Kiwoom Heroes

Kiwoom Heroes (Korean: 키움 히어로즈) is a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. They are a member of the KBO League. The Heroes mascot is Teokdori (턱돌이; Mr. Jaw). Like other baseball teams in South Korea, the team is known primarily by the name of the sponsor, occasionally as their nickname, and never as the city in which they are based. The Heroes play their home games at Gocheok Sky Dome in Gocheok-dong, a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of Seoul.

Kiwoom Heroes
키움 히어로즈
Team logo Cap insignia
Information
League	KBO League (2008–present)
Location	Seoul, South Korea
Ballpark	Gocheok Sky Dome (2016–present)
Year established	2008
Former name(s)	Woori Heroes (2008) Heroes (2008–2009) Seoul Heroes (2009) Nexen Heroes (2010–2018)
Former ballparks	Mokdong Baseball Stadium (2008–2015)
Colors	Burgundy and grey
Ownership	Seoul Heroes, Co., LTD.[Note 1]
Manager	Hong Won-ki
Website	www.heroesbaseball.co.kr

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 changed to Goyang Heroes(고양 히어로즈).

History

The franchise was originally known as the Sammi SuperStars and had subsequent incarnations as the Chungbo Pintos and Taepyungyang (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), with only the Kia Tigers, Samsung Lions, and Doosan Bears having a better record of championship victories.

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 February 8, 2010, naming rights were sold to Nexen Tire.

On November 6, 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	4/10	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		3/10	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	3.60	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	144	80	63	1	.559				Lost Wild Card vs. LG Twins (0–1)
Overall record				Games	Wins	Losses	Draws	Win%
Regular Season				1634	889	870	19	.505
Postseason				46	22	24	0	.478
Total				1824	911	894	19	.505

Current lineup

Managers

• Lee Kwang-hwan (2008)
• Kim Si-jin (2009–2012)
• Kim Sung-gap (2012) (caretaker)
• Yeom Kyeong-yeop (2013–2016)
• Jang Jeong-seok (2017–2019)
• Son Heuk (2020–present)

Notes

1. 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

1. 베이스볼 브레이크 ‘화성 히어로즈’…넥센 2군 신선한 파격 from Sports Dong-a.
2. 화성시 연고 넥센 2군 '화성 히어로즈', KT위즈와 홈 개막 경기 펼쳐 from Asia Today
3. "Baseball club signs main sponsorship deal with securities firm". Yonhap News Agency. November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
4. "'6할 승률 3위+KS 스윕패' 잘했기에 더 아쉬운 키움의 2019시즌 [KS 현장]".

External links

• Official website (in Korean)
• Kiwoom Heroes on Facebook (in Korean)
• Kiwoom Heroes's channel on YouTube (in Korean)
• Kiwoom Heroes on Instagram (in Korean)