The 2024 KBO League has one day left until the opening. This season, along with mobile broadcasting fees, robot referees were introduced, which is expected to bring about a drastic change.
In particular, as “Korean Monster” Ryu Hyun-jin returns to the Hanwha Eagles, this year’s Korean professional baseball is expected to unfold in the structure of “one out of four in five.”
On the 23rd, the opening games of the 2024 KBO League will be held at five stadiums nationwide. Along with climate change, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12 will be held in November, more than a week earlier than usual. Last year, it caused fanfare on April 1st, but it ended only on November 13th, the beginning of winter, as the number of canceled games for rain surged due to heavy rain.업소알바
Considering the opinions of professional baseball commentators such as Lee Soon-cheol (SBS Sports), Park Yong-taek (KBSN Sports), and Min Hoon-ki (SPOTV), the KBO League is expected to be comprised of one out of four strongest teams. Round of five included the LG Twins, the winner of last year, the Hanwha Eagles, the KT Wiz, the KIA Tigers, and the Doosan Bears. What attracts attention is the Hanwha Eagles who had a strong image as a weak player. With Ryu’s return, the Hanwha Eagles will join the ranks of the strong team. Experts predict that Ryu will have enough earned run average of two points and double-digit wins.
Lotte Giants, led by “winning contractor” Kim Tae-hyung, SSG Landers, NC Dinos, and Samsung Lions are expected to compete in the middle ranks. Lotte caused a stir last year, winning eight consecutive games for the first time in 13 years and ranking first in 11 years, but both pitching and hitting collapsed at the start of the summer, ending up as a “spring day.” Lotte was cited as a task to solve the chronic defense problem. “Lotte glistened and fell down early last year because it failed to catch the defense that it needed to catch, and it also affected the pitcher’s pitching,” Lee pointed out.
Kiwoom was classified as the lowest as in last season, with “throwing aces” such as “Grandchild of the Wind” Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants) and Ahn Woo-jin (military service).
The anticipated game will be a showdown between Choo Shin-soo (SSG) and Ryu Hyun-jin, a former “Korean big leaguer” who returned to the Korean league. As Choo plans to retire at the end of this season, this year is the only time in the professional baseball that they will see a showdown between pitchers and hitters. Choo and Ryu played together in the MLB for eight years, but there was only one showdown between pitchers and hitters. On July 28, 2013, when Ryu entered the big league wearing an LA Dodgers uniform, he confronted Choo, who was playing for the Cincinnati Reds at the time, and allowed no hits and one walk in two times at bat.
The KBO League is undergoing many changes this year. First of all, the main body of strike-ball judgment, which has never changed since the foundation of the league, has been replaced by a computer program. The team introduced the “ABS” system, also known as robot refereeing.
The company will also test-run “Pitch Clock,” which dramatically shortens game time. The company was originally planning to introduce the “Pitch Clock” in the second half of this year after a trial run in the first half of this year, but decided to officially introduce it in 2025 at the request of each club that it needs a period of adaptation.
In addition, there is an era of pay-per-view for mobile broadcasting in professional baseball. The era of watching free baseball games on the Internet and mobile will end at the end of April. Teaming, an OTT (video streaming) company that acquired exclusive broadcasting rights for three years from 2026, will switch its service to pay-per-view starting in May.