KBO Targeting May 1 Start Date
With spring in the air across most of the United States (though admittedly not where I’m from originally, as there is still multiple inches of snow on the ground in Western New York), the mind normally turns to hearing the crack of the bat and the sounds of baseball going on. Whether it’s college baseball, high school sports, Little League or various professional leagues, there is normally plenty of baseball going on at this time of year. With the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing, however, we’ve seen sports grind to a halt here in the United States.
There are plans that major league baseball has in hopes of getting their season underway at some point this year. We’ve already seen the NPB get their season start postponed three times, with the most recent declaration coming Friday that baseball in Japan won’t return before June. However, there will be baseball, both now and in the near future, albeit it on the continent of Asia. The five-team Chinese Professional Baseball League, located in Taiwan, opened their season on April 11. It will be joined in the near future, according to recent reports, by the return of the KBO, or Korean Baseball Organization.
In an announcement made earlier today, following a statement released by South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-Kyun that pro sports leagues would be able to begin their seasons without fans in the stands, Daniel Kim of DKTV stated that the KBO is preparing to hold their opening day on March 1. This was posted by Kim on his Twitter account Sunday:
#KBO Update – Prime minister announced today that pro sports league will be allowed to start their season w/o fans in the stands. KBO teams are now preparing to start the season on May 1. Official official announcement is expected on Mon. There were only 8 new COVID19 cases yday
— Daniel Kim 대니얼 김 (@DanielKimW) April 19, 2020
This could be a major boon for sports bettors looking to get some wagers in on baseball that is actually contested on the diamond as opposed to in the virtual world. The KBO is considered to be a higher level of competition than the CPBL, though the games are typically high-scoring affairs. ESPN has reached out to the KBO in an effort to secure broadcasting rights with the league, which would bring much-needed live sports programming to a network that has been devoid of it in the past five-plus weeks. That, in turn, will drive interest and help get some dollars flowing on wagering on the sport as well. The powerhouse team in the league is the Doosan Bears, who have been in the Korean Series in each of the last five seasons dating back to 2015. They have won three titles in that span, including prevailing in 2015, 2016 and 2019. Doosan swept the Kiwoom Heroes last season to win the title.
The 10-team league features several former major league players in the mix that fans may be able to recognize. ByungHo Park, Odrisamer Despaigne, Aaron Altherr, Preston Tucker, Dan Straily, Ben Lively and Adrian Sampson are among the players that have made the trip halfway around the world in an effort to jumpstart their return to the majors. Despaigne is expected to get the start on Opening Day for the KT Wiz as they kick off against the SK Wyvern. He signed a one-year deal worth $900,000 in the offseason after splitting last season with the Reds and White Sox organizations.
It will be interesting to see if any of these players can rejuvenate their careers and build interest from major league teams. In recent seasons, we’ve seen Merrill Kelly, Eric Thames and Josh Lindblom make the transition to the majors after having success in the KBO. No matter what kind of success the former big leaguers have, at least we’re nearing the possibility of seeing the return of baseball to the airwaves, even if it going to be with teams and players (for the most part) that we may not necessarily be familiar with.