The second half of the professional baseball Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League begins on July 17, and many records are expected to be broken, increasing the anticipation of baseball fans.
Hanwha's Kim Kyung-moon is challenging for his 1,000th career victory.
Finishing the first half in first place, Kim Kyung-moon has recorded 990 wins, 33 ties, and 851 losses (winning percentage of 0.538) over 1,874 games, leaving just 10 wins until his 1,000th victory.
Only two managers have achieved over 1,000 victories: Kim Eung-yong (1,554 wins) and Kim Sung-keun (1,388 wins).
Entering the 44th season of the KBO League, Samsung is aiming for 3,000 victories. Having achieved a total of 2,968 wins by the end of the first half, Samsung will become the first team in KBO League history to reach 3,000 wins if they add 32 more victories in the second half.
KIA is challenging to become the first team in history to achieve 35,000 strikeouts. KIA's pitching staff recorded 651 strikeouts in the first half and will reach 35,000 strikeouts if they record 194 more in the second half.
KIA's Yang Hyun-jong is challenging for the record of 11 consecutive seasons with over 100 strikeouts. Yang Hyun-jong has recorded over 100 strikeouts for 10 consecutive seasons from 2014 to 2020 and in 2022 to 2024 (with overseas play in 2021), tying for first place with Lee Kang-cheol (former Haitai) and Jang Won-jun (former Doosan).
If Yang Hyun-jong, who recorded 73 strikeouts in the first half, adds 27 more strikeouts, he will stand alone in first place with 11 consecutive seasons of 100 strikeouts.
LG Twins' Kim Hyun-soo is on the verge of achieving 2,500 hits and 1,500 RBIs. Having hit 2,476 hits, Kim Hyun-soo will enter the 2,500-hit club in the KBO League as the fourth player if he adds 24 more hits. With 1,490 RBIs, he is close to achieving 1,500 RBIs, which would rank third all-time.
SSG Landers' Kim Gwang-hyun has only 28 strikeouts left until he reaches 2,000 career strikeouts, which would be third in KBO history.