Samsung Lions

The Samsung Lions (Korean: 삼성 라이온즈)[1] 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 Series eight times (they have also finished runner-up ten times). The Samsung Lions is the first team to win four consecutive Korean Series titles (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014). The Samsung Lions are also the first Korean team ever to win a regular league title for five consecutive years (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015).

Samsung Lions
삼성 라이온즈
Team logo Cap insignia
Information
League	KBO League (1982–present)
Location	Daegu, South Korea
Ballpark	Daegu Samsung Lions Park (2016–present)
Year established	1982 (1982)
League championships	1982,[lower-alpha 1] 1984,[lower-alpha 2] 1985,[lower-alpha 3] 1986,[lower-alpha 2] 1987,[lower-alpha 3] 1999,[lower-alpha 4] 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
Korean Series championships	1985,[lower-alpha 5] 2002, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Former ballparks	Daegu Baseball Stadium (1982–2015)
Colors	Blue, white and grey
Retired numbers	10, 22, 36
Ownership	Cheil Worldwide (Samsung's subsidiary)
Manager	Heo Sam-yeong
Website	www.samsunglions.com
Uniforms

History

The Samsung Lions were founded in 1982 as one of the original six KBO League teams. They won their first championship in 1985, going 40-14-1 in the first half and 37-18 in the second half for a total of 77–32 for the best one-season winning percentage in KBO League history (a record that still stands). The 1985 team had two 25-game-winners on their staff, Kim Si-jin and Kim ll-young; as the Lions were winners of both half-season pennants that year, no Korean Series was held and the Lions were declared champions outright.[2]

The Lions would also win the championship in 2002, 2005 and 2006, having the best record in each one of those years. In 2010, Ryu Jung-il was hired as the new manager of the Samsung Lions. He led the team to the best record in the league and its fifth KBO title in 2011. After the KBO League, the Samsung Lions won the Asian Series championship. The Samsung Lions became the first team to win the pennant race, the Korean Series, and the Asian Series in the same year.

In 2012, one of the most notable players on the team, Lee Seung-yuop, returned to South Korea from Japan. With his help, the Samsung Lions won their sixth championship in the 2012 season. They won another two championships in 2013 and 2014, for a total of eight Korean Series championships.[3][4] In 2016, Samsung Lions moved to their new stadium, Daegu Samsung Lions Park.[5]

Season-by-season records

Season	Stadium	League	Finish	Regular season									Postseason	Awards
				Rank	Games	Wins	Losses	Draws	Win%	BA	HR	ERA
1982	Daegu Baseball Stadium	KBO	2/6	2/6	40	26	14	0	.650	.266	57	2.70	Lost Korean Series vs. OB Bears (1–1–4)
				1/6	40	28	12	0	.700
1983		KBO	4/6	5/6	50	21	26	3	.447	.263	90	3.42	Did not qualify	Lee Man-soo (MVP)
				2/6	50	25	24	1	.510
1984		KBO	2/6	1/6	50	32	18	0	.640	.270	78	3.35	Lost Korean Series vs. Lotte Giants (3–4)
				5/6	50	23	27	0	.460
1985		KBO	1/6	1/6	55	40	14	1	.741	.276	97	2.98	Not held[lower-alpha 5]
				1/6	55	37	18	0	.673
1986		KBO	2/7	1/7	54	39	15	0	.722	.276	74	2.95	Won Playoff vs. OB Bears (3–2) Lost Korean Series vs. Haitai Tigers (1–4)
				4/7	54	31	22	1	.585
1987		KBO	2/7	1/7	54	33	21	0	.611	.300	105	3.58	Lost Korean Series vs. Haitai Tigers (0–4)	Jang Hyo-jo (MVP)
				1/7	54	31	23	0	.444
1988		KBO	3/7	5/7	54	23	30	1	.435	.278	85	4.18	Lost Playoff vs. Binggrae Eagles (0–3)
				2/7	54	33	20	1	.620
1989		KBO	4/7	4/7	120	57	58	5	.496	.272	96	4.42	Did not qualify
1990		KBO	2/7	2/7	120	66	52	2	.558	.263	131	4.13	Won Semi-playoff vs. Binggrae Eagles (2–0) Won Playoff vs. Haitai Tigers (3–0) Lost Korean Series vs. LG Twins (0–4)
1991		KBO	3/8	3/8	126	70	55	1	.560	.272	108	4.23	Won Semi-playoff vs. Lotte Giants (2–1–1) Lost Playoff vs. Binggrae Eagles (1–3)
1992		KBO	4/8	4/8	126	67	57	2	.540	.265	124	4.55	Lost Semi-playoff vs. Lotte Giants (0–2)
1993		KBO	2/8	2/8	126	73	48	5	.599	.268	133	2.95	Won Playoff vs. LG Twins (3–2) Lost Korean Series vs. Haitai Tigers (2–1–4)	Kim Seong-rae (MVP) Yang Joon-hyuk (ROTY)
1994		KBO	5/8	5/8	126	60	64	2	.484	.260	106	3.47	Did not qualify
1995		KBO	5/8	5/8	126	60	60	6	.500	.250	94	3.90	Did not qualify	Lee Dong-su (ROTY)
1996		KBO	6/8	6/8	126	54	67	5	.448	.249	88	4.23	Did not qualify
1997		KBO	3/8	4/8	126	66	53	7	.552	.277	165	4.23	Won Semi-playoff vs. Ssangbangwool Raiders (2–1) Lost Playoff vs. LG Twins (2–3)	Lee Seung-yuop (MVP)
1998		KBO	3/8	2/8	126	66	58	2	.532	.268	143	4.32	Lost Playoff vs. LG Twins (1–3)
1999		Magic League	4/8	1/4	132	73	57	2	.562	.273	207	5.16	Lost Playoff vs. Lotte Giants (3–4)	Lee Seung-yuop (MVP)
2000		Dream League	3/8	3/4	133	69	59	5	.539	.269	177	4.64	Lost Playoff vs. Hyundai Unicorns (0–4)
2001		KBO	2/8	1/8	133	81	52	0	.609	.277	162	4.39	Lost Korean Series vs. Doosan Bears (2–4)	Lee Seung-yuop (MVP)
2002		KBO	1/8	1/8	133	82	47	4	.636	.284	191	3.92	Won Korean Series vs. LG Twins (4–2)	Lee Seung-yuop (MVP)
2003		KBO	4/8	3/8	133	76	53	4	.589	.284	213	4.37	Lost Semi-playoff vs. SK Wyverns (0–2)	Lee Seung-yuop (MVP)
2004		KBO	2/8	2/8	133	73	52	8	.584	.269	132	3.76	Won Playoff vs. Doosan Bears (3–1) Lost Korean Series vs. Hyundai Unicorns (2–3–4)	Bae Young-soo (MVP)
2005		KBO	1/8	1/8	126	74	48	4	.607	.268	111	3.83	Won Korean Series vs. Doosan Bears (4–0)	Oh Seung-hwan (ROTY)
2006		KBO	1/8	1/8	126	73	50	3	.593	.255	73	3.33	Won Korean Series vs. Hanwha Eagles (4–1–1)
2007		KBO	4/8	4/8	126	62	60	4	.508	.254	86	3.71	Lost Semi-playoff vs. Hanwha Eagles (1–2)
2008		KBO	4/8	4/8	126	65	61	0	.516	.258	92	4.42	Won Semi-playoff vs. Lotte Giants (3–0) Lost Playoff vs. Doosan Bears (2–4)	Choi Hyoung-woo (ROTY)
2009		KBO	5/8	5/8	133	64	69	0	.481	.275	146	4.98	Did not qualify
2010		KBO	2/8	2/8	133	79	52	2	.594	.272	118	3.94	Won Playoff vs. Doosan Bears (3–2) Lost Korean Series vs. SK Wyverns (0–4)
2011		KBO	1/8	1/8	133	79	50	4	.612	.259	95	3.35	Won Korean Series vs. SK Wyverns (4–1)	Bae Yeong-seob (ROTY)
2012		KBO	1/8	1/8	133	80	51	2	.611	.272	89	3.44	Won Korean Series vs. SK Wyverns (4–2)
2013		KBO	1/9	1/9	128	75	51	2	.595	.283	113	3.99	Won Korean Series vs. Doosan Bears (4–3)
2014		KBO	1/9	1/9	128	78	47	3	.624	.301	161	4.52	Won Korean Series vs. Nexen Heroes (4–2)
2015		KBO	2/10	1/10	144	88	56	0	.611	.302	176	4.70	Lost Korean Series vs. Doosan Bears (1–4)	Koo Ja-wook (ROTY)
2016	Daegu Samsung Lions Park	KBO	9/10	9/10	144	65	78	1	.455	.293	142	5.65	Did not qualify
2017		KBO	9/10	9/10	144	55	84	5	.396	.280	145	5.90	Did not qualify
2018		KBO	6/10	6/10	144	68	72	4	.486	.288	146	5.19	Did not qualify
2019		KBO	8/10	8/10	144	60	83	1	.420	.256	122	4.64	Did not qualify
Overall record					Games	Wins	Losses	Draws	Win%
Regular Season					4771	2580	2088	103	.552
Postseason					171	74	90	7	.453
Total					4942	2654	2178	110	.548

1. Latter half pennant winner.
2. First half pennant winner.
3. Both first and latter halves pennant winner.
4. Magic League winners.
5. The 1985 Korean Series was not played, as the Samsung Lions finished in the first place in both parts of the regular league season and thus were declared champions outright.

Current roster

Korean Baseball League MVP

• 1983: Lee Man-soo (catcher)
• 1987: Jang Hyo-jo (outfielder)
• 1993: Kim Seong-rae (infielder)
• 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003: Lee Seung-yuop (infielder)
• 2004: Bae Young-soo (pitcher)

Player Records (batter)

Batting average

1983 Jang Hyo-jo AVG .369

1984 Lee Man-soo AVG .340

1985 Jang Hyo-jo AVG .373

1986 Jang Hyo-jo AVG .329

1987 Jang Hyo-jo AVG .387

1993 Yang Joon-hyuk AVG .341

1996 Yang Joon-hyuk AVG .346

1998 Yang Joon-hyuk AVG .342

Home runs

1983 Lee Man-soo 27 HR

1984 Lee Man-soo 23 HR

1985 Lee Man-soo 22 HR

1987 Kim Seong-rae 22 HR

1993 Kim Seong-rae 28 HR

1997 Lee Seung-yuop 32 HR

1999 Lee Seung-yuop 54 HR

2001 Lee Seung-yuop 39 HR

2002 Lee Seung-yuop 47 HR

2003 Lee Seung-yuop 56 HR

2007 Shim Jeong-soo 31 HR

2011 Choi Hyoung-woo 30 HR

Retired numbers

The first number retired by the Samsung Lions organization was number 22, in honor of catcher and slugger Lee Man-soo, who played for the team from 1982 to 1997, and was later a coach with the Chicago White Sox of the MLB and the SK Wyverns. Lee was a five-time KBO League Golden Glove Award-winner with the Lions, won the KBO League MVP in 1983,[6] and the hitting Triple Crown in 1984. The second number retired by the Samsung Lions organization was number 10, in honor of left-handed batter Yang Joon-hyuk, who played for the team from 1993 to 1998 and from 2002 to 2010.[6] Yang led the league in batting four times, and holds six career batting records (including at one time the home run record with 351, now surpassed by Lee Seung-yeop).[6] The third retired number, 36, was retired in honor of Lee Seung-yuop, who has spent 15 seasons with the club and is the all-time KBO League leader in home runs with 467.[7] Lee also holds the KBO records for runs scored, RBIs, total bases, slugging percentage, and OPS.

Yang Joon-hyuk RF, DH

Lee Man-soo C

Lee Seung-yuop IF

Managers

• Seo Young-moo (1982-1983)
• Lee Chung-nam (1983)
• Kim Yeong-duk (1984-1986)
• Jeong Dong-jin (1986) (caretaker)
• Park Young-gil (1987-1988)
• Jeong Dong-jin (2) (1989-1990)
• Kim Sung-keun (1991-1992)
• Woo Yong-deuk (1993-1995)
• Baek In-chun (1996-1997)
• Cho Chang-soo (1997) (caretaker)
• Seo Jeong-hwan (1998-1999)
• Kim Yong-hee (2000)
• Kim Eung-ryong (2001-2004)
• Sun Dong-yol (2005-2010)
• Ryu Joong-il (2011-2016)
• Kim Han-soo (2017-2019)
• Heo Sam-yeong (2020–present)

References

General

• "Complete league history and statistics" (in Korean). Korean Baseball League. Retrieved 8 September 2017.

Specific

1. 삼성라이온즈 (in Korean). Samsung Lions official website. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
2. Young Hoon Lee, Rodney Fort, editors. The Sports Business in The Pacific Rim: Economics and Policy (Springer, Oct 31, 2014) p. 178.
3. "Samsung wins 3rd straight title in Game 7". The Korea Observer. 2 November 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
4. Nam Hyun-woo (21 November 2014). "Lion King! Samsung wins 4th straight KBO title". The Korea Times. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
5. Jung, Yunsik (22 March 2016). "삼성 라이온즈 파크' 개장…"국내 최고 시설" [Samsung Lions Park is opened] (in Korean). news.sbs.co.kr. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
6. 레전드 [History -> Legends] (in Korean). Samsung Lions official website. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
7. "Legendary slugger homers twice in final game". Yonhap News Agency. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.

External links

• Official website (in Korean and English)
• Samsung Lions on Facebook (in Korean)
• Samsung Lions on Twitter (in Korean)
• Samsung Lions's channel on YouTube (in Korean)
• Samsung Lions on Instagram (in Korean)