(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photo by Henk Seppen)
 Roger Bernadina opens Korean Series Wednesday with KIA Tigers
Nederlands
 GWANGJU (South Korea) -
Dutch professional outfielder Roger Bernadina opens the best-of-seven Korean Series coming Wednesday (October 25) with KIA Tigers.
Last Saturday, reigning champion Doosan Bears became the second finalist by winning the Play-Off against NC Dinos.
...Roger Bernadina playing for the Netherlands during the...
...European Championship last year in Hoofddorp (Netherlands)...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
Roger Bernadina is playing in his first season in South Korea.
In 2008, the outfielder made his debut in the Major League when he played for Washington Nationals and then hit a basehit in his first at bat.
In the following years, he also played with the Nationals in the Majors, but he was released in August 2013.
Two days later, Bernadina signed with Philadelphia Phillies, where he finished the season.
In January 2014, the outfielder signed a minor league-contract with Cincinnati Reds, but he made the big league-roster during Spring Training.
However, in June of that year, Bernadina was again released.
The next month, he was signed by Los Angeles Dodgers, where he initially played in Triple-A.
He was added to the big league-roster in September and then primarily played as pinch-runner and pinch-hitter for the Dodgers.
In 2015 and 2016, Bernadina didn't play in the Majors, but played two seasons in Triple-A.
In December 2014, he signed a minor league-contract with Colorado Rockies for whom he played in Triple-A in 2015.
In February 2016, he signed with New York Mets and then played another season in Triple-A.
In November last year, Benadina signed with KIA Tigers to play in the highest professional South Korean League.
In his first Korean season, Bernadina played in 139 games and batted .320 (178-for-557) with 26 doubles, eight triples and 27 homeruns.
Bernadina scored 118 runs, batted in 111 runs and stole 32 bases.
He led his team in runs scored, basehits, homeruns and stolen bases and was second in RBI's.
With his 118 runs, he led the entire league and his 32 stolen bases were second highest, trailing only Hae-Min Park (Samsung Lions), who had 40.
Last year, Bernadina, who is nicknamed 'The Shark', played for the Netherlands Team during the preliminary round of the European Championship in Hoofddorp (Netherlands).
In 2013, he reached the Semi-Final of the World Baseball Classic with the Orange-squad.
KIA Tigers is one of the oldest professional Korean clubs.
In 1982, it was one of the six teams that participated in the very first professional season in South Korea when it played as Haitai Tigers.
Three other teams of that first year also still also playing in the professional league: LG Twins, which played as MBC Chungyong in 1982-1989, Samsung Lions and Lotte Giants.
KIA Tigers finished the regular season on October 3 in first place with an 87-56 record and one tie.
With that, the team automatically qualified for the Korean Series.
It also meant a long waiting period as four other teams first had to play three rounds to determine who would become the opponent of the Tigers.
Doosan Bears finished in second place with an 84-57 record and three ties and qualified for the Play-Off.
By finishing in third place with an 80-62 record and two ties, Lotte Giants reached the Semi-Play-Off.
The teams that finished in fourth and fifth place also qualified for the postseason.
Fourth-placed NC Dinos (79-62 and three ties) and fifth-placed SK Wyverns (75-68 and one tie) were to play in the Wild Card Game.
With that, the team that finishes in fifth place in the KBO League still has a chance to win the Championship-title.
In the Wild Card Game, the team that finishes in fourth place needs to win one game, while the fifth-placed team needs two wins to advance to the next round.
On October 5, NC Dinos won 10-5 against SK Wyverns to win the Wild Card and reach the Semi-Play-Off.
In the best-of-five Semi-Play-Off, the Dinos had a good Series and eliminated third placed Lotte Giants.
The Dinos opened the Series on October 8 with a 9-2 victory in eleven innings, then lost the next day with a minimal 1-0 score.
In Game 3, Dinos won 13-6, but the Giants evened the Series again by winning the fourth game with a 7-1 score.
In the deciding Game 5, played on October 15, Dinos shutout Giants 9-0 to win the Series and continue its postseason.
In the best-of-five Play-Off, NC Dinos faced second-placed Doosan Bears, which last year won the Korean Series.
The Bears then swept the Dinos in four games.
Playing at home in the historic Jamsil Baseball Stadium in capital Seoul, Doosan Bears suffered a surprising 13-5 loss in the opener against Dinos on Tuesday (October 17).
But hereafter, the team won the next three games.
Doosan Bears recorded three big wins in the next three games, 17-7 on Wednesday, 14-3 on Friday and 14-5 on Saturday, the last two games at Masan Baseball Stadium, the home of the Dinos in Changwon.
Coming Wednesday, the best-of-seven Korean Series opens at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field, the home of KIA Tigers in Gwangju.
(October 23)
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