Samsung Lions are Asia Series Champions

Last night Daegu's Samsung Lions became the first Korean team (indeed first non-Japanese team) to win the Asia Series and take the title of Asian Champions. It was a close game, played against Fukuoka's Softbank Hawks (the Japanese Champions) who actually had a better record in the round robin section and so were playing with homefield advantage (the games being played in Taiwan). Fukuoka were heavy favourites but were unable to generate any real offense against Samsung and hit into two rally crushing double plays, which would be decisive.

Fukuoka actually went up 1-0 in the first off of three hits before hitting in to a double play. In the fifth Samsung racked up five runs off two great singles followed by a three run homer, a wild pitch with a man on third and some questionable defense by Fukuoka leading to the games only error. The five runs would be enough to win it, although Fukuoka would come close in the 8th loading the bases with no outs before hitting in to another double play. The inning ended with the score 5-3, which would also end up being the final score.

It's great to see the local team do so well, especially as it's rare for Daegu to take in a major sporting event/title over wealthier Seoul/Incheon based teams in the modern era. For Daegu to be the Korean and Asian Champions is a huge boost for the city and the people living here. It's also great for the development of baseball in Asia to see a non-Japanese team win the title. While Fukuoka had a better record in the round robin (they beat Samsung 9-0 in that game) and I think it'll be a few years yet before baseball in Korea or Taiwan matches the professionalism and skill of Nippon Professional Baseball (I wonder if Samsung could have won a best of seven series with Fukuoka?) it's great to see the expansion of the game and the growth of skilled players in such a short period of time (pro baseball in Korea only started in 1982, versus 1926 in Japan). In any event, with the winter sports here being soccer and basketball (yawn) I'm already ready for next April.