NC Dinos

NC Dinos
NC 다이노스
Team logo Cap insignia
Information
LeagueKBO League (2013–present)
LocationChangwon
BallparkChangwon NC Park (2019–present)
Established2011; 13 years ago (2011)
League championships2020
Korean Series championships2020
Former ballparksMasan Baseball Stadium (2012–2018)
ColorsBlue and gold
   
OwnershipNCSoft
ManagerLee Ho-joon
Websitewww.ncdinos.com

The NC Dinos (Korean: NC 다이노스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Changwon. They are a member of the KBO League. Since 2019, their home stadium is Changwon NC Park. NC Dinos are owned by video game developer NCSoft Corporation.

History

On 1 July 2010, the cities of Changwon, Masan and Jinhae were integrated into one city, Changwon. As a result of the integration, Changwon became the eleventh largest city in South Korea. Afterward, Changwon drove forward the project, which attracted a baseball team in the city. On 22 December 2010, video game company NCSoft submitted a plan that it wanted to found a baseball team that would be later admitted to the Korea Baseball Organization as a member franchise. Changwon hereby became the first city having a baseball team among all the non-metropolitan cities in South Korea.

In the 2012 season, NC Dinos competed in the unaffiliated Freedom Division of the Korea Baseball Futures League. On 8 May 2012, the Korea Baseball Organization officially approved NC Dinos' admission to the KBO League for the 2013 season.[1]

On 11 April 2013, the NC Dinos won their first game in the club's history against the LG Twins.[2]

As a new team in 2013, the Dinos were allowed three foreign players on their roster (as opposed to the usual two). In 2014, that limit was raised to four (while all non-expansion teams were limited to three).[3] The 2014 Dinos signed pitchers Charlie Shirek, Eric Hacker, Thad Weber, and outfielder Eric Thames.[3]

In November 2020, the Dinos won their first Korean Series championship, four games to two games over the Doosan Bears.[4] This followed the team's first regular season championship, in which the Dinos finished the 2020 regular season in first place for the first time in the team's history.[5]

Season-by-season records

Year Stadium Rank Regular season Postseason Awards
Standings Games Wins Losses Draws Win% BA HR ERA
2013 Masan
Baseball Stadium
7/9 7/9 128 52 72 4 .419 .244 86 3.96 Did not qualify Lee Jae-hak (ROTY)
2014 3/9 3/9 128 70 57 1 .551 .282 143 4.29 Lost semi-playoff vs. LG Twins (1–3) Park Min-woo (ROTY)
2015 3/10 2/10 144 84 57 3 .596 .289 161 4.26 Lost playoff vs. Doosan Bears (2–3) Eric Thames (MVP)
2016 2/10 2/10 144 83 58 3 .589 .291 169 4.48 Won playoff vs. LG Twins (3–1)
Lost Korean Series vs. Doosan Bears (0–4)
2017 4/10 4/10 144 79 62 3 .560 .293 149 4.71 Won wild card vs. SK Wyverns (1–0)
Won semi-playoff vs. Lotte Giants (3–2)
Lost playoff vs. Doosan Bears (1–3)
2018 10/10 10/10 144 58 85 1 .406 .261 143 5.48 Did not qualify
2019 Changwon
NC Park
5/10 5/10 144 73 69 2 .514 .278 128 4.01 Lost wild card vs. LG Twins (0–1)
2020 1/10 1/10 144 83 55 6 .601 .291 187 4.58 Won Korean Series vs. Doosan Bears (4–2)
2021 7/10 7/10 144 67 68 9 .496 .261 170 4.54 Did not qualify
2022 6/10 6/10 144 67 74 3 .475 .257 105 3.90 Did not qualify
2023 4/10 4/10 144 75 67 2 .528 .270 98 3.83 Won wild card vs. Doosan Bears (1–0)
Won semi-playoff vs. SSG Landers (3–0)
Lost playoff vs. KT Wiz (2–3)
Erick Fedde (MVP)
2024 9/10 9/10 144 61 81 2 .430 .274 172 5.00 Did not qualify

Managers

Mascot

The NC Dinos have two mascots. Sseri is a green Brontosaurus that wears a necklace and has affectionately been nicknamed "Swole Daddy" by SB Nation.[7] The Dinos' other mascot, Dandi, is a blue Tyrannosaurus.[8]

References

General
  • "Complete league history and statistics" (in Korean). Korean Baseball League. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
Specific
  1. ^ "NC Dinos to enter first division," Korea JoongAng Daily (8 May 2012).
  2. ^ "7전8기… NC 감격의 창단 첫승". hankooki.com. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  3. ^ a b "KBO clubs snatch up new foreign players following rule change," Yonhap News Agency (16 December 2013).
  4. ^ "NC Dinos claim Korean Series title with 4–2 win over Doosan Bears". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  5. ^ "NC Dinos clinch first KBO regular season title". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  6. ^ "NC Dinos hire ex-captain Lee Ho-joon as new manager". Korea JoongAng Daily. 22 October 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  7. ^ Dator, James (11 May 2020). "I accidentally re-named the NC Dinos mascot 'Swole Daddy'". SBNation.com. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  8. ^ "All other mascots just got served by this incredible KBO dancing dinosaur". MLB.com. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2020.