Samsung Lions of the KBO League. He won the MVP award in the 2017 playoffs against NC with four home runs and n ...

hit back-to-back

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s for Doosan in the fifth inning. In their half of the fifth inning,

Roger Bernadina Rogearvin Argelo "Roger" Bernadina (born June 12, 1984) is a Dutch Curaçaoan professional baseball outfielder for Curaçao Neptunus of the Honkbal Hoofdklasse. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals, Philadelphi ...

hit a three-run home run for Kia, and Doosan held on to win 5–3.

Game 2

started Game 2 for the Tigers, while

Chang Won-jun Chang Won-jun (Hangul: 장원준, Hanja: 張元準; born July 31, 1985) is a South Korean pitcher for the Doosan Bears of the KBO League. Professional career He joined the Lotte Giants in the first draft in 2004, and played for the team between ...

started for the Bears. Yang threw a

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

, allowing four

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

and recording 11

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s. Kim Joo-chan scored the game's only run in the eighth inning after hitting a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

Game 3

Pat Dean Patrick Michael Dean (born May 25, 1989) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins and in the Korea Baseball Organization for the Kia Tigers. Amateur career Dean was b ...

threw seven innings for Kia. He pitched aggressively, inducing weak contact from Doosan's hitters. Lee Myung-ki hit an RBI

in the third inning to give Kia a 1-0 lead, and An Chi-hong hit a two RBI single in the fourth inning to increase the lead to 3-0. The Bears scored in the bottom of the fourth inning with a

sacrifice fly In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

Yang Eui-ji Yang Eui-ji (; born June 5, 1987) is a South Korean professional baseball catcher currently playing for the Doosan Bears of the KBO League. He has won the KBO League Golden Glove Award at catcher five times; three consecutive years from 2014 to ...

, but the Tigers scored again in the fifth inning with an RBI single by Bernadina. Nick Evans hit a home run for the Bears in the seventh inning and Kim Jae-hwan had an RBI for the Bears in the eighth inning to narrow the score to 4-3.

Na Ji-wan Na Jiwan (, born May 19, 1985) is a South Korean former professional baseball outfielder. From 2008 to 2022, he played for the Kia Tigers of the KBO League. He batted and threw right-handed. Amateur career While attending Shinil Junior High Sc ...

entered the game as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

for Kia in the ninth inning, and hit a two-run home run.

Game 4

Im Gi-yeong Im Gi-yeong (born April 16, 1993) is a South Korean professional baseball pitcher currently playing for the Kia Tigers of the KBO League. He is a sidearm pitcher who uses a big changeup as his main weapon and combines fastballs and sliders to ...

started for the Tigers, and

Yoo Hee-kwan Yoo Hee-kwan (Hangul: 유희관, Hanja: 柳熙寬) (born June 1, 1986 in Seoul) is a South Korean starting pitcher for the Doosan Bears of the KBO League. He bats and throws left-handed. Professional career Yoo started his career with the D ...

started for the Bears. Bernadina hit an RBI

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

in the first inning for Kia, and scored on a single by Choi Hyung-woo. The Tigers scored two more runs in the seventh inning. The Bears scored a run in the eighth inning, but Kia scored a run in the top of the ninth inning. Kim Se-hyun earned his second save of the series for the Tigers, pitching the final innings.

Game 5

Game 5 was a rematch of Game 1's starting pitchers, Noesí for Kia and Nippert for Doosan.

Lee Bum-ho Lee Bum-ho (; Hanja: 李杋浩; born November 25, 1981) is a South Korean former third baseman who played primarily in the KBO League. He bats and throws right-handed. Lee is considered one of the best defensive third basemen in the KBO league ...

hit a

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

for Kia off of Nippert in the third inning. Yang Hyeon-jong earned the save, pitching out of a

situation in the ninth inning. Kia won their first Korean Series since 2009. Yang won the Korean Series

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

Award.

References

{{Doosan Bears Korean Series Doosan Bears Kia Tigers

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 ...