Kia Tigers of 2017

I guess when you blog as long as I have, or maybe it's just when you have lived for as long as I have in Korea, or argued for as long as I have with others living in Korea, or maybe what I'm trying to say is, when you have been associated as closely with Korea for as long as I have, you tend to go over a few of the same topics again and again. And since I blog, you will see those topics in these pages. Again and again. One of those topics that I am particularly happy to share at this time is Korean baseball. The KBO. The Korean Baseball Organization. For my money, the best baseball in the world. Oh it's not the best baseball in the world. MLB is the best baseball in the world. But for my money, (I've never seen a major league game or bought baseball cards. A couple Blue Jay hats on sale at the Biway is the extent of my investment in MLB), the KBO is the best. I went to about half of the Kia Tigers' home games one season when I was in Korea. I was frequently on TV while at the ball games; I got to know the cheerleading MC pretty well, (even did a story on him for the Gwangju News), so participated in throwing, arm wrestling and beer chugging contests between innings; I bought a few shirts and several hats; and I would say I've been to close to a hundred games; went out for soju with the cheerleaders and some of the players one time and lost my baseball glove; went out with the coaches for sam gyup sal, (and soju), another time and was given a special patch that only superfans can get, sewed it onto my Tiger shirt, which I lost; was just down the street from the stadium when Na Ji Won hit the Korean Series clinching homerun in 2009 jumping up and down in my dorm room with my buddy Guns while we could hear the ROAR from the stadium. Before you ask, I wasn't there because I didn't want to be. The crowds were just not worth it even for a patch-carrying superfan like me. I don't regret not being there.

However, this year the Kia Tigers are some kind of phenomenal ball club! The best they've ever been EASILY! Well, since I've been watching anyway. They had a dynasty in the 80's and 90's as the Haitai Tigers winning four seasons in a row and 5 years out of six at one point. Between 1983 and 1997 they won the Korean Series 9 of 15 times. Those were some good times to be a Tiger fan I'm told. And I bet the old time Tiger fans in Gwangju are reminded of those days when they go to the ball park this summer. It's not the same ball park. Moodeung Stadium has been replaced by Champion's Field, which I don't like as much. It's got flimsy, plastic seats that are restrictive in all directions to a person of normal size, much worse a person MY size. But I'll tell you something I WILL regret as a Tiger fan: if I don't get to put my arse in one of those restrictive seats and watch this loaded team play at least one game this season, I will turn in my patch! And time is running out.

I go into the entry/exit office today, (hopefully), to apply for resident permission, and will have to surrender my passport for 2-3 weeks. I've been told that I will have no work for July and August so I have the time to visit Korea and see a game or ten. But I am grounded here in Taiyuan. I can't even travel to Beijing without my passport. But I'm going to wheel and deal with some of my camp contacts in Korea and maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to swing a deal in which I can do a camp there and use the extra money I make to finance a bit of a baseball road trip. That's my plan for now. As for the team, let me introduce you to this year's version of the Kia Tigers. At this moment they are .667 and first place in the KBO. That's right, they're winning two of every three games they play. Unheard of! And they're not just winning, they're CLOBBERING the competition! They recently went on a string of eight games in a row when they scored 10 or more runs. That goes back to June. Before the streak they got swept by the NC Dinos, who they are currently leading 2 games to zip in the revenge series. Tonight Yang Hyun Jong pitches, so it looks good for a Tiger sweep.

Okay, things are gonna get a bit statistical here so if you don't like that kind of thing, just skip ahead to where the numbers stop. I'll give you the scores from the last 17 games the Tigers have played. You're not going to believe this. And I am going to focus on one particular player on the supersquad: Na Ji Won. Yeah, the hero of the seventh game in '09. He's still with the club and right now NObody is hitting more homers! Yet, he's only a semi-regular. That's how good this team is! Okay here we go:

This is a pic of Na Ji Won after hitting that famous homer. Well, famous in Tiger lore anyway.

Last night the Tigers beat the second place NC Dinos 7-6 in a dramatic game in which they came back in the 9th from 4-6 to tie it up at 6-6. Then in the 10th, Choi Hyung Woo, who was 4/5 with 3 RBI's in the game, hit his second homer, a walk-off jobbie that earned him a water bottle shower at home plate. (He leads the KBO in RBI, OPS, and WAR, 2nd in average with .375 and is third in homeruns). Dramatic win! Na Ji Won went 2/3 with a homer.

As you can see, the Tigers paid a lot for Choi when they bought him off the Samsung Lions. I'd say they're getting their money's worth. He's a no brainer MVP winner so far.

The night before, Hector Noesi got his 14th win, (leads the KBO), Kim Sun Bin boosted his average to .384, (leads the KBO), Na Ji Won went 2/4 with a homer. Kia 7, NC 4.

Hector used to pitch for the White Sox but is now the best pitcher in the KBO. He won 14 last year for the Tigers and could win 20 this year. I think the record is 21 but I don't want to put the pressure on him. Although, this team is breaking all kinds of records and is sure to break more. This might be one of them.

The game before that, the Tigers won 20-8 vs. the KT Whiz. Roger Burnadina went 4/5 with 4 RBI and 4 runs scored. (He is second in stolen bases and he leads the KBO with 79 runs scored). Na Ji Won was 2/4 with a homer.

Burnadina was crap at the beginning of the season. He was struggling to hit a buck fifty. I said his swing is too long and he can't hit the low ball. I didn't figure he'd stay in the line-up. I am eating those words now. He's batting .318 for 9th in the KBO, he's 4th in RBI's and has plenty of speed and power. A fantastic center fielder too!

Before that the Tigers played the SK Wyverns and won 5-3. On this night, last year's MVP for Kia, Kim Ju Chan, went 2-4 with an RBI and a run. Na Ji Won did NOT get a homer.

As opposed to Burnadina, when Joo Chan started this season struggling to hit a buck fitty, I wasn't worried. "He's always a slow starter," I said. I am NOT eating those words. His average is .258, which means he's been hitting well over .300 recently to climb up out of the 100's and 200's in batting average.

I'm not sure if last night's game was better than the game Kia played on July 5th against the SK Wyverns. The Wyverns got out to a 12-1 lead. It's over, right? But this Tigers team had scored over 10 runs the previous 7 games! They put together a 12-run 5th inning to take the lead 13-12! But the ever-consistent Kia bullpen managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by giving up 6 runs in the 8th inning. The Kia batters put up 4 more runs and almost bailed the bullpen out but ended up losing 17-18. Still, if they're going to lose... Lee Myung Gi went 2/6 with 2 RBI and a run. Na Ji Won went 4/6 with 3 RBI, 3 runs and... you guessed it, a homer.

This youngster has gone virtually unnoticed in the organization until now. He's the Tigers' lead-off hitter and is one of three Tigers in the top 5 in average right now. He's a good fielder and he is a smart hitter. Rarely does he swing before looking at at least one strike. This way, like truly great hitters, he makes the pitcher work. He's rocking a .349 average right now.

The previous game, the Tigers won 15-6 vs. the SK Wyverns. In this game, Kim Seon Bin got his league-leading average up to a gaudy .380 by going 2/4 with 2 RBI and 2 runs. Na Ji Won? Just 3/5 with two RBI and 2 runs. Oh yeah, plus, he got a homer.

Seon Bin has been a Tiger for a long time. He is back for his first full season in a few years because he had to do his mandatory military training. And he's making up for lost time. He is the shortest player in the league so he plays shortstop, and along with his insane average, is half of what may be the best double play combination in the KBO.

On July 2nd, the Tigers beat the LG Twins 13-4. Yang Hyun Jong got his 11th win. Na Ji Won went 2/4 with 4 RBI and 3 runs. Yup, he got a homer.

In the KBO, 15 wins is like 20 in the majors. In 2010 and 2014, Yang got 16 wins. In 2015 he got 15. Last year the shyte bullpen robbed him of at LEAST 5 wins and he only got 10. If you go 10-12 with a 1.34 WHIP, your bullpen is shyte. But he's already got 12 wins this year to be 2nd behind Hector in the league.

In the previous game the Tigers beat LG 10-4. Na Ji Won went 0/4. No homer! So in the month of July so far, the Tigers have scored 10 or more runs in 5/8 and Na Ji Won has a homer in 6/8.

June 30th Tigers 10, LG 6. Before that a three game series with the Samsung Lions. 22-1, 13-4 and 11-4. Sweep for the Tigers. In the 22-1 game, An Chi Hong went 4/6 with 2 RBI and 3 runs and Lee Bum Ho went 4/4 with 3 RBI and 3runs.

I've been cheering for both of these guys for a long time. Chi Hong is the other half, (2B), of the fantastic double play combo for the Tigers and Bum Ho plays the hot corner, (3B). Bum Ho got 33 homers and 108 RBI last year and the year before had 28 and 79. He's already well on his way this year to similar stats.

Chi Hong looks like he could hit 20 homers and 100 RBI this year if he stays healthy. Bum Ho is flirting with .300 and Chi Hong is well over.

There are a few other players who are making good contributions to the team also. Super sub Seo Dong Wook would make just about any other team. Even with his occasional appearances, he's got 5 homers and 40 RBI.

Kim Min Sik came over from SK last year and is already making an impact. With a staff of wild pitchers like Kia's it was a smart move to get this guy. He is not letting many pitches past him. It's one of the most frustrating things about the Tigers to watch mostly the bullpen pitchers walking people and throwing balls to the backstop allowing runners to move up and squandering wins for the starting pitchers. This guy will help a bit. Right now, he and last year's MVP Joo Chan are the only players in the batting order below .300. That is something!

Almost every game I watch, I say to myself, "It's a great time to be a Tiger fan!"

Keep an eye on this team and its assault on the KBO record books. They've already broken some records and if they stay healthy, they are going to destroy some more.

So, to finish the next three games were 6-9, 1-6 and 1-4 losses to the NC Dinos. They're the only squad who can keep the Tigers' below 10 it seems. And the series before that was against last year's champions, the Doosan Bears. They played two games which the Tigers won 11-5 and 20-8.

Those are their last 17 games. 189 runs in those games. That's more than a 10 run average. Three of them included 20 runs or more. I actually saw in one of those games something I have NEVER seen before. One batter in the ninth inning for Kia stood in the batter's box nowhere near the plate and just gave himself up. Didn't swing or make an attempt. And the pitcher just threw him three juicy fastballs and he sat down. I don't know what to call that, a sacrifice out!!! Kia Tigers are dominating the statistical leader boards in every category offensively and in wins defensively.

I have watched almost all the games this year. You can too on naver.com

Go Tigers!