Sport Baseball Season champions Doosan Bears Semi-playoffs runners-up Nexen Heroes Dates 1 Apr 2016 – 2 Nov 2016 Season MVP Dustin Nippert (Doosan) Season champion Doosan Bears | Number of games 144 per team Wildcard runners-up KIA Tigers Champion Doosan Bears Number of teams 10 Finals champion Doosan Bears | |
Duration April 1 – November 2, 2016 Similar 2014 Korea Professio, 2016 Major League Baseball, 2013 Korea Professio, 2009 Korea Professio, 2008 Korea Professio | ||
The 2016 KBO League season was the 35th season in the history of the Korea Professional Baseball League.
Contents
Stadium changes for 2016 season
Regular season
Each KBO team played 144 games during the regular season with all teams playing each other 16 times. The 144-game-schedule began in the 2015 season due to the addition of the KT Wiz. During the 2014 season, each team had played 128 games.
All-Star Game
On July 16, the best players participated in the 2016 KBO All-Star Game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. The participating franchises were divided into two regions, the Dream All-Stars (Samsung Lions, Doosan Bears, Lotte Giants, SK Wyverns, KT Wiz) and Nanum All-Stars (Kia Tigers, Hanwha Eagles, LG Twins, Nexen Heroes, NC Dinos). The Nanum All-Star team emerged victorious with an 8–4 victory over the Dream All-Star Team in front of a sold-out crowd of 16, 300 fans. Doosan Bears outfielder Min Byung-hun, who hit two home runs during the game, was named the MVP of the game. The KBO All-Star Game however does not determine home-field advantage in the Korean Series.
Postseason
The 2016 KBO League season culminates in its championship series, known as the Korean Series. Before the 2015 season, the Semi-playoff format was tweaked. Previously, the top four teams after the end of the regular season qualified for the postseason, but in 2015, the top five teams qualified for the postseason. The team with the best record gained a direct entry into the Korean Series, while the other four teams competed for the remaining place in a step-ladder playoff system. Starting in 2015, the fourth-place and the fifth-place teams played in a "Wildcard" game/series.
Procedure to Determine Final Standings
Wildcard
LG won the series, 1–1.
Semi-playoff
LG won the series, 3–1.
Playoff
NC won the series, 3–1.
Korean Series
Doosan won the series, 4–0.
Foreign players
Each team could have sign up to three foreign players. Due to the high proportion of pitchers signed in previous years, beginning in 2014 the league has mandated that at least one of the foreign players must be a position player. Also with the KT Wiz being an expansion team that started play in 2015, they were given an exemption and were allowed to sign four foreign players instead of just the normally-allowed three.