Kia Tigers ( ko, KIA 타이거즈) are a South Korean professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

team founded in 1982 and based in the southwestern city of

Gwangju Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial office ...

. Until 2001, they were known as the Haitai Tigers. The Tigers are a members 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 in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

and are the most successful team in Korean baseball, having won the national

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 ...

championship 11 times with a perfect 11–0 record. Their home stadium is

Gwangju-Kia Champions Field The Gwangju-Kia Champions Field ( ko, 광주 KIA 챔피언스 필드) is a baseball stadium in Gwangju, South Korea. It has been the home of KBO club Kia Tigers Kia Tigers ( ko, KIA 타이거즈) are a South Korean professional baseball t ...

in Gwangju. After the success of the 1980s and 1990s, the fortunes of the team began to turn, resulting in them finishing bottom of the league for the first time in 2005, and again in 2007. In 2009, however, Kia Tigers won the 2009 KBO season and 2009 Korean Series.(KS Game 7) Na Ji-Wan 'goodbye home run'…KIA, realize tenth title great ambition
/ref>

History

Haitai Tigers was the third professional baseball team to be created in South Korea, after the

OB 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 ...

and

MBC Chungyong MBC may refer to: Broadcasting * Major Broadcasting Cable Network, renamed to Black Family Channel * Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, a Malawian state-run radio company * Manila Broadcasting Company, in the Philippines * Mauritius Broadcasting Co ...

. They were founded on January 30, 1982, with 14 players.

Kim Dong-yeob Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese f ...

, the first manager of the team, was fired after just one month, and

Jo Chang-soo Jo, jo, JO, or J.O. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Jo'' (film), a 1972 French comedy * ''Jo'' (TV series), a French TV series *"Jo", a song by Goldfrapp from ''Tales of Us'' *"Jo", a song by Mr. Oizo from '' Lambs Anger'' * Jo a ficti ...

took over his position and led the team to a record of 38–42. Due to the lack of position players, many players in the league both pitched and batted. Kim Seong-han, for instance, had a record of ten wins and led the league in RBIs with 69 the first year. In 1983, Haitai hired

Kim Eung-ryong Kim Eung-Ryong (born September 15, 1941, in Pyongwon County, Pyongwon, South Pyongan Province, South Pyongan, Korea) is a Korean baseball manager. He is the winningest manager in the history of KBO League, Korean professional baseball, having w ...

as manager, who had studied baseball in the United States (and had managed

Haitai Haitai (Hangul: 해태, Hanja: 海陀) is a South Korean company based in Seoul. Its main businesses are retail and instant foods, especially confectionery, beverage and ice cream. The company was founded on October 3, 1945, and employs 3900 p ...

's amateur baseball team from 1964 to 1981). He eventually led the team to its first championship in 1983. The Tigers won the

4–0–1 against

. Although the team did not make it to the playoffs for the next two years, it set the foundation for the golden years to come by signing in future stars

Lee Soon-cheol Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese s ...

, Sun Dong-yeol, and Kim Seong-han.

Bang Soo-won Bang or bangs may refer to: Products * M1922 Bang rifle, a US semi-automatic rifle designed by Søren Hansen Bang * Bang, a model car brand * Bang (beverage), an energy drink Geography * Bang, Lorestan, a village in Iran * Bangs, Ohio, Un ...

pitched the first

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

in Korean baseball history in 1984 against the

Sammi Superstars The Hyundai Unicorns () were a South Korean professional baseball team based in Suwon. They were a member of the KBO League. The Unicorns won the KBO championship four times (1998, 2000, 2003 and 2004). The Unicorns were dissolved after the 20 ...

. Under manager Kim Eung-ryong in the years 1983 to 1997, the Tigers won nine championships, never losing a Korean Series during that span. In 1986, the Tigers finished in second place in the pennant race with a team ERA of 2.86 and a batting average of .272, to go straight to the Korean Series against 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 ...

. They went on to win their second Korean Series 4–1. Until 1989, the Haitai Tigers won once more against the Samsung Lions and twice against the

Binggrae 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 ...

to complete four consecutive Korean Series wins. Kim Jung-soo,

Kim Joon-hwan Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese f ...

Moon Hye-soo The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

, and

Park Chul-woo Park Chul-Woo (born September 29, 1965) is a retired football player and goalkeeper coach. He played in K-League side POSCO Atoms, LG Cheetahs, Chunnam Dragons and Suwon Samsung Bluewings in South Korea South Korea, officially the Repu ...

respectively were named MVPs of each series. The Tigers lost in the playoffs to the Samsung Lions in 1990, but won the next Korean Series the following year. In 1991, the Tigers set a record when the team won six out of ten possible

KBO League Golden Glove Award The KBO League Golden Glove Award is an award given out annually by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to the best overall player at each position in the KBO League. It is also commonly known as the KBO Golden Gloves. The award was established i ...

s. 1993 was the year of rookie shortstop

Lee Jong-beom Lee Jong-beom ( ko, 이종범, Hanja: 李鍾範; born August 15, 1970) is a former South Korean professional baseball player who played for the Kia Tigers (formerly the Haitai Tigers) in the KBO League and the Chunichi Dragons in Japan from 19 ...

, closer Sun Dong-yeol, and starters Lee Dae-jin and

Lee Kang-chul Lee Kang-chul (Hangul: 이강철; born May 24, 1966, in Gwangju, South Korea) is a South Korean former professional baseball pitcher and current manager of the KT Wiz. A submarine-style pitcher,Sun Dong-yeol was also transferred to the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011) ...

in 1996,"Foreign Players in KBO — A History Lesson,"
''Burly's Baseball Musings'' (August 23, 2014). but Lim Chang-yong and Gang Tae-won filled in his position to lead the team to its eighth Korean Series win over the

Hyundai Unicorns The Hyundai Unicorns () were a South Korean professional baseball team based in Suwon. They were a member of the KBO League. The Unicorns won the KBO championship four times (1998, 2000, 2003 and 2004). The Unicorns were dissolved after the 20 ...

. The next year, Lee Jong-beom and Lee Dae-jin returned from military service and with their help the Tigers again won the Korean Series, defeating the

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 ...

, to bring the total to nine champion wins. Due to the Asian financial crisis in 1998,

was forced to sell the team to

Kia Kia Corporation, commonly known as Kia (, ; formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry and Kia Motors Corporation), is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second lar ...

in 2001. Until then the Tigers were also in financial difficulty, could not convince their major players to stay. Eventually, they lost

to the

, and closer Lim Chang-yong and manager Kim Eung-ryong to the Samsung Lions.

returned from Japan, and rookies

Hong Se-wan Hong may refer to: Places *Høng, a town in Denmark *Hong Kong, a city and a special administrative region in China *Hong, Nigeria *Hong River in China and Vietnam *Lake Hong in China Surnames *Hong (Chinese name) *Hong (Korean name) Organiz ...

, catcher Kim Sang-hoon and pitcher Kim Jin-woo joined between 2001 and 2002 to lead the team to the playoffs for three straight years from 2002 to 2004. But each time they were beaten, by the LG Twins, 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 ...

, and 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 ...

respectively. Kia Tigers lost 76 games to end up in eighth place in 2005. Manager Yoo Nam-ho was fired and Seo Jung-hwan took charge, but again ended up in last place in 2007 despite his effort and joining of former MLB player

Hee-seop Choi Hee-seop Choi (; Hangul: 최희섭; Hanja: 崔熙燮; ; born March 16, 1979) is a South Korean former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins, and Los Angeles Dodgers ...

. Batting coach Jo Beom-hyun was promoted to the new manager position in June 2007. Former MLB pitcher

Seo Jae-weong Jae Weong Seo (; Hanja: 徐在應; ; born May 24, 1977), usually referred to as simply Jae Seo and pronounced "Jay So", is a retired South Korean professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Lo ...

joined the team the next year in 2008, but because of a weak lineup, unstable defense and bullpen problems, the Tigers finished the pennant race in sixth place. The 2009 season featured a rough start for the Tigers, and it looked as if the strong starting rotation of Rick Guttormson, Aquilino López,

Yoon Suk-min Yoon Suk-min (Hangul: 윤석민, Hanja: 尹錫珉; born July 24, 1986) is a South Korean former professional baseball pitcher. He bats and throws right-handed. He played for the Kia Tigers of the KBO League from 2005 to 2013, and 2015 to 2019, ...

, and

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 ...

would get little support from the team's offense. But with

's leadership, Choi Hee-seop's revival from his three-year-long slump, and Kim Sang-hyeon's hitting, the Tigers won the pennant with the second-lowest team ERA in the league (3.92) and a win percentage of 0.609. The Tigers won the 2009 KBO season and 2009 Korean Series, which was the first "double- victory" (having the best record in the regular season and then winning the Korea Series) by a team in the KBO since 1997. Twenty-four-year-old Outfielder

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 ...

was named the series MVP after hitting a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game Seven of the series. On October 18, 2011, Sun Dong-yeol and Lee Soon-cheol returned to the Tigers. Sun Dong-yeol was named the new manager and Lee Sun-choel was named the new head coach of the KIA Tigers. In Sun's first season, the Tigers finished a disappointing fifth place after making the playoffs in 2012. Struggling for most of the year, a late playoff surge saw the Tigers fall just short of their rivals, the

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 ...

, who claimed the fourth and final postseason position. The final weeks, however, inspired a lot of confidence that 2013 would be a good year after starting pitchers

, Kim Jin-woo and

all posted complete-game wins. Sun Dong-yeol was retained as manager of the Tigers and after a very promising pre-season, the Tigers were considered one of the favorites for the Korean Series. Their early season form was blistering and, by early May, they sat top of the table. The batters, especially Choi Hee-seop, came alive and left-handed pitcher

was enjoying his best run since notching up 16 wins in 2010. But the Tigers made a disastrous trade when they off-loaded 2009 MVP Kim Sang-hyeon to the SK Wyverns for right-handed pitcher Song Eun-beom. Song had previously pitched in the Korean Series against the Samsung Lions but his form plummeted and KIA went on to rue the missing power from Kim once Choi, and others, faded horribly as the season progressed. They were effectively out of the playoff hunt with over a month to go, ending the 2013 season with just 51 wins from their 128 games in eighth place out of nine teams, ahead of the

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 ...

. In 2014, the Tigers moved to their new home, the 27,000 capacity

Gwangju KIA Champions Field The Gwangju-Kia Champions Field ( ko, 광주 KIA 챔피언스 필드) is a baseball stadium in Gwangju, South Korea. It has been the home of KBO club Kia Tigers since 2014. Records See also *Gwangju Mudeung Baseball Stadium Gwangju M ...

. Sun Dong-yeol was given his third season with the club, but Lee Sun-cheol moved on. Free agents

Lee Yong-kyu Lee Yong-kyu (, Hanja: 李容圭, born August 26, 1985) is an outfielder who plays for the Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO League. He bats and throws left-handed Amateur career Lee attended Duksoo High School in Seoul, South Korea. In , he was selecte ...

(Hanwha Eagles) and

(Baltimore) left the club but the Tigers brought in LG Twins' center-fielder Lee Dae-hyung as a free agent. Lee, born in Gwangju, was joined at his home town club by Kim Byung-hyun, a two-time World Series champion. Their three foreign players were starting pitcher

D.J. Houlton Dennis Sean "D. J." Houlton Jr. (born August 12, 1979) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers and in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Yomiuri Giants ...

, closer

Jairo Asencio Jairo Manuel Asencio (born May 30, 1983) is a professional baseball right-handed pitcher who is a free agent. He has played for the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, and Baltimore Orioles in MLB. He spent 2014 with the Kia Tigers ...

and first baseman

Brett Pill Brett Michael Pill (born September 9, 1984) is a retired Major League Baseball player. He played for the San Francisco Giants and the Kia Tigers of the KBO League. Amateur career Pill attended Covina High School and California State University, ...

. Houlton was replaced midway through the season by

Justin Thomas Justin Louis Thomas (born April 29, 1993) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and is former World Number One. In 2017, Thomas experienced a breakout year, winning five PGA Tour events and the FedEx Cup championship. H ...

. Despite posting some solid batting numbers, the Tigers finished eighth in the standings, one place above the Hanwha Eagles, with a .422 winning percentage from their 128 games (54 wins, 74 losses). The team had the second-worst ERA in the League (5.52), and the joint most number of blown saves (21). Yang Hyeon-jong finished 2014 with 16 wins, his best figures since 2010. First baseman Pill hit 19 home runs for the season, the same number as Na Ji-wan and Lee Beom-ho. Infielder An Chi-hong struck a career-best 18 home runs and a .339 batting average. The Tigers controversially re-signed manager Sun to a new two-year deal with an annual salary of 380 million won (US$359,500) and a 300 million won signing bonus just days after the regular season ended. Irate fans swamped the club's website demanding the 51-year-old tear up his new contract. Six days later, on October 25, Sun announced that he was stepping down as Tigers manager. On October 28, 2014, the club announced that Kim Ki-tae, born in Gwangju, would be their new manager, having signed a three-year deal. In 2013, Kim led the LG Twins to their first post-season in eleven years, but quit just a month into the new season. As a player, Kim led the League in home runs (1994) and won the batting title in 1997. After retiring, Kim was voted the league's best-ever designated hitter. In 2017, the club, as the regular-season champions, automatically advanced to the 2017 Korean Series. They played the winner of the playoff series, the Doosan Bears, who 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 series, 4–1.

was named the series' most valuable player. Shortly after the 2019 season, the Tigers named former

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

star Matt Williams as their first American manager.Rubin, Shayna
"Why Matt Williams left the A’s to manage a team in Korea: Former San Francisco Giants star and A’s coach is managing the Kia Tigers of the Korean Baseball Organization,"
''The Mercury News'' (May 11, 2020).

Season-by-season records

Team

Current lineup

Managers

*Kim Dong-yeob (1982) *Cho Chang-soo (1982) ''(caretaker)'' *

(1983–2000) * Kim Seong-han (2000–2004) *Yoo Nam-ho (2004–2005) *Seo Jeong-hwan (2005–2007) * Cho Beom-hyeon (2007–2011) *

Sun Dong-yol Sun Dong-yol (; or ; born January 10, 1963) is a South Korean citizen, South Korean retired baseball pitcher and former Manager (baseball), manager. He was a pitcher in the KBO League and Nippon Professional Baseball, and the former manager ...

(2011–2014) *

Kim Ki-tai Kim Ki-tai (Hangul: 김기태, Hanja: 金杞泰; born May 23, 1969) is a former South Korean baseball player who played for the Ssangbangwool Raiders, Samsung Lions and SK Wyverns and is a former manager of Kia Tigers in the Korea Baseball ...

(2014–2019) *Park Heung-sik (2019) ''(caretaker)'' * Matt Williams (2020–2021) *

Kim Jong-kook Kim Jong-kook (; born April 25, 1976) is a South Korean singer, entertainer, and actor. Kim debuted as a member of South Korean duo Turbo in 1995. The duo was considered to be one of the most popular idols in that time and sold out millions of ...

(2022–present)

Retired numbers

References

;General * ;Specific

External links

Official website
* {{Hyundai Motor Group KBO League teams Sport in Gwangju

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

Baseball teams established in 1982 1982 establishments in South Korea