SK Wyverns Baseball Club is a South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

n professional baseball team founded in 2000. Based in Incheon

Incheon

The Incheon Metropolitan City is located in northwestern South Korea. The city was home to just 4,700 people when Jemulpo port was built in 1883. Today 2.76 million people live in the city, making it Korea’s third most populous city after Seoul and Busan Metropolitan City...

, they play their home games at Munhak Baseball Stadium

Munhak Baseball Stadium

Munhak Baseball Stadium is a baseball stadium in Incheon, South Korea. It is the home stadium of SK Wyverns. The stadium holds 28,500 people and was built in 2001. It is adjacent to Incheon Munhak Stadium.- See also :...

.

Their current manager is Man Soo Lee

Man Soo Lee

Lee Man-Soo , also spelled as Man Soo Lee, is a former Korea Professional Baseball catcher and current manager of the SK Wyverns. After a distinguished career as a professional player in South Korea from 1982-1997...

 (이만수).

History

In the 2000 season, the Ssangbangwool Raiders, a team that had previously represented the Jeollabuk-do

Jeollabuk-do

Jeollabuk-do is a province in the southwest of South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Jeolla province, and remained a province of Korea until the country's division in 1945, then became part of South Korea...

 region since 1991, was dissolved because of the bankruptcy of the Ssangbangwool Group, the teams owner, and its franchise was fortified by KBO. Then the KBO awarded a new franchise to the SK conglomerate. The name of the new franchise was determines to be the SK Wyverns. So the Raiders and the Wyverns has no historical links although the former Raiders players mostly consisted of the new team.

The Unicorns moved out of Incheon to go to Suwon

Suwon

Suwon is the provincial capital of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. A major city of over a million inhabitants, Suwon lies approximately south of Seoul. It is traditionally known as "The City of Filial Piety"....

, and the SK Wyverns filled the void left in Incheon. Their first Korean Series appearance came in 2003, where somewhat ironically, they were defeated by the Hyundai Unicorns in seven games.

In 2007, SK defeated the Doosan Bears

Doosan Bears

The Doosan Bears are a professional baseball team based in Seoul, South Korea. They are a member of the Korean Baseball Organization....

 in six games to win the 2007 Korean Series

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...

 - the first time the franchise had won the Korean Series - after finishing the league in first place. They became the first team in Korean Series history to win after losing the first two games. Designated Hitter Kim Jae-hyun was the series MVP.

SK went on to compete in the Konami Cup, a short competition between the champions of the Korean Baseball League, the Japanese Baseball League, the Taiwanese Baseball League, and the China All-Stars.

On November 8, 2007, SK Wyverns managed to defeat the Chunichi Dragons (6-3), giving them their first ever loss in Konami Cup history. On November 9, 2007, they soundly defeated the China All-Stars (13-0), causing the game to be called in the 7th inning, due to the 'Mercy Rule'. On November 10, 2007, they repeated their performance, defeating the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions of Taiwan (13-1) in 7 innings.

The final game, on November 11, 2007, was a rematch of the first game, between Chunichi Dragons and SK Wyverns. In an extremely close game, Chunichi managed to win the game, 6-5.

SK went to the Korean Series again in 2008, once again facing their main rivals, Doosan Bears. In a repeat of 2007, SK defeated Doosan to become 2 time Korean Series Champions. 21 year old 3rd baseman Choi Jeong

Choi Jeong

Choi Jeong is a third baseman who plays for the SK Wyverns in Korean professional baseball league.-Amateur career:...

 was named the series MVP.

SK once again went on to compete in the Konami Cup. On November 13, 2008, SK Wyverns managed to defeat the Seibu Lions (4-3), marking the second straight year in which the Korean champions handed the Japanese champions a loss in this competition. On November 14, 2008, they once again defeated the Chinese representatives, Tianjin Lions, in a "mercy-rule" shortened game. On November 15, 2008, they were soundly defeated in a rematch with Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions of Taiwan (10-4) and failed to qualify for the championship game for a second straight year.

In 2009, however, SK were runners-up in the 2009 KBO season

2009 Korea Baseball Organization season

The Korea Professional Baseball season is the 28th season in the history of the KBO. The KIA Tigers won the regular season and Korean series.-Season Format:*Regular Season: 133 games for each team...

 and 2009 Korean Series

2009 Korean Series

The 2009 Korean Series was the 27th edition of Korea Baseball Organization's championship series. The best-of-seven playoff is played between the KIA Tigers and the SK Wyverns...

, where they were defeated by the KIA Tigers

Kia Tigers

Kia Tigers Professional Baseball Club is a Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982. The Tigers are a member team of the Korean Baseball Organization and the most successful team in Korean baseball having won the national championship, the Korean Series, ten times, with a perfect 10-0...

 in 7 games.

The Wyverns also had a 23 game winning streak

Winning streak (sports)

In sports, a winning streak refers to a consecutive number of games won. A winning streak can be held by a team, as in baseball, football, basketball, hockey, or by an individual, as in tennis...

 that ended in April 2010. This is the longest winning streak in Korean Baseball, and the second longest in the world, after the New York Giants

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....

.

Season by season records

Year	City	Team	Rank	Games	W	L	D	Win %
2000	Incheon	SK Wyverns	8	133	44	86	3	0.338
2001	Incheon	SK Wyverns	7	133	60	71	2	0.458
2002	Incheon	SK Wyverns	6	133	61	69	3	0.469
2003	Incheon	SK Wyverns	2	133	66	64	3	0.508
2004	Incheon	SK Wyverns	5	133	61	64	8	0.488
2005	Incheon	SK Wyverns	3	126	70	50	6	0.583
2006	Incheon	SK Wyverns	6	126	60	65	1	0.480
2007	Incheon	SK Wyverns	1	126	73	48	5	0.603
2008	Incheon	SK Wyverns	1	126	83	43	0	0.659
2009	Incheon	SK Wyverns	2	133	80	47	6	0.602
2010	Incheon	SK Wyverns	1	133	84	47	2	0.632
2011	Incheon	SK Wyverns	3	133	71	59	3	0.546

External links

• SK Wyverns