The regular season has wrapped up in the Korean Baseball Organization, and the race for the No. 3 seed came down to the final night.
KIA Tigers Claim Third Seed With Late-Game Heroics
On the final night of the regular season, the KIA Tigers hosted the LG Twins, with the winner earning the No. 3 seed and a bye. The loser would face the Doosan Bears in the wild-card series on Wednesday night.
In the bottom of the first inning, Jae-hyun Park gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead with a solo home run.
The lead did not last long. Dong-won Park tied the game with a solo home run in the top of the second to put the Twins on the board.
The game remained tied at 1 until the bottom of the fourth. After the Tigers put runners on the corners, Sun-bin Kim laid down a bunt to give KIA a 2-1 lead.
The Tigers looked for insurance runs in the fifth, but Hae-min Park robbed Do-yeong Kim of an RBI single with a spectacular catch in center field to keep the score at 2-1.
The Twins carried that momentum into the top of the sixth. With two outs, Jeong-bin Moon drove a 410-foot home run to dead center field to tie the game at 2.
The Tigers threatened again in the seventh. Facing the Twins’ top reliever, Woo-suk Go, KIA had a runner on third with one out. Go responded with two clutch strikeouts to keep the game tied.
Go pitched 3 2/3 innings out of the bullpen without allowing a run, giving the Twins a chance to steal the game.
With Jon Kennedy on the mound for the Twins in the bottom of the eighth, the Tigers got the leadoff runner aboard with a bunt single, setting the stage for superstar Do-yeong Kim.
On a 2-0 pitch, Kim launched a home run over the center-field fence to give the Tigers a 4-2 lead in one of the season’s most memorable moments in the KBO. It was Kim’s career-high 45th home run of the season and the 100th of his career.
It was an MVP-caliber moment for a player seeking his second MVP award in three seasons.
In the top of the ninth, Sang-hyun Jeon pitched a perfect inning to seal the Tigers’ 4-2 victory. The win secured the No. 3 seed and a bye into the next round, where KIA will face the winner of the LG Twins-Doosan Bears wild-card series.
The wild-card series begins Wednesday in Seoul, with the defending champion Twins facing the Bears. The series will mark the final playoff matchup between the Seoul franchises at legendary Jamsil Baseball Stadium.
It will be the teams’ seventh all-time postseason meeting. Doosan has won the last four, including series victories in 2020 and 2021.
The matchup features two MVP candidates: Twins first baseman Austin Dean and Bears ace Been Gwak.
LG will open the series with an automatic 1-0 lead under the KBO’s wild-card format. Doosan must win two consecutive games to advance to face the Tigers.
Víctor Reyes Sets KBO Hits Record
Coming into 2026, only two players in KBO history had recorded 200 hits in a season, and Víctor Reyes was one of them. He recorded 202 hits in 2024 and surpassed that mark in 2026.
Heading into the final day of the season, Reyes had 207 hits, two more than Won-jun Choi. He faced the Doosan Bears in his final game.
Reyes blooped an RBI single to center field in the second inning for his 208th hit of the season.
Batting right-handed against a left-handed pitcher in the fourth, the switch-hitting outfielder singled sharply up the middle for hit No. 209.
Batting right-handed again in the sixth, Reyes launched a solo home run with an exit velocity of 105 mph for his 210th hit.
In his final at-bat of the season in the eighth, Reyes singled to center field again to reach 211 hits.
The total established a new KBO record in a historic season in which two players recorded at least 200 hits for the first time.
Reyes also posted a career-high .363 batting average, good for second in the league. He finished with a career-high 18 home runs and batted .430 with runners in scoring position, capping his finest season in the KBO.
Been Gwak Delivers One of the Best Seasons Ever by a Korean Pitcher
In his final game of the regular season, Been Gwak delivered another masterful performance. He pitched six innings against the Lotte Giants, recording 11 strikeouts while allowing just one run.
The outing brought his regular-season totals to 161 innings, 197 strikeouts and a 2.24 ERA.
His ERA was nearly a full run lower than that of the second-best pitcher in the league, and he led the KBO in strikeouts.
His 11 strikeouts per nine innings were the highest rate ever recorded by a Korean starting pitcher in KBO history.
Gwak is among the favorites, alongside Do-yeong Kim, to win the 2026 MVP award.
Ulsan-KBO Fall League Announces Participating Teams
The Ulsan-KBO Fall League has announced its participating teams for the 2026 season, marking the event’s third year.
The 12 teams are:
Samsung Lions second team
KIA Tigers second team
LG Twins second team
Lotte Giants second team
NC Dinos C team
Goyang Heroes
Ulsan Whales
Jiangsu Huge Horses(China)
Independent Japanese baseball team
Long Beach Coast (US Pioneer League)
Melbourne Aces
Independent Korean league all-stars.
The season begins Oct. 15 and runs through Oct. 31. Games will be played at Ulsan Munsu Baseball Stadium and Gijang Baseball Center, with online streaming available on YouTube.
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Each team will play 11 games, and the top four teams will advance to the semifinals. The NC Dinos won last season’s championship.
Final KBO regular season standings:
KT Wiz 90-49-5
Samsung Lions 83-58-3
KIA Tigers 79-63-2
LG Twins 78-65-1
Doosan Bears 73-66-5
SSG Landers 65-74-5
Lotte Giants 64-77-3
NC Dinos 64-78-2
Hanwha Eagles 57-83-4
Kiwoom Heroes 50-90-4