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Lotte won the title twice, 1984-1992
Longest title drought in Korea
Hanwha won the title in 1999.
Lotte players pose for a photo during the awards ceremony in 1992 after winning the Korean Series title for the second time in its history. Lotte hadn"t won a title in 31 years until this season.
With LG"s return to the top of the Korean Series after 29 years, Lotte and Hanwha are the only two of the 10 teams in the KBO that have not won a title in more than 20 years. Lotte has won two Korean Series titles, in 1984 and 1992, but is 31 years away from a third. Hanwha hasn"t had a "V2" in 24 years since its first title in 1999. Coincidentally, Lotte"s 1992 Korean Series opponent was Hanwha"s predecessor, Binggrae, and Hanwha"s 1999 Korean Series opponent was Lotte.
Last year, after 30 consecutive years of irrelevance, Lotte was eager to bolster its roster during the Stovrig period. The team spent a total of 17 billion won in the free agent (FA) market, signing catcher Yoo Kang-nam (8 billion won), infielder Noh Jin-hyuk (5 billion won), and pitcher Han Hyun-hee (4 billion won). Lotte was the team that spent the most money on outside free agents in last year"s Stobrigue. However, Lotte"s regular season ranking only improved by one spot from 8th last year to 7th this year.
After failing to achieve much with their arms and legs, Lotte is now replacing their head coach. Former Doosan head coach Kim Tae-hyung has been handed the reins. Kim previously led Doosan to the Korean Series for seven consecutive years (2015-2021),winning the title three times. Lotte has also shaken up its coaching staff with Kim"s appointment, as it looks to revitalize the team.
Hanwha also spent 12 billion won on outside free agents, including infielder Chae Eun-sung (9 billion won) and pitcher Lee Tae-yang (2.5 billion won) in the last Stobrig, but the team only managed to move up one spot in the standings from 10th to 9th. Hanwha has been trying to bolster its offense since the end of this season, when it hired head coach Jung Kyung-bae from SSG, who is said to be an expert in hitting instruction. This season, Hanwha ranked last in team batting average (.241).
Kiwoom is also approaching its 20-year anniversary. Since its founding in 2008, Kiwoom has reached the Korean Series three times (2014, 2019, and 2022), but has finished as runner-up in each of those years, extending its drought to 16 years. Kiwoom is the only club in the Korean Baseball Organization that has never won the Korean Series.