The Korean Baseball Organization season has reached late June, with the league nearing the halfway point of the regular season.
LG Twins continue to lead the way
The LG Twins, the defending KBO champions, once again sit atop the standings as the league approaches its midpoint.
They have been led by MVP front-runner Austin Dean, who has posted a 1.082 OPS. Yonathan Perlaza is the only other qualified hitter in the KBO with an OPS at 1.000 or better with an OPS of exactly 1.000. That 82 point gap between first and second place in OPS is on pace to be the second-largest margin in the past eight years of the KBO.
Only three qualified LG hitters have produced above-average offensive numbers this season, making Dean’s production even more remarkable. He leads the league with 23 home runs, while no other Twins player has more than eight. Dean also leads the club in doubles, triples, home runs and RBIs.
Dean continued his MVP-caliber season earlier this week during a pivotal series against the Samsung Lions, who entered the matchup looking to gain ground in the standings.
With the game scoreless in the fourth inning, Dean launched a solo home run off Samsung starter Jack O’Loughlin to give LG a 1-0 lead. It proved to be all the offense the Twins needed in a 2-0 victory as they secured the series and maintained first place.
His heroics continued Saturday, as Dean crushed a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning with the bases loaded with the Lions winning 5-4. The Twins went on to win 8-7, thanks largely to another clutch performance from their superstar.
Si-hwan Roh catching fire
After a slow start to the season, Hanwha Eagles infielder Si-hwan Roh has caught fire at the plate.
On Saturday, Roh homered in the seventh inning against the SSG Landers, becoming the first Hanwha player in franchise history and the 17th player in KBO history to homer in five consecutive games. He now has 15 home runs this season.
KBO announces Best 12 All-Star selections
The KBO announced the Best 12 for the Dream All-Stars and Nanum All-Stars on Wednesday. Thirteen reserve players for each team will be announced later.
The All-Star Game will be played July 11 at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. It will be the final All-Star Game held at the stadium before its scheduled demolition following the season.
Opened in 1982, Jamsil Baseball Stadium has served as the longtime home of the LG Twins and Doosan Bears. Construction on a new domed stadium is scheduled to begin after the season, with completion targeted for 2032. During construction, the Twins and Bears will play their home games at Seoul Olympic Stadium from 2027 through 2031.
Doosan Bears catcher Eui-ji Yang set a new KBO record by receiving just over 2.6 million fan votes, the most in All-Star Game history.
It was a historic year for fan voting, with six players surpassing 2 million votes. Before 2026, no player had ever reached the 2 million-vote mark. Dean finished second with 2,392,848 votes.
Dream All-Star Best 12
Starting pitcher: Been Gwak (Doosan Bears)
Relief pitcher: Seung-min Lee (Samsung Lions)
Closer: Young-ha Lee (Doosan Bears)
Catcher: Eui-ji Yang (Doosan Bears)
First base: Lewin Díaz (Samsung Lions)
Second base: Jun-soon Park (Doosan Bears)
Third base: Jeong Choi (SSG Landers)
Shortstop: Chan-ho Park (Doosan Bears)
Outfield: Ja-wook Koo (Samsung Lions)
Outfield: Soo-bin Jung (Doosan Bears)
Outfield: Won-jun Choi (KT Wiz)
Designated hitter: Hyoung-woo Choi (Samsung Lions)
Nanum All-Star Best 12
Starting pitcher: Adam Oller (KIA Tigers)
Relief pitcher: Hai-young Jung (KIA Tigers)
Closer: Yeong-tak Sung (KIA Tigers)
Catcher: In-seo Heo (Hanwha Eagles)
First base: Austin Dean (LG Twins)
Second base: Min-woo Park (NC Dinos)
Third base: Do-yeong Kim (KIA Tigers)
Shortstop: Ju-won Kim (NC Dinos)
Outfield: Hae-min Park (LG Twins)
Outfield: Jae-hyun Park (KIA Tigers)
Outfield: Hyun-bin Moon (Hanwha Eagles)
Designated hitter: Baek-ho Kang (Hanwha Eagles)
KBO standings
- LG Twins: 48-28
- Samsung Lions: 43-30-2
- KT Wiz: 43-31-1
- KIA Tigers: 41-35-1
- Doosan Bears: 38-37-2
- Hanwha Eagles: 36-37-2
- NC Dinos: 34-39-1
- Lotte Giants: 32-41-2
- SSG Landers: 30-44-2
- Kiwoom Heroes: 27-50-1
WBN KBO: https://worldbaseball.com/league/south-korea/korea-baseball-organization/
Photo: Si-hwan Roh hits home run on June 26th, 2026. Photo credit to Hanwha Eagles
