NC Dinos
The NC Dinos (Korean: NC 다이노스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Changwon. They are a member of the KBO League. Since 2019, their home stadium is Changwon NC Park. NC Dinos are owned by video game developer NCSoft Corporation.
| NC Dinos | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NC 다이노스 | |||||
| |||||
| Information | |||||
| League | KBO League (2013–present) | ||||
| Location | Changwon | ||||
| Ballpark | Changwon NC Park (2019–present) | ||||
| Year established | 2011 | ||||
| League championships | 2020 | ||||
| Korean Series championships | 2020 | ||||
| Former ballparks | Masan Baseball Stadium (2012–2018) | ||||
| Colors | Blue and gold | ||||
| Ownership | NCSoft | ||||
| Manager | Kang In-kwon | ||||
| Website | www | ||||
History
On 1 July 2010, the cities of Changwon, Masan and Jinhae were integrated into one city, Changwon. As a result of the integration, Changwon became the eleventh largest city in South Korea. Afterward, Changwon drove forward the project, which attracted a baseball team in the city. On 22 December 2010, video game company NCSoft submitted a plan that it wanted to found a baseball team that would be later admitted to the Korea Baseball Organization as a member franchise. Changwon hereby became the first city having a baseball team among all the non-metropolitan cities in South Korea.
In the 2012 season, NC Dinos competed in the unaffiliated Freedom Division of the Korea Baseball Futures League. On 8 May 2012, the Korea Baseball Organization officially approved NC Dinos' admission to the KBO League for the 2013 season.[1]
On 11 April 2013, the NC Dinos won their first game in the club's history against the LG Twins.[2]
As a new team in 2013, the Dinos were allowed three foreign players on their roster (as opposed to the usual two). In 2014, that limit was raised to four (while all non-expansion teams were limited to three).[3] The 2014 Dinos signed pitchers Charlie Shirek, Eric Hacker, Thad Weber, and outfielder Eric Thames.[3]
In November 2020, the Dinos won their first Korean Series championship, four games to two games over the Doosan Bears.[4] This followed the team's first regular season championship, in which the Dinos finished the 2020 regular season in first place for the first time in the team's history.[5]
Season-by-season records
| Year | Stadium | Rank | Regular Season | Postseason | Awards | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standings | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win% | BA | HR | ERA | |||||
| 2013 | Masan Baseball Stadium | 7/9 | 7/9 | 128 | 52 | 72 | 4 | .419 | .244 | 86 | 3.96 | Did not qualify | Lee Jae-hak (ROTY) |
| 2014 | 3/9 | 3/9 | 128 | 70 | 57 | 1 | .551 | .282 | 143 | 4.29 | Lost semi-playoff vs. LG Twins (1–3) | Park Min-woo (ROTY) | |
| 2015 | 3/10 | 2/10 | 144 | 84 | 57 | 3 | .596 | .289 | 161 | 4.26 | Lost playoff vs. Doosan Bears (2–3) | Eric Thames (MVP) | |
| 2016 | 2/10 | 2/10 | 144 | 83 | 58 | 3 | .589 | .291 | 169 | 4.48 | Won playoff vs. LG Twins (3–1) Lost Korean Series vs. Doosan Bears (0–4) | ||
| 2017 | 4/10 | 4/10 | 144 | 79 | 62 | 3 | .560 | .293 | 149 | 4.71 | Won wild card vs. SK Wyverns (1–0) Won semi-playoff vs. Lotte Giants (3–2) Lost playoff vs. Doosan Bears (1–3) | ||
| 2018 | 10/10 | 10/10 | 144 | 58 | 85 | 1 | .406 | .261 | 143 | 5.48 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2019 | Changwon NC Park | 5/10 | 5/10 | 144 | 73 | 69 | 2 | .514 | .278 | 128 | 4.01 | Lost wild card vs. LG Twins (0–1) | |
| 2020 | 1/10 | 1/10 | 144 | 83 | 55 | 6 | .601 | .291 | 187 | 4.58 | Won Korean Series vs. Doosan Bears (4–2) | ||
| 2021 | 7/10 | 7/10 | 144 | 67 | 68 | 9 | .496 | .261 | 170 | 4.54 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2022 | 6/10 | 6/10 | 144 | 67 | 74 | 3 | .475 | .257 | 105 | 3.90 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2023 | 4/10 | 144 | 75 | 67 | 2 | .528 | .270 | 98 | 3.83 | Won wild card vs. Doosan Bears (1–0) | |||
Team
Current roster
| Players | Coaches/Other | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitchers Starting rotation
Bullpen
Closer |
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
|
Manager
Coaches
updated on 8 May 2020 | |||
Managers
- Kim Kyung-moon (2012–2018)
- You Young-jun (2018) (caretaker)
- Lee Dong-wook (2019–2022)
- Kang In-kwon (2022–present)
Mascot
The NC Dinos have two mascots. Sseri is a green Brontosaurus that wears a necklace and has affectionately been nicknamed "Swole Daddy" by SB Nation.[6] The Dinos' other mascot, Dandi, is a blue Tyrannosaurus.[7]
References
- General
- "Complete league history and statistics" (in Korean). Korean Baseball League. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
- Specific
- "NC Dinos to enter first division," Korea JoongAng Daily (8 May 2012).
- "7전8기… NC 감격의 창단 첫승". hankooki.com. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- "KBO clubs snatch up new foreign players following rule change," Yonhap News Agency (16 December 2013).
- "NC Dinos claim Korean Series title with 4–2 win over Doosan Bears". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- "NC Dinos clinch first KBO regular season title". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- Dator, James (11 May 2020). "I accidentally re-named the NC Dinos mascot 'Swole Daddy'". SBNation.com. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- "All other mascots just got served by this incredible KBO dancing dinosaur". MLB.com. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
External links
- Official website (in Korean)
- NC Dinos on Facebook (in Korean)