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 | Sajik Baseball Stadium (1986–present) |
| Year established | 1975 |
| Korean Series championships | 1984, 1992 |
| Former ballparks |
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| Colors | Blue and red |
| Retired numbers | 10, 11 |
| Ownership | Lotte Corporation |
| Manager | Kim Tae-hyoung |
The Lotte Giants (Korean: 롯데 자이언츠) are a professional baseball team from South Korea. They are based in the city of Busan. The team is part of the KBO League, which is South Korea's top baseball league. The Lotte Corporation owns the team.
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 wins were in 1984 and 1992. In 2009, the team had a record 1.38 million fans attend their games. This is the highest attendance for any South Korean sports league in one season. People often call them the Busan Seagulls. This is because the seagull is the official bird of Busan. Their main team song is "Busan Seagulls" by Moon Seung-jae.
Contents
History of the Lotte Giants
How the Team Started
The Lotte Giants began as an amateur baseball team. They were founded in Seoul, South Korea. This happened on May 6, 1975. On February 22, 1982, the Giants became a professional team. They then moved to Busan, which is South Korea's second-largest city.
The Early Years (1980s)
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 Korean 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 league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. In the 1984 Korean Series, he played in five out of seven games. He won four of those games. He pitched for 40 innings in just ten days.
After the 1988 season, the Giants made a big trade. They sent their star pitcher Choi Dong-won to the Samsung Lions. They also traded Kim Yong-chul. In return, they received hitter Jang Hyo-jo and pitcher Kim Si-kin.
The 1990s and 2000s
The Giants reached the Korean Series again in 1995 and 1999. However, they lost both times. They have not been back to the Korean Series since 1999.
From 2001 to 2007, the Giants did not make it to the playoffs. They finished in last place for four years in a row (2001–2004). In 2001, their 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 2010. He led the team to the playoffs in all three of his seasons.
Why They're Popular
The Lotte Giants are one of the most popular teams. This is true in the Korea Baseball Organization. A survey in 2011 showed they were 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 season.
In 2009, they set a new record. They had 1,380,018 fans attend their home games. This is the highest home attendance ever in South Korean sports. In 2011, they also led the league in attendance. They had 1,358,322 fans at 67 home games. This means about 20,273 fans came to each game. The stadium was about 71% full on average. From 2008 to 2012, more than one million fans came to their games for five years in a row.
Team Information
Current Roster
Special Numbers: Retired Jerseys
Baseball teams sometimes retire jersey numbers. This means no other player can wear that number. It honors very special players. The Lotte Giants have retired two numbers.
The first retired number is 11, for Choi Dong-won. He was a top pitcher for the Giants from 1983 to 1988. He won the KBO MVP award in 1984. Choi passed away in 2011.
 Choi Dong-won |
In 2022, the team retired number 10. This was to honor Lee Dae-ho. He played for the Giants for more than 15 seasons.
Who Has Managed the Team?
Many people have managed the Lotte Giants over the years. Here is a list of their managers:
- 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
