Without Fans or High-Fives, Baseball Plays On in Korea
With no start in sight for MLB, American fans and ESPN have turned to the KBO.
American pitcher Tyler Wilson practices ahead of the KBO League game between LG Twins and Kiwoom Heroes at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on May 17.
Photographer: SeongJoon Cho for Bloomberg BusinessweekThe Kia Tigers were down by two runs to the visiting Doosan Bears on a recent Sunday, when Preston Tucker came up to bat. The former Atlanta Braves outfielder was on a hot streak, batting .475 in the first two weeks of the season. He didn’t disappoint, going deep into the “Kia Home Run Zone” in right field.
Tucker hadn’t just put the Tigers on the board, he’d won an SUV, only the fourth player in the history of the Korea Baseball Organization to claim the promotional prize. Under usual circumstances, the crowd would have gone wild with cheers, songs, and choreographed dances. But the stands were empty, so Tucker rounded the bases with only his teammates to applaud him.