Baseball Fever!

For the majority of my life, I have hated baseball. The sport is so slow, there are so many games in a season, and there is no excitement or enthusiasm at most games. It took a trip around the world to change my mind. I have found a new love for the American pastime all the way over in Korea.

There are some major differences between American (MLB) and Korean baseball (KBO). First difference is the number of teams. MLB has 30 teams. In my eyes, this means not only do I need to follow my team, but also have basic knowledge of the 29 others. With the long and fast moving season, keeping track of league leaders, conference standings, and player statistics. KBO has only eight teams. This makes following the league much easier. The number of things to focus on is cut in thirds.

The next major difference is the skill level. MLB players are great players. They hit, run, field, and pitch well. KBO players are not so quality. However this changes the way the game is played. First, each team is allowed two or three foreign players, who are always pitchers (haven't seen any who aren't pitchers yet). The pitchers are not of great quality. They often have trouble hitting the strike zone consistently, but batters do make the most of it. However, the batters are not great either. Stats near the end of the season were pretty sad. Most had batting averages in the low .200s with rarely finding a batter with 20 home runs. This sounds awful, but this means all players have to adjust. Yes, it is a huge treat when you see a home run, but the players are mainly trying to just get on base. Once on base they try to advance runners by bunts and steals. Once in scoring position, they will swing again to drive the man home. It is very tactically oriented. American baseball may also have tactics, but I have not seen it as clearly as I have seen here, nor is it as interesting.

The skill level leads to the final major difference, which is the enthusiasm of the fans. Since any hit, out, bunt, sacrifice makes the team one step closer to scoring, the crowd goes nuts on EVERY play. Each batter has chants, cheers, and songs. Everyone in the stands knows the choreography and words and tunes and everything about how to be a good fan. It is basically like a very tame version of soccer fans. It really pumps me up and gets me into the game.

My team in KBO is the KIA Tigers for obvious reasons. They play in Gwangju (southern South Korea, 3.5 hour bus from Seoul). Over Korean thanksgiving, I went down to see a game at their home stadium. It was a great time. I've seen them three times live. It was a lot of fun every time. I even know a number of the players names. Cha-il-mok, Na-Ji-won, I-young-gyu, Sosa, Anthony, An-Ji-hong, Kim-seon-bin, Pak-gi-nam. Maybe this enthusiasm will help me get into MLB when I return home. Go Tigers! Both Korean and American!