A reason for Giants fans to root for every KBO team
I read like three different articles for this, so don't doubt my commitment to research
The Korean Baseball League, known as the KBO, opened its regular season last night with a game televised on ESPN and four others on Twitch. If you’re missing baseball right now something fierce, what with the ongoing pandemic and whatnot, this is something of a godsend. But you’re an American baseball fan, and most of you root for the Giants, so how are you supposed to know which KBO teams appeal to you?
I’m here to help. In this guide, I will go through all 10 KBO teams from the perspective of a San Francisco Giants fan, looking for a reason for you to root for every one of them.
Samsung Lions
According to this Baseball Prospectus article, the Lions are a good analogue for the San Francisco Giants because of their impressive history and the timing of their successes and failures over the last decade. Karl Ravech last night very diplomatically said that the Lions “have not had a winning record in several seasons,” so that should feel just like home for Giants partisans. Also, for you Mac Williamson fans, this was his team when he was in the KBO last year, which is a VERY IMPORTANT consideration in some circles.
NC Dinos
They’re called the DINOS. Dinosaurs are COOL. What else do you need?
Oh, you need a Giants connection, as implied by the title of this newsletter? Hm, right, forgot about that.
Now, Aaron Altherr is on the Dinos this year, but considering that he had exactly one plate appearance as a member of the Giants organization, that’s a little thin. But if, as a fan of a major league team that doesn’t hit a lot of home runs, you want to complement that with a team that hits, say, the most home runs in its league, then this is the team for you! The NC Dinos can satisfy your long-neglected need for dingers, if you are so inclined.
Doosan Bears
Perhaps you are not the kind of Giants fan who was forged in the fires of failure. Perhaps you came to the team more recently, during the good years, when you learned how fun baseball could be. Perhaps 2016 was your first taste of real baseball heartbreak, one you were unable to foresee, as your life hadn’t adequately prepared you for baseball to very politely smile at you and then stab you in the front, the side, the front again, the front one more time, the side, the back, and finally the front again.
Being a bandwagon fan is simply a different experience than being a lifer. It is not a worse one, and an argument could easily be made that it’s better. So in these dark times, just know that the Doosan Bears won the KBO championship last year. If you are the bandwagon type, well, hop the fuck on board, it’s time to go bandwagoning.
LG Twins
Casey Kelly! Kelly spent a little less than a year and a half in the Giants organization, signing as a minor league free agent in July of 2017, and sticking around until the end of 2018. In that time, he was a solid starter for the River Cats in the PCL, and pitched 23.2 innings with a 3.04 ERA in the big leagues at the end of 2018. He is, essentially, a Giants legend, and if you’d like to root for a Giants legend, then this is the team for you.
Kia Tigers
Their manager? Matt Williams. Williams was not only a Giants great as a player, but he also helped manage them to a World Series, in that he did a poor job as manager during the 2014 NLDS, helping the Giants win that series and advance in the playoffs. If you can’t root for the success of a man who created such great memories for you, a Giants fan, during two different generations, then who can you root for?
Kiwoom Heroes
When I talked about the Dinos, I emphasized that they scratch an itch that the San Francisco Giants have spent years decidedly not scratching. But maybe that’s not what you’re looking for. Maybe you want a commonality with your main baseball team, and not a difference.
The Kiwoom Heroes, when they are legally allowed to sell tickets, have the most expensive tickets in the league. The prices will bring you right back home to 3rd and King!
KT Wiz Suwon
This is Jae-Gyun Hwang’s team! If you don’t remember Giants legend Jae-Gyun Hwang, maybe this will jog your memory:
Sure, that was basically his only highlight in a Giants uniform, but what a highlight!
Side note: at the end of this clip package, the narrator says that this was the Giants’ first series win of 2017. They played this game on June 28.
2017 was not a good year for the San Francisco Giants.
Lotte Giants
I mean, they’re literally called the Giants. Do you want to be rooting for another team, only to hear, “Home run Giants!” and then have to be all, “Aw crap”? No, you don’t. And even if you get used to that, at some point MLB will come back and then you’ll hear “Home run Giants!” and you’ll go, “Aw crap.” That’s a lose-lose proposition! Do you want to risk this catastrophe happening to you? Absolutely not.
Also, from that BP article:
Suffers from greater-than-average number of cat-related stoppages of play.
WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED?
SK Wyverns
According to popular Twitter user Baseball Brit, the Wyverns are the KBO team most like the Giants:
He says it’s because both teams have a black-and-orange color scheme, and they both won at least one title last decade. So if you have a bunch of clothes in Giants colors and know how to say “Count the rings” in Korean, then this is definitely a winner for you.
Hanwha Eagles
Perhaps you are uneasy about the state of the world right now. Perhaps the lack of not only baseball but also the many other routines of your everyday life is making you feel anxious, scared, adrift. Why not embrace a philosophy of, sure, things could be better, but at least I’m still here?
This is what the Hanwha Eagles represent. BP describes them as “detached from winning and losing, just happy to be at the table and enjoying baseball alongside everyone else .” Isn’t that detachment from results exactly what the doctor ordered for the present moment? The Hanwha Eagles represent the possibility of a life unfettered by expectations of how things should be. There is just how things are, and we should appreciate everything for its own sake, instead of as part of some larger goal which we will not accomplish.
There is a lesson to be learned here, I think. Keep trying. Do your best with what you have, knowing it’s not good enough. That’s okay. That’s admirable, really, because right now, that’s the best any of us can do.