With his team just a win away from winning the 2026 Korean baseball title, Samsung Lions manager Park Jin-man said Sunday he wanted nothing more from his players than to keep having fun. "I had no special pep talk for the team before the game," Park said in his media availability before Game 5 of the Korean Series at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu. The Lions lead the KT Wiz 3-1 in the best-of-seven championship battle, and a win Sunday will give them their first title since 2014. "I just want them to keep doing the same thing, which is to have fun on the field," Park added. "They have been doing a great job of that, and I just hope they will keep enjoying themselves." Winning obviously helps in that regard. The Lions lost the first game of the series last Tuesday but have since won three straight games, the last two here in Daegu. Park credited outfielder Park Seung-kyu for injecting some much-needed energy into the team. The manager said the Lions had been a stoic group in the past, but Park Seung-kyu has changed the culture with his over-the-top celebrations

Before their Korean Series began against the KT Wiz last week, the Samsung Lions were widely regarded as a heavy underdog. The Wiz were the No. 1 seed and the best regular-season record netted them a bye to the Korean Series. Prior to this year, the top seeds had won the Korean Series about 86 percent of the time. The Lions, as No. 2 seed, had to play the penultimate round of the postseason, and they needed the full five games to knock off the Kia Tigers. All the while, the Wiz were enjoying their three-week layoff. Between 1989, when the Korea Baseball Organization ditched the split regular-season format, and 2025, teams that had to go through the penultimate postseason round had won the Korean Series only five times. And when the Wiz took the first game of the Korean Series 8-7 last Tuesday at their home in Suwon, it appeared as though the battle would play out the way many had predicted. Game 1 winners had won the Korean Series on 31 out of 42 previous occasions, or about 74 percent of the time. The Lions got a split on the road by taking the second game 3-2 in 12 innings. Back home in

The Samsung Lions are the king of Korean baseball once again. The Lions hammered the KT Wiz 12-1 in Game 5 of the Korean Series at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu on Sunday to close out the best-of-seven battle and capture their first title in 12 years. The Lions blew the game wide open in an eight-run fifth inning before a sellout crowd of 23,550 fans, while starting pitcher Won Tae-in tossed five innings of one-run ball for the victory. Captain Koo Ja-wook went 3-for-5 and scored twice en route to earning the Korean Series MVP award. The Lions lost the series opener Tuesday on the road in Suwon, just south of Seoul, but then won the next four games in a row, including the past three at their home in Daegu. The Wiz had the best record in the regular season and earned a bye to the Korean Series. The Samsung Lions finished the regular season in second place, eight games behind the Wiz, and the Lions are the first No. 2 seed to be crowned the Korean Series champions since the 2018 SK Wyverns. The Wiz were going for their first title since 2021. They were also the r

After leading the Samsung Lions to their first Korean baseball title in a dozen years Sunday while playing through a hamstring injury, captain Koo Ja-wook was voted the MVP of the Korean Series. Koo earned 72 out of 97 votes from the media following the Lions' 12-1 victory over the KT Wiz in the title-clinching Game 5 of the Korean Series at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu. In five games, Koo batted .500/.565/.850 with a home run, two doubles, one triple, six RBIs and five runs scored. Koo, 33, won the regular-season batting title with a .371 average but he missed the last dozen days of the campaign due to hamstring issues. He was still not back to full health when the Lions' postseason began in the penultimate round on Oct. 26 against the Kia Tigers, but Koo, normally an outfielder, ended up playing every game of that five-game set as designated hitter. Koo only batted 3-for-20 with zero extra-base hit in that series. However, with his health improving, Koo found his groove in the Korean Series. Koo homered in the series opener last Tuesday as part of a two-hit g

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