In the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League, there have only been two managers with 1,000 wins: former managers Kim Eung-yong and Kim Sung-keun. This season, Kim Kyung-moon, who is leading the Hanwha Eagles' surge, has entered the countdown for the third 1,000-win milestone in history. He needs 10 more wins.
Kim Kyung-moon took his first managerial position in 2004 with the Doosan Bears and became the inaugural manager of the NC Dinos in 2012. Since May of last year, he has been managing the Hanwha Eagles.
Up until last year, Kim had recorded 938 wins. This year, he has added 52 wins in the first half, bringing his total to 990 wins. He has 512 wins with Doosan, 384 wins with NC, and currently has 94 wins with Hanwha.
The record for the most wins in KBO history is held by former manager Kim Eung-yong. He recorded 1,554 wins, 1,288 losses, and 68 ties over 2,910 games (win rate of .547). Former manager Kim Sung-keun is the only 1,000-win manager with 1,388 wins, 1,203 losses, and 60 ties over 2,651 games (win rate of .536).
Former manager Kim In-sik held the third place with 978 wins, 1,033 losses, and 45 ties over 2,056 games (win rate of .486) until last year, but Kim Kyung-moon has now surpassed him. It appears that Kim Kyung-moon will achieve the 1,000-win milestone between late July and early August.
Hanwha finished the first half of the season in first place with a record of 52 wins, 33 losses, and 2 ties (win rate of .612). They ended the first half on a six-game winning streak, pushing the second-place LG Twins (48 wins, 38 losses, and 2 ties) by a margin of 4.5 games. They are 5.5 games ahead of the third-place Lotte Giants (47 wins, 39 losses, and 3 ties) and 7 games ahead of the fourth-place KIA Tigers (45 wins, 40 losses, and 3 ties).
This is Hanwha's first time finishing the first half in first place in 33 years, since 1992. It is an excellent opportunity to contend for the regular season championship and, further, for the Korean Series victory for the first time since 1999.
Since the introduction of the 10-team system in 2015, the team that finished first in the first half has won the regular season championship 9 times in the past 10 years. They have also claimed the Korean Series title 8 times.
The only case of a team finishing first in the first half but failing to win the regular season championship was with the SK Wyverns (now SSG Landers) in 2019. In 2018, Doosan finished first in the first half and won the regular season championship, but they failed to win the Korean Series.
Hanwha's chances of winning the regular season championship appear high. Foreign pitchers Ponce (11 wins, no losses) and Wise (10 wins, 3 losses) are performing as a reliable one-two punch, and the starting lineup consisting of Ryu Hyun-jin, Moon Dong-ju, Eom Sang-baek, and Hwang Jun-seo, along with the bullpen of Han Seung-hyeok, Park Sang-won, Ju Hyun-sang, and Kim Seo-hyeon, is all stable.
During his time with Doosan and NC, Kim Kyung-moon reached the Korean Series four times. However, he has never won the Korean Series. Attention is focused on whether he will set the 1,000-win milestone and create a path to the Korean Series victory this year.
[OSEN]