2024 KBO League season

The 2024 KBO League season, officially known as the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League season (Korean: 2024 신한 SOL 뱅크 KBO 리그) for sponsorship reasons, is an ongoing professional baseball season based in South Korea; the 43rd in the history of the KBO League. The league's format and makeup were not changed in the 2024 season from the previous season, with the same ten teams competing; the Kia Tigers, Doosan Bears, Lotte Giants, NC Dinos, LG Twins, Hanwha Eagles, KT Wiz, Samsung Lions, SSG Landers, and the Kiwoom Heroes.[1] The Landers updated their team logo and cap insignia before the 2024 season.[2]

2024 KBO League Season
2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League
AssociationKBO
LeagueKBO League
SportBaseball
Defending championsLG Twins (2023)
HostsShinhan Bank
DurationMar 23 - Sep 10
Number of games144 per team
Number of teams10
Total attendance4,940,636
Average attendance14,574
TV partner(s)KBS, MBC, SBS & SPOTV
Streaming partner(s)TVING
Regular season
Season champions- | 0–0–0 (–)
  Second place- | 0–0–0 (–)
  Third place- | 0–0–0 (–)
  Fourth place- | 0–0–0 (–)
  Fifth place- | 0–0–0 (–)
Season MVP-
Preseason
First placeDoosan Bears | 8–0–1 (1.000)
  Runners-upLG Twins | 6–2–0 (.750)
All-Star Game
2024 KBO All-Stars-
  Runners-up-
Season MVP-
Postseason
Wild Card champions-
  Wild Card runners-up-
Semi-playoff champions-
  Semi-playoff runners-up-
Playoff champions-
  Playoff runners-up-
Korean Series
Date-
Venue-
Champions- (0th title)
  Runners-up-
Finals MVP-
KBO League seasons
2025 →

The Twins entered the season as the defending champions from the 2023 season.[3]

The preseason started on March 9 and ended on March 19, with the Bears holding the top spot in the standings; finishing with a record of 8-0-1 (W-L-D) and a flawless win percentage of 1.000.

The regular season started on March 23 and will end on September 10, with each team having played 144 games. The games from August 29 to September 10 have not been scheduled yet. Currently, the Tigers are leading the regular season; with a record of 40-28-1 and a win percentage of 0.588.

From July 5-6, it will be all-star weekend, followed by a break from July 7-8.

A postseason will then proceed, with the top 5 teams from the regular season playing against each other for a winning championship title in the Korean Series (한국시리즈).

Sponsorship & Background

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The KBO League is the highest level of baseball in South Korea. The Kia Tigers have been the most successful team; winning 11 of the 42 championships.

The league is known for the teams' massive fanbases, with upbeat walk-up and fight songs for each player.

The three most large team fanbases are referred to as 엘롯기 (el-LOT-ki); an acronym for LG, Lotte, and Kia using the first syllable of the team names.

The 2024 season's league sponsor continues to be Shinhan Bank, as it has been since 2018. League names have changed since the sponsorship as follows:

SeasonSponsorLeague name
2018-2019Shinhan BankShinhan Bank MY CAR KBO League
2020-2023Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League
2024Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League

Events

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Retirement

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Choo Shin-soo (추신수) #17, RF - SSG Landers

In December 2023, it was announced that the 2024 season would be Choo Shin-soo's final season in professional baseball. He will turn 42 on July 13, 2024.

Draft

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The 2024 KBO draft took place at Westin Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul at 2 pm on February 14.

Preseason

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1st place • Doosan Bears

These are the final 2024 KBO League preseason standings. The preseason began on March 9, and ended on March 19.[4]

Preseason standings[5]
RankTeamGPWLDPCTGBHomeRoad
1Doosan Bears98011.000-4-0-04-0-1
2LG Twins86200.75022-0-04-2-0
3Hanwha Eagles105320.62533-3-22-0-0
4NC Dinos106400.6004-2-02-2-0
5KT Wiz94410.50043-2-01-2-1
6Kia Tigers104600.40052-2-02-4-0
Samsung Lions2-3-02-3-0
8Lotte Giants83500.37552-3-01-2-0
9SSG Landers103700.30062-4-01-3-0
10Kiwoom Heroes81700.12570-0-01-7-0

Statistics last updated on March 19, 2024.

Regular season

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The regular season of the 2024 season began on March 23 and will end on September 10. Each team will play 144 games, facing every other team 16 times. Regular season games are played every day except Mondays usually during the afternoon or evening. The regular season games from August 29 to September 10 have not been scheduled yet.

Attendance[6]

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  • April 9 (17 days after regular season began): Total attendance surpassed 1,000,000.
  • April 18 (26 days after regular season began): Total attendance surpassed 1,500,000.
  • April 28 (36 days after regular season began): Total attendance surpassed 2,000,000.
  • May 8 (46 days after regular season began): Total attendance surpassed 2,500,000.
  • May 17 (55 days after regular season began): Total attendance surpassed 3,000,000.
  • May 25 (63 days after regular season began): Total attendance surpassed 3,500,000.
  • June 1 (70 days after regular season began): Total attendance surpassed 4,000,000.
  • June 9 (78 days after regular season began): Total attendance surpassed 4,500,000.

Statistics[7]

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Offense

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Best offensive team: Tigers (1st) • Batting average - 0.289

Worst offensive team: Lions (4th) • Batting average - 0.269

Defense

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Best defensive team: Tigers (1st) • Earned run average - 4.20

Worst defensive team: Wiz (9th) • Earned run average - 5.75

Standings

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These are the current 2024 KBO League regular season standings.

Current 1st-place team • Kia Tigers

Regular season standings[5]
RankTeamGPWLDPCTGBHomeRoadSTRKBAERAPostseason
1Kia Tigers69402810.588-17-14-123-14-0W20.2894.20
2Doosan Bears72403020.571122-16-118-14-1W30.2834.35
3LG Twins71393020.5651.519-12-120-18-1L10.2844.66
4Samsung Lions69383010.559217-16-021-14-1L10.2694.66
5SSG Landers69363210.529417-17-119-15-0W30.2765.10
6NC Dinos69333420.4936.517-18-016-16-2W10.2714.52
7Lotte Giants67293620.4469.520-16-19-20-1W10.2805.03
8Hanwha Eagles68293720.4391014-18-215-19-0L30.2705.03
9KT Wiz69284010.4121215-18-013-22-1L30.2745.75
10Kiwoom Heroes67264100.38813.513-22-013-19-0L40.2695.10

Standings are correct as of June 15, 2024.

Note: Draw results are ignored by the league when calculating win percentage and games behind.

All-Star Game

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On July 6, the KBO will be hosting an all-star game for the 2024 season (July 5 is the Minor League all-star game; with 2 teams named Bukbu and Nambu). After all-star weekend, a break will be observed; from July 7-8. The game will start at 6:00 PM KST. Like previous all-star games, the 10 teams will be divided into two teams: the Nanum All-Stars (나눔) and the Dream All-Stars (드림). The game will be hosted at Incheon SSG Landers Field, the Landers' home stadium. This year, teams are located in the teams as follows:

2024 KBO All-Star Teams
TeamAll-Star Team
Kia TigersNanum All-Stars
Hanwha Eagles
LG Twins
NC Dinos
Kiwoom Heroes
Doosan BearsDream All-Stars
KT Wiz
Lotte Giants
Samsung Lions
SSG Landers

The best players (candidates) from each team are voted by fans, and the players with the most votes will be playing in the all-star game.

The most voted infielders and pitchers within their position group will play in the all-star game. The top 3 outfielders will play in the all-star game in available positions, regardless if they are all on the same team.

Here is the program for the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO All-Star Game.

Program
Fan Autographs
Shinhan SOL Bank SUMMER RACE
Opening Show
Officials' Declaration
Anthem
2024 KBO All-Star Game
Cleaning Show & Water Festival
Fireworks

The 5 (pitchers & infielders) and 15 (outfielders) candidates and current vote count for this year are shown below.[8] Ranks are provided for each position (by votes).

Nanum All-Star Candidates

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PITCHERS
RankNamePositionNo.Team
1Yang Hyeon-jongSP54Kia
2Ryu Hyun-Jin99Hanwha
3Choi Won-tae20LG
4Ariel Jurado75Kiwoom
5Kyle Hart30NC
1Jeon Sang-hyunRP51Kia
2Lee Min-woo27Hanwha
3Lee Woo-chan21LG
4Cho Sang-woo11Kiwoom
5Kim Jae-yeol32NC
1Jung Hai-youngCP62Kia
2Joo Hyun-sang66Hanwha
3You Young-chan54LG
4Ju Seung-woo30Kiwoom
5Lee Yong-chan22NC
INFIELDERS
RankNamePositionNo.Team
1Kim Tae-gunC42Kia
2Park Dong-won27LG
3Choi Jae-hoon13Hanwha
4Kim Hyung-jun25NC
5Kim Jae-hyun32Kiwoom
1An Chi-hong1B3Hanwha
2Lee Woo-sung25Kia
3Austin Dean23LG
4Choi Joo-hwan53Kiwoom
5Matthew Davidson24NC
1Kim Hye-seong2B3Kiwoom
2Kim Sun-binKia
3Shin Min-jae4LG
4Moon Hyun-bin64Hanwha
5Park Min-woo2NC
1Kim Do-yeong3B5Kia
2Roh Si-hwan8Hanwha
3Moon Bo-gyeong2LG
4Song Sung-mun24Kiwoom
5Seo Ho-cheol5NC
1Park Chan-hoSS1Kia
2Hwang Young-mook95Hanwha
3Oh Ji-hwan10LG
4Kim Whee-jip44NC
5Kim Ju-won7
OUTFIELDERS
RankNamePositionNo.Team
1Yonathan PerlazaRF30Hanwha
2Ronnie Dawson27Kiwoom
3Na Sung-bum47Kia
4Socrates BritoLF30Kia
5Park Kun-wooRF37
6Choi Won-junCF16
7Hong Chang-kiRF51LG
8Park Hae-minCF17
9Moon Sung-juLF8
10Jung Eun-won43Hanwha
11Lee Ju-hyeong2Kiwoom
12Choi In-ho41Hanwha
13Kwon Hui-dongLF36NC
14Lee Yong-kyuLF15
15Kim Seong-ukCF38
DESIGNATED HITTERS
1Choi Hyoung-wooDH34Kia
2Son Ah-seop31NC
3Chae Eun-song22Hanwha
4Kim Hyun-sooLG
5Lee Won-seok17Kiwoom

Dream All-Star Candidates

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PITCHERS
RankNamePositionNo.Team
1Won Tae-inSP18Samsung
2Gwak Been47Doosan
3Park Se-woong21Lotte
4Kim Kwang-hyun29SSG
5Wes Benjamin43KT
1Kim Taek-yeonRP63Doosan
2Choi Ha-neul37Samsung
3Choi Jun-yong18Lotte
4Jo Byeong-hyeon19SSG
5Kim Min-su26KT
1Kim Won-jungCP34Lotte
2Oh Seung-hwan21Samsung
3Hong Geon-hui17Doosan
4Moon Seung-won42SSG
5Park Yeong-hyun60KT
INFIELDERS
RankNamePositionNo.Team
1Yang Eui-jiC25Doosan
2Kang Min-ho47Samsung
3Yoo Kang-nam27Lotte
4Lee Ji-young59SSG
5Jang Sung-woo22KT
1David MacKinnon1B24Samsung
2Yang Suk-hwan53Doosan
3Na Seung-yeup51Lotte
4Ko Myeong-jun18SSG
5Moon Sang-chul24KT
1Ryu Ji-hyuk2B16Samsung
2Kang Seung-ho23Doosan
3Go Seung-min65Lotte
4Kim Sung-hyun6SSG
5Cheon Seong-ho14KT
1Kim Young-woong3B30Samsung
2Choi Jeong14SSG
3Heo Kyoung-min13Doosan
4Han Dong-hui25Lotte
5Hwang Jae-gyun10KT
1Lee Jae-hyeonSS7Samsung
2Son Ho-young33Lotte
3Park Seong-han2SSG
4Park Jun-young9Doosan
5Kim Sang-su7KT
OUTFIELDERS
RankNamePositionNo.Team
1Yoon Dong-heeCF91Lotte
2Jung Soo-bin31Doosan
3Kim Ji-chanCF58Samsung
4Hwang Seong-binLF0Lotte
5Guillermo HerediaLF27SSG
6Víctor ReyesRF29Lotte
7Choi Ji-hoonCF54SSG
8Lee Sung-gyuRF13Samsung
9Jo Soo-haengLF51Doosan
10Kim Seong-yoonCF39Samsung
11Han Yoo-seomRF35SSG
12Henry Ramos4Doosan
13Mel Rojas Jr.LF3KT
14Bae Jeong-daeCF27
15Kim Min-hyuck53
DESIGNATED HITTERS
1Koo Ja-wookDH5Samsung
2Kang Baek-ho50KT
3Jeon Jun-woo8Lotte
4Kim Jae-hwan32Doosan
5Choo Shin-soo17SSG

Statistics are correct as of June 15, 2024.

Nanum All-Stars Lineup

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Here is the final confirmed lineup and boxscore for the Nanum All-Stars.

Manager: Youm Kyoung-youb (Twins)

Nanum All-Stars Batting
NameNo.Pos.TeamBAABRHHRRBIBBSOHBP
1----0.00000000000
2----0.00000000000
3----0.00000000000
4----0.00000000000
5----0.00000000000
6----0.00000000000
7----0.00000000000
8----0.00000000000
9----0.00000000000
Nanum All-Stars Pitching
NameNo.Pos.TeamERAIPNPRHRSOBBHB
--SP-0.000000000
--RP-0.000000000
--CP-0.000000000

Dream All-Stars Lineup

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Here is the final confirmed lineup and boxscore for the Dream All-Stars.

Manager: Lee Kang-chul (Wiz)

Dream All-Stars Batting
NameNo.Pos.TeamBAABRHHRRBIBBSOHBP
1----0.00000000000
2----0.00000000000
3----0.00000000000
4----0.00000000000
5----0.00000000000
6----0.00000000000
7----0.00000000000
8----0.00000000000
9----0.00000000000
Dream All-Stars Pitching
NameNo.Pos.TeamERAIPNPRHRSOBBHB
--SP-0.000000000
--RP-0.000000000
--CP-0.000000000

Results

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Here are the results for the 2024 KBO All-Star Game between the Nanum All-Stars and the Dream All-Stars.

July 6, 2024 6:00 PM KST at Incheon SSG Landers Field
Team123456789RHE
Nanum All-Stars------------
Dream All-Stars------------
Starting pitchers:
Nanum: -
Dream: -
WP: -   LP: -   Sv: -
Home runs:
Nanum: -
Dream: -
Attendance: 0
Umpires: -
Notes: Dream leads 4-3
TBD

Final: Nanum -, Dream -

--- All-Stars WIN 2024 KBO All-Star Game

All Time Record:

KBO All-Star all-time record
YearAll-Star TeamsTeamsResult
1982-1998Eastern All-Stars

Western All-Stars

East: Samsung, OB, Lotte, Hyundai

West: LG, Ssangbangwool, Haitai, Hanwha

1999-2000Dream All-Stars

Magic All-Stars

Dream: Lotte, Doosan, Hyundai, Haitai

Magic: Hanwha, Samsung, LG, SK

Dream wins 2-0-1
2001-2014Eastern All-Stars

Western All-Stars

East: Samsung, Doosan, Lotte, SK

West: LG, Nexen, NC, Kia, Hanwha

East wins 24-14

(including 1982-1998)

2015-presentDream All-Stars

Nanum All-Stars

Dream: Samsung, Doosan, Lotte, SSG, KT

Nanum: LG, Kiwoom, NC, Kia, Hanwha

Dream leads 4-3

Postseason

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The 2024 KBO League postseason will begin in the fall. The top 5 teams in the regular season league standings (above) will qualify for the postseason.

There is no guarantee that any of the teams will clinch a postseason spot (top 5) or win the pennant race (1st place) yet.

Magic & Tragic Numbers

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2024 KBO Magic & (Tragic) Numbers[9]
RankTeamPRPSMax / Min RankStatus
1Kia74 (75)69 (82)1 / 10Has not clinched
2Doosan75 (73)68 (80)
3LG76 (73)69 (80)
4Samsung77 (73)71 (80)
5SSG79 (71)73 (78)
6NC82 (68)78 (73)
7Lotte86 (67)82 (71)
8Hanwha86 (65)82 (70)
9KT88 (63)84 (67)
10Kiwoom90 (63)86 (67)

Magic and tragic numbers are correct as of June 15, 2024.

Information

  • Magic and tragic numbers are provided both for the pennant race (1st place) and postseason (5th place).
  • If a team's postseason magic number reaches 0, they are no longer in danger of being eliminated and are guaranteed a spot in the top 5. Conversely, if the team's postseason tragic number reaches (0), they have been decisively eliminated and no longer have any chance of playing in the postseason.
  • A team's magic number decreases by one if the team wins, or if the next contending team loses. The next contending team is the team with the best chance of taking the 5th place spot. This is typically the 6th place team, but may not be, depending on how many draws and remaining games the other teams have. This is vice-versa for the tragic number.
  • If two teams in contention finish the regular season with an identical W-L-D record, they will play a tiebreaker game with no inning limits on the following day to determine the final standings. The venue will be determined by the teams' performance against each other.
  • PR = Pennant Race (1st place) • PS = Postseason (top 5)
  • The numbers without parentheses are the magic numbers, whereas the team's tragic number is in parentheses.

Qualification

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In order for a team to qualify for the postseason, they must rank 5th or higher in the regular season. 5th and 4th place are guaranteed to play in the Wild Card, 3rd in the semi-playoff, 2nd in the playoff, and 1st in the Korean Series.

In the regular season standings, there is a Postseason column; indicating the status of each team (following are the 2017 KBO League regular season standings; only for demonstration purposes):

2017 regular season standings (example)[10]
RankTeamGPWLDPCTGBPostseason
1Kia Tigers144875610.608-Korean Series
2Doosan Bears144845730.5962PS, PO
3Lotte Giants144806220.5636.5PS, SPO
4NC Dinos144796230.5607PS, WC
5SK Wyverns144756810.52412PS, WC
6LG Twins144697230.48917Did not qualify
7Nexen Heroes144697320.48617.5
8Hanwha Eagles144618120.43025.5
9Samsung Lions144558450.39630
10KT Wiz144509400.34737.5

Legend Korean Series: (1st place) Clinched 1st place as regular season champions, guaranteed spot in Korean Series • PS, PO: (2nd place) Clinched runner-up spot for the regular season, guaranteed spot in playoff • PS, SPO: (3rd place) Guaranteed spot in semi-playoff PS, WC or PS, WC: (4th & 5th place) Guaranteed spot in Wild Card game(s) • Did not qualify: (Bottom 5) Did not qualify for the postseason; decisively eliminated from the playoffs • : Not enough data.

Postseason Bracket

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Wild CardSemi-playoffPlayoffKorean Series
11st place-
22nd place-Playoff winner-
33rd place-Semi-playoff winner-
44th place1Wild Card winner-
55th place-

Statistics & Scores

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These are the 2024 KBO League postseason statistics. Statistics and scores will be updated daily from when the playoffs begin.

Wild Card

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Play-in game - The series will start with a 1-0 advantage for the fourth-placed team. The 5th place team needs to win 2 times to proceed to the next round, whereas the 4th place team can advance with just 1 win (or even a draw).

4th (1) vs 5th (-)

Wild Card game(s)
GameDateScoreVenueTimeDurationAttendance
1TBD4th – 0, 5th – 0Home of 4th place--:-- KST0:000
2If necessary---:-- KST0:000

Semi-playoff

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Quarterfinals - Best of 5 series.

3rd (-) vs Wild Card winner (-)

Semi-playoff
GameDateScoreVenueTimeDurationAttendance
1TBDWC – 0, 3rd – 0Home of 3rd place--:-- KST0:000
2TBDWC – 0, 3rd – 0--:-- KST0:000
3TBD3rd – 0, WC – 0Home of Wild Card winner--:-- KST0:000
4If necessary---:-- KST0:000
5If necessary-Home of 3rd place--:-- KST0:000

Playoff

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Semi-finals - Best of 5 series.

2nd (-) vs Semi-playoff winner (-)

Playoff
GameDateScoreVenueTimeDurationAttendance
1TBDSPO – 0, 2nd – 0Home of 2nd place--:-- KST0:000
2TBDSPO – 0, 2nd – 0--:-- KST0:000
3TBD2nd – 0, SPO – 0Home of semi-playoff winner--:-- KST0:000
4TBD2nd – 0, SPO – 0--:-- KST0:000
5TBDSPO – 0, 2nd – 0Home of 2nd place--:-- KST0:000

Finals - Best of 7 series.

1st (-) vs Playoff winner (-)

Korean Series
GameDateScoreVenueTimeDurationAttendance
1TBDPO – 0, 1st – 0Home of 1st place--:-- KST0:000
2TBDPO – 0, 1st – 0--:-- KST0:000
3TBD1st – 0, PO – 0Home of playoff winner--:-- KST0:000
4TBD1st – 0, PO – 0--:-- KST0:000
5TBDPO – 0, 1st – 0Home of 1st place--:-- KST0:000
6If necessary---:-- KST0:000
7If necessary---:-- KST0:000

Winner is the champion of the 2024 Korean Series.

Legend • WC: Wild Card winner • SPO: Semi-playoff winner • PO: Playoff winner


Note: All dates and times are in KST (Korean Standard Time). All statistics will be updated daily whenever possible.

References

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  1. ^ "KBO". eng.koreabaseball.com. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  2. ^ "New look Landers". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. January 15, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  3. ^ "LG Twins Ends 29-Year Long Wait With Historic Win". LG Global. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  4. ^ "New KBO season to open March 23, doubleheaders in play from beginning". koreatimes. October 29, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "KBO". eng.koreabaseball.com. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  6. ^ "MyKBOStats Statistics". MyKBOStats.
  7. ^ "KBO". eng.koreabaseball.com. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  8. ^ 스포츠투아이. "2024 신한 SOL뱅크 KBO ALLSTAR GAME". allstar.koreabaseball.com (in Korean). Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  9. ^ "MyKBOStats Magic (Tragic) Numbers". MyKBOStats.
  10. ^ "2017 KBO League season". Wiki How. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
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