KBO Futures League () or Korea Baseball Futures League is

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

's second level of baseball, below the

KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...

. It serves as a farm league with the purpose to develop professional players on-demand to play in the KBO League. The league consists of two divisions — the Southern League and the Northern League. These leagues are governed by the

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ) is the Sport governing body, governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League () and KBO Futures League ( (F ...

(KBO). The league plays an 80-game season.

History

The

was founded in 1982, with the second-tier league being founded in 1990.Fast, Alex
"So You Want To Get Into The KBO: The Pitcher List staff brings you the definitive guide to the KBO,"
''Pitcher List'' (May 2020). The initial roster of seven teams in the 1990 season was: *

Binggrae Eagles The Hanwha Eagles () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Daejeon that competes in the KBO League. The Eagles' home ballpark is Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark. They have won the Korean Series once, in 1999, and the league pennan ...

Haitai Tigers The Kia Tigers () are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982 and based in the southwestern city of Gwangju. Until 2001, they were known as the Haitai Tigers. The Tigers are members of the KBO League and are the most successful ...

Lotte Giants The Lotte Giants () are a South Korean professional baseball, professional baseball team based in Busan. They are a member of the KBO League. The Lotte Giants are owned by Lotte Corporation. From 1982 through 1985, they played at Gudeok Baseball ...

LG Twins The LG Twins () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul, South Korea. They are a member of the KBO League. The Twins play their home games at Jamsil Baseball Stadium, which they share with their rivals, the Doosan Bears. ...

Ssangbangwool Raiders The Ssangbangwool Raiders () were a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1990 and dissolved upon bankruptcy of the team's owner after the 1999 season. They were based in the North Jeolla Province and were members of the Korea Baseba ...

Samsung Lions The Samsung Lions () are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982. They are based in the southeastern city of Daegu and are members of the KBO League. Their home stadium is Daegu Samsung Lions Park. They have won the Korean Cha ...

Pacific Dolphins The Hyundai Unicorns () were a South Korean professional baseball team based in Suwon. They were a member of the KBO League. The Unicorns won the KBO championship four times (1998, 2000, 2003 and 2004). The Unicorns were dissolved after the 20 ...

The Ssangbangwool Raiders played the initial season in the Futures League; the team moved up to the KBO League in 1991 (although it left behind its minor-league team as well). The Raiders franchise was dissolved after the 1999 season. The

SK Wyverns SSG Landers () are a South Korean professional baseball, professional baseball team. The team was originally established as the SK Wyverns but was renamed as the SSG Landers in 2021 after Shinsegae acquired the team from SK Group. They are a membe ...

added a minor-league franchise in 2001, playing their home games at SK Dream Park in the Nam District of

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

. Two unaffiliated teams joined the minor leagues in 2005: the

Korean Police Baseball Team Korean Police Baseball Team () was a South Korean amateur baseball team that existed from 2005 to 2019, and competed in the KBO Futures League from 2006 through 2019.Kim Hyo-Kyung"Woop-woop! That’s the sound of da Police Team disbanding,"''Kor ...

, operated by the

Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA; ) is the primary police force for the South Korean capital city of Seoul. The agency is not an independent police force in of itself, but is one of 16 provincial sub-divisions of the National Police Age ...

, and the Sangmu Phoenix, part of the

Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps (), commonly known as the Sangmu (), is the sports division of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces. Its headquarters are located in Mungyeong, Gyeongsangbuk-do. It was founded in 1984 by the integration of the at ...

. Many KBO League players serving compulsory military service opted to play for the Police and Sangmu teams, usually for a term of two seasons. The

Hyundai Unicorns The Hyundai Unicorns () were a South Korean professional baseball team based in Suwon. They were a member of the KBO League. The Unicorns won the KBO championship four times (1998, 2000, 2003 and 2004). The Unicorns were dissolved after the 20 ...

(formerly the Pacific Dolphins) — both the KBO League team and the second-tier team — were dissolved after the 2007 season. The minor league's name was changed to the "Futures League" in 2008. That same year the Hwaseong Heroes joined the league. In 2012, two teams based in

Goyang Goyang (; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province in the north of South Korea. It is part of the Seoul Metropolitan Area, making Goyang one of Seoul's Satellite city, satellite cities. It is one of the largest cities in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, w ...

joined the Futures League: the Goyang Dinos and the Goyang Wonders. (The Wonders' games were considered unofficially " friendly" contests.)Nam Hyun-woo
"Independent baseball club disbanded,"
''The Korea Times'' (2014-09-11). Now with 11 teams, the Futures League divided into two divisions: the Northern League and the Southern League. A "Freedom Division" was also created for the Dinos and the Wonders. The Dinos only played the one season in the Futures League before being elevated to the KBO League — as the

NC Dinos The NC Dinos () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Changwon. They are a member of the KBO League. Since 2019, their home stadium is Changwon NC Park. NC Dinos are owned by video game developer NCSoft Corporation. History On ...

— prior to the 2013 season. Also in 2012, the third-level squad of

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. Founded on February 22, 1938, as the Nankai Club, being the first Kansai t ...

, began playing 12 games a year against Futures League teams. The Suwon KT Wiz started out in 2013 as a Futures League team and played with Goyang Wonders in the Freedom Division; after two seasons the Wiz were elevated to the KBO (as the

KT Wiz The KT Wiz (; stylized as kt wiz) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Suwon. They are a member of the KBO League. Their home stadium is Suwon Baseball Stadium in Suwon. History On 11 January 2013, the Korea Baseball Organ ...

) in 2015. (The Goyang Wonders, meanwhile, were dissolved after the 2014 season.) In 2015, the Futures League reorganized into three divisions: the Red League (Goyang Dinos, Hanwha Eagles, Hwaseong Heroes, SK Wyverns), the Blue League (Doosan Bears, LG Twins, Police, Suwon KT Wiz), and the Yellow League (Kia Tigers, Lotte Giants, Samsung Lions, Sangmu Phoenix)."PARTICIPATING FRANCHISES IN THE KBO FUTURES LEAGUE,"
Baseball in Korea (January 19, 2014). The 2015 Blue League champion was the Police Baseball Team; the Red League champion was the Goyang Dinos; and the Yellow League champion was the Sangmu Phoenix. The league returned to the Northern and Southern League divisions in 2016. The Sangmu Phoenix were champions of the Southern League in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019; the Police baseball team was the champion of the Northern League in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018. The Police team was disbanded after the 2019 Futures League season.Kim Hyo-Kyung
"Woop-woop! That’s the sound of da Police Team disbanding,"
''Korea JoongAng Daily'' (July 5, 2019).

Teams

Current

Most of the Korean minor league teams carry the same name, and use the same uniforms, as their parent team.

Southern League

Northern League

Non-regular team

Former teams

KBO Fall League

In 2022, the KBO started the KBO Futures Education League (later renamed to the

Ulsan Ulsan (; ), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighbo ...

-KBO Fall League), an off-season fall showcase league that competes solely in the month of October. Similar in structure and purpose to

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

, it features developmental KBO players, players newly draft eligbile, players from South Korea's independent baseball leagues, and teams from outside of South Korea.

Teams

References

External links

Korea Baseball Organization (KBO)
- Official Website {{Professional Baseball

Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ex ...

Baseball leagues in Asia KBO League Sports leagues established in 1990 1990 establishments in South Korea Professional sports leagues in South Korea

History

Teams

Current

Southern League

Northern League

Non-regular team

Former teams

KBO Fall League

Teams

See also

References

External links