KBO 잔여 경기 일정 확정, 복잡해진 가을 야구…AG이 복병

The Korean Pro Baseball (KBO) organization has finalized the remaining game schedule for the 2026 season, which is complicated by the overlapping 2026 Asian Games. The KBO announced on the 25th that the 2026 SOL KBO League regular season will have a total of 105 games, including 45 exhibition games, rain and heat games, and postponed matches. The regular season will conclude on October 7th.

Games will begin at 6:30 PM on weekdays and 5:00 PM on weekends and holidays from September 1st to 14th. Starting from September 15th, Sunday and holiday games will begin at 2:00 PM. From September 24th to 27th, all games will start at 5:00 PM due to the Chuseok holiday. After the cancellation of a match, the pre-designated reserve day will be used.

If there is no reserve day, the same matchup that has been scheduled will be played as a doubleheader on the subsequent day. Doubleheaders become possible starting from September 29th, with a maximum of one doubleheader per team. The first doubleheader starts at 3:00 PM on weekdays and 2:00 PM on weekends and holidays, while the second doubleheader starts at 6:30 PM on weekdays and 5:00 PM on weekends and holidays.

Even if the first doubleheader ends early, the second doubleheader will start at its scheduled time, but with a minimum 40-minute interval if the first doubleheader ends late.

Another notable aspect of this remaining schedule is the possibility of a team playing up to 9 consecutive games due to canceled matches or doubleheaders. If multiple reserve days are available, the closest one will be utilized first. This year, the Asian Games factor comes into play, with a principle that doubleheaders are not arranged during the games period.

The representative teams will leave for the Asian Games from September 14th to 28th, which may affect the team's strength and ranking competition for the playoffs. For example, the Doosan Bears and Kia Tigers have their key players, Gwon Bin and Min Seok, and Kim Do-yeong and Park Jae-hyun, respectively, called up to the representative teams.

KT Wiz, without 4-5 starters (So-minjun, O-won-seok) and closer (Park Yong-hyun), will need to last for two weeks. Regardless of the post-season teams, games can be scheduled during the intermission between the regular season's final day and the wild card determination game, or during the post-season period. The final day of the regular season on October 7th features a Twin Series between Daegu and Seoul (Jamsil) and a KT Lion vs. Samsung Lions (Suwon) game, which could determine the top spot in the final standings.