The Hot Corner
Baseball may be coming to a television near you sooner than expected.
It won’t be the MLB, so we will still have to wait to see Joey Gallo or Alex Bregman hitting long shots. But we may soon have access to one of the most entertaining baseball leagues in the world. The Korean Baseball Organization, or KBO, is in talks with ESPN to air its games by May.
I know what you’re thinking: What the heck is the KBO and why should I care?
You should care because it is baseball. Beautiful, entertaining baseball. Some of the best baseball highlights come from the KBO, including a Manny Ramirez home run with the legendary call, “that ball is long gone just like my ex-girlfriend who will never return.”
Based in South Korea, the KBO is comprised of 10 teams including the Doosan Bears, the Kiwoom Heroes, the SK Wyverns, the LG Twins, the NC Dinos, the KT Wiz, the Kia Tiers, the Samsung Lions, the Hanwha Eagles and the Lotte Giants. The KBO typically plays a 144 game season in which teams face each other 16 times. The league plays an all star game in July and the playoffs are set up in a step-ladder system. The league typically runs from April to September. The league has run fairly normally in 2020 thanks to the country’s quick response to COVID-19. Although games are currently being played without fans, the league will slowly funnel fans back in as the season progresses.
So who are the best players and team in the KBO?
The Kia Tigers hold the most championships with 11, but the Samsung Lions and the Doosan Bears have each won more than five titles. The Lions have fallen to the Tigers four times in the KBO Korean Series, their equivalent of the World Series.
The Tigers won in 2017 but last year’s trophy went to the Bears after they defeated the Kiwoom Heroes.
The talent level is not on the same level as MLB, but South Korea is a country known for developing top-tier baseball talent. Current MLB players from South Korea include Ji-man Choi of the Tampa Bay Rays, Shin-soo Choo of the Texas Rangers, Jung ho-Kang of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Hyun-jin Ryu of the Toronto Blue Jays.
There are also several former Major Leaguers currently playing in South Korea. Tyler Wilson, formerly of the Baltimore Orioles, pitches for the LG Twins; Preston Tucker, an outfielder who played for Houston and Atlanta, plays for the Kia Tigers; Jared Hoying, formerly of the Texas Rangers, plays outfield for the Hanwha Eagles; and Jerry Sands, a five year MLB veteran, plays for the Kiwoom Heroes.
Most surprisingly however, is that 32-year old pitcher Josh Lindblom, a Houston Astros 2005 draft pick and former Milwauker Brewer, leads the KBO in wins and strikeouts.
While I think we would all prefer to have the MLB season underway, the KBO might be a good second option if you are looking for a sports fix.
The biggest question for me is picking a team to pull for. I’m a sucker for franchises going from the bottom to the top, so I am going to pull for the Kiwoom Heroes.
Maybe they can snap the drought and get their first championship trophy in 2020.
Reed Graff is the sports editor for the Snyder Daily News. Comments about his column may be sent to sports@snyderdailynews.com