Ugly loss by KBO champions closes book on iconic stadium

As the defending South Korean baseball champion LG Twins bowed out early in the postseason Tuesday night, the exit also closed the book on their iconic home park in the capital city, Jamsil Baseball Stadium.

The Twins absorbed a 13-1 loss to the visiting Kia Tigers in Game 3 of the first round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason Tuesday. It completed the Tigers’ three-game sweep of the best-of-five battle and ended the Twins’ bid for their second straight Korean Series title.

It also ended up being the last official game played at Jamsil, which opened in 1982 and will be demolished after this season to make room for a new dome.

Jamsil has been home to many memorable championship moments over the years, with the Twins and another club, Doosan Bears, as co-tenants. Most recently, the Twins clinched the 2023 Korean Series championship at Jamsil, their first title since 1994.

The Twins also won the 2025 title, but the clincher came on the road in the central city of Daejeon against the Hanwha Eagles.

And there will be no more celebration.

The Tigers put up a seven-spot in the top of the second inning and led 9-1 through six innings — by which time many Twins fans had already left the stadium.

The typically loud Twins fans had been silenced in the second inning after the Tigers’ stunning explosion. And the crowd somehow grew quieter with each passing inning, as the Twins failed to put up much of a fight.

The Twins were outscored 24-5 in this series. They hit just one home run, while the Tigers launched seven long balls.

“Throughout the series, we were badly outperformed by the Tigers at the plate, and we just made things difficult on ourselves,” Youm said. “Fans had high expectations for us, and we did not live up to them. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and see where things went wrong this year.”

The Twins’ exit means the KBO has not had a repeat champion since the 2015-2016 Doosan Bears. The Twins also went for a second straight title in 2024 but were sent packing in the penultimate round of the postseason then.

“After experiencing our failure in 2024, we came into this year trying to avoid making the same mistakes,” Youm said. “There is a reason why we fell short again this time. I think players, individually, must become more desperate. And their stronger sense of urgency must be backed by hard work next year.”