Lotte Giants facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lotte Giants |
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| 롯데 자이언츠 | |||||
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| Information | |||||
| League | KBO League (1982–present) | ||||
| Location | Busan | ||||
| Ballpark |
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| Year established | 1975 | ||||
| Korean Series championships | 1984, 1992 | ||||
| Former ballparks |
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| Colors | White, red, sky blue and navy blue |
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| Mascot | Noori, Ahra, Pini and Win-G | ||||
| Retired numbers | 10, 11 | ||||
| Ownership | Lotte Corporation | ||||
| Manager | Kim Tae-hyoung | ||||
The Lotte Giants (롯데 자이언츠) are a professional baseball team from South Korea. They are based in the city of Busan. The team is a member of the KBO League, which is South Korea's top baseball league. The Lotte Giants are owned by the Lotte Corporation.
The Giants played at Gudeok Baseball Stadium from 1982 to 1985. Since then, they have played at Sajik Baseball Stadium. They have won the Korean Series championship twice. Their first win was in 1984, and their second was in 1992. In 2009, the team set a record for attendance. About 1.38 million fans came to their games that season. This is still the highest attendance for any South Korean sports league in a single season. People often call them the Busan Seagulls. This is because the seagull is the official bird of Busan. Also, their main team song is "Busan Seagulls" by Moon Seung-jae.
Contents
Team History
How the Giants Started
The Lotte Giants began as an amateur baseball team. They were founded in Seoul, South Korea, on May 6, 1975. On February 22, 1982, the Giants became a professional team. They then moved to Busan, which is the second-largest city in South Korea.
The 1980s: First Championship
The Lotte Giants played their first KBO League game on March 28, 1982. They played against the Haitai Tigers at Gudeok Baseball Stadium. The Giants won that game 14–2. However, they finished the year in fifth place out of six teams.
In 1984, the Giants won their first Korean Series title. This was only their third season in the KBO League. They beat the Samsung Lions 4–3 in the championship series. A famous pitcher named Choi Dong-won led the team. He was one of the best pitchers in the league. In 1984, he won 27 games and had 223 strikeouts. He also won the regular season MVP Award. During the 1984 Korean Series, he played in five out of seven games. He won four of those games and pitched a lot of innings in just ten days.
After the 1988 season, the Giants made a big trade. They sent their star pitcher Choi Dong-won and Kim Yong-chul to the Samsung Lions. In return, they received hitter Jang Hyo-jo and pitcher Kim Si-kin.
The 1990s: Close Calls
The Giants reached the Korean Series again in 1995 and 1999. However, they lost both times. They have not played in the Korean Series since 1999.
The 2000s: New Leadership
From 2001 to 2007, the Giants did not make it to the postseason. They finished in last place for four years in a row, from 2001 to 2004. In 2001, the team's manager, Kim Myung-seong, passed away. He had been in charge since 1998. Woo Yong-deuk took over as manager.
In late 2007, the Giants hired Jerry Royster as their new manager. He was the first non-Korean to manage a professional baseball team in South Korea. Royster managed the Giants until the end of the 2010 season. He helped the team reach the playoffs in all three of those seasons.
Team Popularity
The Lotte Giants are one of the most popular teams in the Korea Baseball Organization. A survey by Gallup Korea in 2011 showed that the Giants were voted the most popular team three times in a row. In 1991, they were the first Korean team to have over one million fans attend their home games in a single season.
In 2009, they set an all-time record for home attendance. They had 1,380,018 fans come to their games. In 2011, they also led the league in total home attendance. They had 1,358,322 fans at 67 home games. This meant about 20,273 fans came to each game. From 2008 to 2012, more than one million fans attended their games for five seasons in a row.
Team Players
Retired Numbers
The Lotte Giants have retired two numbers to honor special players. The first retired number is 11, for Choi Dong-won. He was a top pitcher for the Giants from 1983 to 1988. He also won the KBO MVP award in 1984. Choi Dong-won passed away in 2011.
In 2022, the club retired the number 10. This was to honor Lee Dae-ho. He played for the Giants for more than 15 seasons.
 Choi Dong-won |
Team Managers
Here is a list of the managers who have led the Lotte Giants:
- Park Young-gil (1982–1983)
- Kang Byeong-chel (1983–1986)
- Seong Gi-young (1987)
- Eu Woo-hong (1987–1989)
- Kim Jin-young (1989–1990)
- Shosuke Doi (1990) (caretaker)
- Kang Byeong-chel (1990–1993)
- Kim Yong-hee (1993–1998)
- Kim Myung-seong (1998–2001)
- Woo Yong-deuk (2001–2002)
- Kim Yong-hee (2002) (caretaker)
- Baek In-cheon (2002–2003)
- Kim Yong-cheol (2003) (caretaker)
- Yang Sang-moon (2003–2005)
- Kang Byeong-chel (2005–2007)
- Jerry Royster (2008–2010)
- Yang Seung-ho (2011–2012)
- Kwon Doo-jo (2012) (caretaker)
- Kim Si-jin (2012–2014)
- Lee Jong-un (2014–2015)
- Cho Won-woo (2015–2018)
- Yang Sang-moon (2019)
- Kong Pil-seong (2019) (caretaker)
- Heo Moon-hoi (2020–2021)
- Larry Sutton (2021–2023)
- Lee Jong-un (2023) (caretaker)
- Kim Tae-hyoung (2023–present)
See also
In Spanish: Gigantes Lotte para niños
