Kiwoom Heroes
The Kiwoom Heroes (Korean: 키움 히어로즈) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. They are a member of the KBO League. The Heroes play their home games at Gocheok Sky Dome in Gocheok-dong, a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of Seoul. The Heroes mascot is Teokdori (턱돌이; Mr. Jaw).
| Kiwoom Heroes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 키움 히어로즈 | |||||
| |||||
| Information | |||||
| League | KBO League (2008–present) | ||||
| Location | Seoul | ||||
| Ballpark | Gocheok Sky Dome (2016–present) | ||||
| Year established | 2008 | ||||
| Former name(s) |
| ||||
| Former ballparks | Mokdong Baseball Stadium (2008–2015) | ||||
| Colors | Burgundy and grey | ||||
| Ownership | Seoul Heroes, Co., LTD.[Note 1] | ||||
| Manager | Hong Won-ki | ||||
| Website | www | ||||
In 2014, the Futures League squad changed its name to Hwaseong Heroes (화성 히어로즈), differentiating from the first string.[1][2] In 2019, Hwaseong Heroes renamed as Goyang Heroes (고양 히어로즈).
History
The franchise was originally known as the Sammi SuperStars and had subsequent incarnations as the Chungbo Pintos and Pacific Dolphins. The team was renamed the Hyundai Unicorns after being sold to Hyundai in 1996, and was relocated from Incheon to Suwon. The Unicorns won the KBO championship four times (1998, 2000, 2003 and 2004).
In January 2008, the team was dissolved. After that, Centennial Investments founded a new team called the Woori Heroes. Unlike the other KBO League ballclubs, the Heroes are owned by a collection of individuals headed by Lee Chang-suk (founder), instead of being owned by its naming sponsor. During the 2008 season, Woori Tobacco Company broke the naming sponsor deal, citing that the Heroes has not paid the full founding fee to the KBO yet, forcing the team to trade most of its star players for cash. For the rest of the 2008 season and the 2009 season, the team used only "Heroes" for its name.
On 8 February 2010, naming rights were sold to Nexen Tire.
On 6 November 2018, naming rights were sold to Kiwoom Securities.[3] The Kiwoom Heroes made it to the Korean Series in their first year, but lost to the Doosan Bears to finish second.[4]
Season-by-season records
| Year | Stadium | Rank | Regular Season | Postseason | Awards | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standings | Games | W | L | D | Win% | BA | HR | ERA | |||||
| 2008 | Mokdong Baseball Stadium | 7/8 | 7/8 | 126 | 50 | 76 | 0 | .397 | .266 | 70 | 4.43 | Did not qualify | |
| 2009 | 6/8 | 6/8 | 133 | 60 | 72 | 1 | .451 | .272 | 153 | 5.40 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2010 | 7/8 | 7/8 | 133 | 52 | 78 | 3 | .391 | .262 | 87 | 4.55 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2011 | 8/8 | 8/8 | 133 | 51 | 80 | 2 | .389 | .245 | 79 | 4.36 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2012 | 6/8 | 6/8 | 133 | 61 | 69 | 3 | .469 | .243 | 102 | 3.83 | Did not qualify | Park Byung-ho (MVP) Seo Geon-chang (ROTY) | |
| 2013 | 4/9 | 3/9 | 128 | 72 | 54 | 2 | .571 | .272 | 125 | 4.12 | Lost semi-playoff vs. Doosan Bears (2–3) | Park Byung-ho (MVP) | |
| 2014 | 2/9 | 2/9 | 128 | 78 | 48 | 2 | .619 | .298 | 199 | 5.25 | Won playoff vs. LG Twins (3–1) Lost Korean Series vs. Samsung Lions (2–4) | Seo Geon-chang (MVP) | |
| 2015 | 4/10 | 4/10 | 144 | 78 | 65 | 1 | .545 | .298 | 203 | 4.91 | Won wild card vs. SK Wyverns (1–0) Lost semi-playoff vs. Doosan Bears (1–3) | ||
| 2016 | Gocheok Sky Dome | 3/10 | 3/10 | 144 | 77 | 66 | 1 | .538 | .293 | 134 | 4.96 | Lost semi-playoff vs. LG Twins (1–3) | Shin Jae-young (ROTY) |
| 2017 | 7/10 | 7/10 | 144 | 69 | 73 | 2 | .486 | .290 | 141 | 5.03 | Did not qualify | Lee Jung-hoo (ROTY) | |
| 2018 | 4/10 | 4/10 | 144 | 75 | 69 | 0 | .521 | .288 | 165 | 5.08 | Won wild card vs. Kia Tigers (1–0) Won semi-playoff vs. Hanwha Eagles (3–1) Lost playoff vs. SK Wyverns (2–3) | ||
| 2019 | 2/10 | 3/10 | 144 | 86 | 57 | 1 | .601 | .282 | 112 | 3.61 | Won semi-playoff vs. LG Twins (3–1) Won playoff vs. SK Wyverns (3–0) Lost Korean Series vs. Doosan Bears (0–4) | ||
| 2020 | 5/10 | 5/10 | 144 | 80 | 63 | 1 | .559 | .269 | 127 | 4.39 | Lost wild card vs. LG Twins (0–1) | ||
| 2021 | 5/10 | 5/10 | 144 | 70 | 67 | 7 | .511 | .259 | 91 | 4.31 | Lost wild card vs. Doosan Bears (1–1) | ||
| 2022 | 2/10 | 3/10 | 144 | 80 | 62 | 2 | .563 | .252 | 94 | 3.79 | Won semi-playoff vs. KT Wiz (3–2) Won playoff vs. LG Twins (3–1) Lost Korean Series vs. SSG Landers (2–4) | Lee Jung-hoo (MVP) | |
| 2023 | 10/10 | 10/10 | 144 | 58 | 83 | 3 | .411 | .261 | 61 | 4.41 | Did not qualify | ||
Current roster
Managers
- Lee Kwang-hwan (2008)
- Kim Si-jin (2009–2012)
- Kim Sung-gap (2012) (caretaker)
- Youm Kyoung-youb (2013–2016)
- Jang Jeong-seok (2017–2019)
- Son Heuk (2020)
- Kim Chang-hyun (2020–2021) (caretaker)
- Hong Won-ki (2021–present)
Notes
- Although the first and second string of the club are Kiwoom Heroes and Hwaseong Heroes, the owner company is Seoul Heroes (formerly, Centennial Investment). Seoul Heroes is one of the former names of the club.
References
- General
- "Complete league history and statistics" (in Korean). Korean Baseball League. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
- Specific
- 베이스볼 브레이크 ‘화성 히어로즈’…넥센 2군 신선한 파격 from Sports Dong-a.
- 화성시 연고 넥센 2군 '화성 히어로즈', KT위즈와 홈 개막 경기 펼쳐 from Asia Today
- "Baseball club signs main sponsorship deal with securities firm". Yonhap News Agency. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
- "'6할 승률 3위+KS 스윕패' 잘했기에 더 아쉬운 키움의 2019시즌 [KS 현장]".
