2007 Korean Series

The 2007 Korean Series began on Monday, the 22nd of October, at the Munhak Baseball Stadium in Incheon. It featured the SK Wyverns, who had claimed home ground advantage by finishing in first place at the end of the season, and the Doosan Bears, who had finished second and had swept the Hanhwa Eagles in a best-of-5 playoff series to advance to the next round. The SK Wyverns won the series in six games, after becoming the first team in Korean Series history to claim victory after losing the first two games. The series was also notable for the inability of teams to win at their home grounds (just one home victory out of the six games) and for some unsavory and aggressive incidents between the two teams that marred the first three games.

Game 1, October 22

Munhak Baseball Stadium, Incheon

The first game of the series began at the home stadium of the Wyverns, but they failed to take advantage as Doosan completed a 2-0 shutout victory, thanks to the pitching of their ace Daniel Rios. Kenny Rayburn started for the Wyverns but was unable to emulate Rios's feat of giving up only 4 hits and 1 walk. The game also saw two instances of Doosan batters being struck by pitches, which would become an issue in the next game.

Doosan scored their first run in the first inning. Lee Jong-wook was the lead-off runner, and Ko Young-min drove him in with a double. They added to their score in the fifth, when Lee walked in again off a Kim Dong-joo sacrifice fly with the bases loaded. Rayburn lasted six innings, with five more pitchers coming out of the bullpen over the next three innings to try and keep the score at 2-0. Rios, with a superb performance, pitched the full nine innings, throwing 99 pitches to get the win.

Game 4, October 26

Jamsil Baseball Stadium, Seoul

Game 4 saw the return of Daniel Rios for Doosan, and it was widely assumed that his return would restore stability to the team. Meanwhile, SK announced the shock appointment of rookie pitcher Kim Gwang-hyeon in place of expected pitcher Kenny Rayburn who had competed admirably with Rios in the first game. It appeared that SK were going to throw the game, take a 3-1 series deficit against a seemingly un-hittable Rios and fight back with a fresher pitching rotation.

But Kim managed to stage what must be one of the most remarkable performances in the history of the Korean Series, giving up only one hit in 7 1/3 innings. On the other hand, Rios only lasted for five innings, giving up nine hits and three earned runs. Doosan's bullpen reclaimed a hold on the game, but they were unable to score any runs and suffered their first shutout loss of the series.

SK continued their habit of scoring early as Kim Jae-hyeon again opened the scoring with a double to bring in Jeong Keun-woo in the first. Doosan's bats struggled, only managing to get on base with two walks and a hit over five innings. SK were getting runners most innings, but were unable to take advantage until the fifth, when back-to-back home runs from Cho Dong-hwa and Kim Jae-hyun put them up 3-0. Wyverns third baseman Choi Jeong made it four when his single brought in Jeong Kyeong-bae who had walked to first and advanced on a bunt from Park Kyung-wan.

Doosan were unable to fare any better against the Wyverns relievers Cho Woong-cheon and Ka Deuk-yeom, and their hit in the sixth inning remained their only hit for the night.

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