LAD-SD Opening Match to be held in Seoul next March
For the first time ever, an official Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season game will be played in South Korea.
“The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will play the regular-season opener in Seoul on March 20-21 next year,” MLB announced on Wednesday. The same day, MLB.com reported that the matchup will be the first official MLB game to be played in South Korea, with the Dodgers and Padres playing a two-game series to open next year’s regular season.
The MLB office did not announce a venue for the series in Seoul, but Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome, the only dome in South Korea, is the likely venue given the weather in late March.
The Dodgers and San Diego are the most familiar franchises to Korean baseball fans. In the past, Park Chan-ho, Choi Hee-seop, Seo Jae-ng, and Ryu Hyun-jin have worn the Dodgers’ colors, and San Diego is currently home to Kim Ha-seong, a key infielder. Kim, who played for the Kiwoom Heroes before leaving for the United States in 2021, made a brief return home to meet Korean baseball fans.
The opening game is part of an MLB World Tour event. In addition to the opening game in Seoul, there will be games in Mexico and the United Kingdom, which hosted MLB regular season games in 2023. Next year, the Houston Astros and Colorado Rockies will play two games in Mexico City on April 27 and 28, and the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies will play in London on June 8 and 9.온라인바카
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said, “MLB is excited about the international games that will be played in 2024 in a variety of countries. We are very much looking forward to hosting the opening game in South Korea for the first time ever.”
“I want to thank Commissioner Manfred, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and other stakeholders for their hard work in bringing the MLB Opening Day to Seoul. We are pleased to be able to offer Korean baseball fans a very special opportunity to watch MLB games in person in Korea. We look forward to a great international exchange that will showcase the passion and culture of Korean baseball fans.”
