Are you desperate for baseball? I know I am. Now we can actually watch live professional baseball although without spectators in the stands. ESPN has reached agreement with the KBO and Korean media group Eclat to begin televising live games. The KBO is opening their season tomorrow and ESPN has agreed to televise one game per day. We need Baseball to heal our souls. Who knew the first games during the Coronavirus pandemic would be from the KBO.
Apparently things are stable enough over there to launch their regular season. It’s wonderful to see actual baseball again, but you’re going to have to get up pretty early in the morning in order to catch any of the games. The KBO is taking strict precautions to ensure the safety of the players, coaches and stadium personnel. Players will be tested before every game and any positive test result will mean the shutdown of that stadium for a minimum of 48 hours along with deep cleansing.
Wed. May 6: Doosan Bears vs. LG Twins (5:30am EST)
Thurs. May 7: NC Dinos vs. Samsung Lions (5:30am EST)
Fri. May 8: KIA Tigers vs. Samsung Lions (5:30am EST)
Sat. May 9: LG Twins vs. NC Dinos (4am EST)
Sun. May 10: LG Twins vs. NC Dinos (1am EST)
#KBO has just announced #ESPN will be televising 1 KBO game per day, starting with Opening Day action between Samsung Lions and NC Dinos. Details to follow.
— Jeeho Yoo (@Jeeho_1) May 4, 2020
ESPN has reached an agreement with the KBO to air games from Korea live. Opening day is tomorrow. More details to come.
— Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) May 4, 2020
When not on the field, everyone is still required to wear masks and high fives and spitting will not be allowed. Can you imagine a baseball game without high fives or spitting? That means players won’t be able to chew tobacco, and chewing regular bubble gum could be a problem. I’m not sure how many players chew tobacco over there, but that’s quite a restriction for baseball players. Anyone showing symptoms will be quarantined, meanwhile league officials will continue to consult with health experts throughout the season.
Is this something that we could see Major League Baseball adopt at some point later this summer? I don’t know but I would love to see some baseball this year. I may have to stay up late to watch the opening game. Here’s the initial schedule listed above. If you’re missing baseball as much as I am then you can catch all of the KBO action on ESPN. As an added bonus there are at least a dozen former MLB players now suiting up for a KBO club. It may not be time for Dodger baseball yet, but it’s certainly time for Korean Baseball.
Baseball is baseball. I will watch some of the games. There are some former MLB players on the teams, so a few of the names will be familiar. Look for a lot of Parks and Lees. A Yung or Soon or two, But just hearing the crack of a bat again will be nice.
YOu misspelled that Headline, Scot, It’s time for Corona Baseball
Korean baseball? No thanks. I’ll start another Netflix series.
I hear that. And for a bonus, no politics, Nice job Badger, I knew you could do it (for at least one post)
I just want to see some games. I would settle for the Little League World Series at this point. You guys can watch what you like. I have so many movies I can watch for 4000 days and not see the same film twice. I am doing some reading, and catching up on some other things I need to do, plus I am helping a friend move into an apartment here.