Baseball is back! Those were the words proclaimed across the nation of South Korea earlier this week, when their professional baseball league, officially entitled the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), returned to action to kick off the 2020 season, with multiple games broadcast each week on ESPN and ESPN2. For Korea, who loves baseball just as much as us here in the United States, the return of the sport was welcomed with excitement. No fans sit in the stands, but baseball is played nonetheless, and the games matter just as much, both for the fans watching at home and for the players and coaches out on the field. Soon, like here in the US, golf will return to the country, along with soccer. The KBO is known to be the first live baseball we’ve seen since spring training back in early March. There is just something about sitting down, and watching two teams battle it out in a game that has not previously been played and is happening live, even if it is halfway across the globe. Well, if you’re interested in catching some of this live baseball, you’ll need a couple of things. First off, an alarm clock (the first pitch of most games is typically, 4:25 am eastern time, or if you’re lucky, you can catch a game that starts at 1 am eastern) and knowledge of the league itself. Here’s a quick, five minute guide to the league, shown through a venn diagram as it is compared to the MLB.
There is a good amount of former MLB players who have taken their talents across the Pacific to Korea. Some current MLB stars have come from the KBO as well. One notable player is Eric Thames, who had a breakout season in 2018 with the Brewers after being named the 2015 MVP of the KBO. He will be playing for the Nationals this 2020 season. Here are some current KBO players who have the makings to be the next Eric Thames.
Aaron Altherr: He played five seasons in the MLB, spending time with the Phillies, Giants and Mets, before singing with the NC Dinos for this season. Three games into his first KBO season, he is hitting .286 with two hits and a homer.
Dixon Machado: Also an MLB veteran, having spent three years with Detroit, Machado is a speedy second baseman in his first season in the KBO. Playing for the Lotte Giants, he’s hitting .300 with three hits, three runs and four RBI. His ability to get on base was key during his time in America, and will continue to make up a big part of his game in Korea.
Jose Miguel Fernandez: The Cuban native has only been a professional for six seasons, but his power has been relatively unmatched wherever he’s been. Fernandez played a season in Cuba before being forced to sit out the entire 2015 season because he attempted to defect from the country. Despite this, he made another daring escape from Cuba, and successfully made it, another him to sign with the LA Dodgers. The hope for his team, the Doosan Bears, is that he’ll have just as good, if not a better season that he enjoyed last year. In 2019, he finished second in the league in batting average (.344).
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