The month of June has concluded in the KBO, and every team has now completed more than half of its regular-season schedule. The league’s top clubs have separated themselves from the pack, with the defending champion LG Twins holding a 2 1/2-game lead over the Samsung Lions. The KT Wiz sit two games behind Samsung in third place.
NC Dinos sign foreign hitter
On Wednesday, the NC Dinos announced they had signed Blaine Crim as their new foreign hitter after releasing Matt Davidson last week.
Crim appeared in 20 MLB games with the Texas Rangers and Colorado Rockies in 2025. He opened the 2026 season at Triple-A in the Rockies organization before being placed on waivers and claimed by Texas. He later played 21 games for Triple-A Round Rock before being granted his release to pursue an opportunity in Korea.
In 57 Triple-A games this season, Crim posted a .794 OPS with 10 home runs. The Dinos released Davidson in part because of a significant decline in his power production and will look to Crim to add more punch to the lineup.
Brothers make KBO history
For just the sixth time in KBO history, a batter faced his brother in a game.
On Wednesday, Hanwha Eagles pinch hitter Jung-hyun Park came to the plate in the ninth inning against his younger brother, KT Wiz closer Yeong-hyun Park. After taking the first two pitches to even the count at 1-1, Jung-hyun drove the third pitch over the center-field wall for a home run, cutting the deficit to 7-4.
It marked the first time in KBO history that a player hit a home run off his own brother.
KBO legend chasing another record
SSG Landers slugger Jeong Choi is closing in on becoming the first player in KBO history to record 11 consecutive 20-home run seasons.
The KBO’s all-time home run leader with 536 career homers, Choi also led the league in home runs in 2016, 2017 and 2021.
On Tuesday against the KIA Tigers, the 39-year-old moved one step closer to another milestone. Facing KIA ace Adam Oller in the fifth inning, Choi homered to center field for his 18th home run of the season. He continues to show why he remains one of the KBO’s premier power hitters.
Interest in the KBO continues to soar
On Tuesday, the KBO announced total attendance had surpassed 7 million through 388 games, setting a new record for the fewest games needed to reach the milestone. The previous record was 405 games, set in 2025.
Teams are averaging more than 18,000 fans per game, putting the league on pace to set another attendance record. The KBO is also on track to shatter its single-season sellout record of 331, established in 2025.
The league’s popularity continues to reach unprecedented levels.
All-Star reserves officially announced
This week, the reserve selections for the 2026 KBO All-Star Game were officially announced.
Dream All-Star reserves
SP Keon-woo Kim (SSG Landers)
SP Chan-hee Jang (Samsung Lions)
RP Dong-hyun Son (KT Wiz)
RP Yong-ju Jeon (KT Wiz)
SP Jin-uk Kim (Lotte Giants)
SP Jeong-min Park (Lotte Giants)
RP Do-hoon Hyeon (Lotte Giants)
C Hyeong-woo Cho (SSG Landers)
C Do-hwan Kim (Samsung Lions)
IF Jun-jae Jeong (SSG Landers)
IF Kyoung-min Heo (KT Wiz)
OF Tae-gon Oh (SSG Landers)
OF Seong-bin Hwang (Lotte Giants)
Nanum All-Star reserves
RP Kang-hoon Woo (LG Twins)
SP Hyun-jin Ryu (Hanwha Eagles)
RP Jin-wook Ryu (NC Dinos)
RP Sa-min Chun (NC Dinos)
SP Jun-hyun Park (Kiwoom Heroes)
SP Woo-jin Ahn (Kiwoom Heroes)
RP Yuto Kanakubo (Kiwoom Heroes)
C Jun-su Han (KIA Tigers)
C Gun-hee Kim (Kiwoom Heroes)
IF Bon-hyeok Gu (LG Twins)
IF Do-yun Lee (Hanwha Eagles)
OF Sung-ju Moon (LG Twins)
OF Chan-eui Song (LG Twins)
MVP race heating up
MVP front-runners Austin Dean of the LG Twins and Do-yeong Kim of the KIA Tigers are putting together one of the most impressive home run races in recent KBO history.
After hitting just four home runs in May, Kim has caught fire since June 3. During that stretch, he has hit 12 home runs while batting .317 with a .441 on-base percentage. He has climbed to third in the KBO in OPS after a relatively slow start and ranks second in the league with 26 home runs.
His power was on display Tuesday against the SSG Landers. Kim homered in the first inning, singled in the third and homered again in the fourth for his third multi-home run game of June. The 2024 KBO MVP added another home run Thursday, giving him 26 on the season as he chases his second MVP award in three years.
Not to be outdone, LG Twins star Austin Dean continues to strengthen his MVP case.
Dean has homered in six of his last nine games and put together another dominant week against the Kiwoom Heroes. His latest multi-home run performance gave him a league-leading 26 home runs before he added another on Thursday to reach 27.
Dean owns an eye-popping 1.110 OPS. No qualified KBO hitter has finished a season with an OPS above 1.100 since 2018. He is also on pace to hit 48 home runs, which would make him just the third foreign player in KBO history to reach that mark.
His remarkable season has helped lead the Twins to the top of the standings and established him as the favorite for the KBO MVP award.
Standings
LG Twins: 50-30
Samsung Lions: 46-31-2
KT Wiz: 44-33-1
KIA Tigers: 44-35-2
Doosan Bears: 40-39-2
Hanwha Eagles: 38-38-2
NC Dinos: 36-41-1
Lotte Giants: 34-43-2
SSG Landers: 30-47-3
Kiwoom Heroes: 28-53-1
Photo: Do-yeong Kim homers on June 30th against SSG Landers (Courtesy of KIA Tigers)
