| 2021 KBO League | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | KBO League |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | April 3 – October 31 |
| Number of games | 144 per team |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| TV partner(s) | KBS, MBC, SBS, SPOTV, ESPN |
| Regular Season | |
| Season champions | KT Wiz |
| Season MVP | Ariel Miranda (Doosan) |
| Postseason | |
| Wild Card champions | Doosan Bears |
| Wild Card runners-up | Kiwoom Heroes |
| Semi-playoffs champions | Doosan Bears |
| Semi-playoffs runners-up | LG Twins |
| Playoffs champions | Doosan Bears |
| Playoffs runners-up | Samsung Lions |
| Korean Series | |
| Champions | KT Wiz |
| Runners-up | Doosan Bears |
| Finals MVP | Park Kyung-su |
The 2021 KBO League season, also known by naming rights sponsorship as 2021 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League (Korean: 2021 신한은행 SOL KBO 리그), was the 40th season in the history of the KBO League.
At the conclusion of the regular season, all five playoff positions were undecided going into the final day of the schedule. The Samsung Lions and KT Wiz met in a tiebreaker game to decide the regular season champion, the first such game since 1985. The NC Dinos became the first defending champion to miss the playoffs since the Kia Tigers in 2010, while the Doosan Bears qualified for the seventh consecutive year. In the postseason, the Korean Series was won by KT Wiz, who defeated the Doosan Bears who had advanced the championship series as a wild card.
2021 also marked the first KBO season for the SSG Landers, formerly known as the SK Wyverns.
Season format
The KBO is a 10-team league. Each team plays 144 games, facing the other nine teams 16 times apiece. Games are declared ties after 12 innings (15 in the postseason), and those contests have no bearing on a team’s winning percentage. Five teams make the playoffs, where the league uses a step-ladder format; the fifth- and fourth-placed teams battle in a Wild Card round, the winner faces the three seed, and so on. Teams are limited to three foreign players each. Only two such players are allowed in the lineup at any one time, so teams generally roster two pitchers and one position player.
Standings
| Rank | Team | GP | W | L | D | Pct. | GB | Postseason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-1** | KT Wiz | 144 | 76 | 59 | 9 | .563 | — | Korean Series |
| T-1* | Samsung Lions | 144 | 76 | 59 | 9 | .563 | — | Playoff |
| 3 | LG Twins | 144 | 72 | 58 | 14 | .554 | 1½ | Semi-playoff |
| 4 | Doosan Bears | 144 | 71 | 65 | 8 | .522 | 5½ | Wildcard Game |
| 5 | Kiwoom Heroes | 144 | 70 | 67 | 7 | .511 | 7 | |
| 6 | SSG Landers | 144 | 66 | 64 | 14 | .508 | 7½ | Did not qualify |
| 7 | NC Dinos | 144 | 67 | 68 | 9 | .496 | 9 | |
| 8 | Lotte Giants | 144 | 65 | 71 | 8 | .478 | 11½ | |
| 9 | Kia Tigers | 144 | 58 | 76 | 10 | .433 | 17½ | |
| 10 | Hanwha Eagles | 144 | 49 | 83 | 12 | .371 | 25½ |
*Samsung Lions hosted tiebreaker game by virtue of head-to-head record with KT Wiz (9-6-1)
**KT Wiz won against Samsung Lions 1-0 in the tiebreaker game
Postseason
| Wild Card | Semi-playoff | Playoff | Korean Series | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | KT Wiz | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Samsung Lions | 0 | 4 | Doosan Bears | 0 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | LG Twins | 1 | 4 | Doosan Bears | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Doosan Bears | 2 | 4 | Doosan Bears | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 5 | Kiwoom Heroes | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
Wild Card
The series started with a 1–0 advantage for the fourth-placed team.
Doosan Bears (2) vs. Kiwoom Heroes (1)
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | November 1 | Kiwoom Heroes – 7, Doosan Bears – 4 | Jamsil Baseball Stadium | 4:09 | 12,422 |
| 2 | November 2 | Kiwoom Heroes – 8, Doosan Bears – 16 | Jamsil Baseball Stadium | 3:52 | 9,425 |
Semi-playoff
LG Twins (1) vs. Doosan Bears (2)
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | November 4 | Doosan Bears – 5, LG Twins – 1 | Jamsil Baseball Stadium | 4:05 | 19,846 |
| 2 | November 5 | LG Twins – 9, Doosan Bears – 3 | Jamsil Baseball Stadium | 4:10 | 21,679 |
| 3 | November 7 | Doosan Bears – 10, LG Twins – 3 | Jamsil Baseball Stadium | 3:40 | 23,800 |
Playoff
Samsung Lions (0) vs. Doosan Bears (2)
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | November 9 | Doosan Bears – 6, Samsung Lions – 4 | Daegu Samsung Lions Park | 3:28 | 22,079 |
| 2 | November 10 | Samsung Lions – 3, Doosan Bears – 11 | Jamsil Baseball Stadium | 3:45 | 22,109 |
Korean Series
KT Wiz (4) vs. Doosan Bears (0)
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | November 14 | Doosan Bears – 2, KT Wiz – 4 | Gocheok Sky Dome | 2:51 | 16,200 |
| 2 | November 15 | Doosan Bears – 1, KT Wiz – 6 | Gocheok Sky Dome | 2:38 | 12,904 |
| 3 | November 17 | KT Wiz – 3, Doosan Bears – 1 | Gocheok Sky Dome | 3:26 | 13,312 |
| 4 | November 18 | KT Wiz – 8, Doosan Bears – 4 | Gocheok Sky Dome | 3:45 | 13,796 |