Photo : YONHAP News
Amid baseball fever following South Korea’s advancement to the knockout stage of the World Baseball Classic(WBC) for the first time in 17 years, the Korea Baseball Organization is set to kick off its preseason on Thursday.
The league’s ten clubs will each play 12 games, for a total of 60, during the annual exhibition, which runs through March 24.
The opening games will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday.
The Kiwoom Heroes and Doosan Bears will face off in Icheon, and the Samsung Lions will take on the Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon. The SSG Landers will face the Kia Tigers in Gwangju, the KT Wiz will visit the Lotte Giants in Busan and the LG Twins and NC Dinos will play their opening match in Masan.
There will be no doubleheaders or extra innings, and rained-out games will not be rescheduled.
Many of the league’s star players are away in Miami as the national team prepares to face the Dominican Republic in WBC quarterfinals at loanDepot park at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Korean Standard Time.
The league drew a record 321-thousand fans during last year’s preseason and a record 12-point-three million during its regular season.
The 2026 regular season is scheduled to start on March 28.