Dodgers Scheduled to Open 2024 Season in South Korea

Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association announced today that the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will open the 2024 regular season with two games in Seoul, South Korea on March 20 and 21. The two-game set will be a home-and home series and the contests will represent the first ever regular season games in South Korea.

“We can’t wait to play meaningful Major League games for the very first time in front of the outstanding baseball fans of South Korea next season,” said Dodger President and CEO Stan Kasten. “The Dodgers have a long and proud history of helping to grow the game abroad, highlighted by our trips to Mexico, China and Australia. It’s very exciting to add Korea to the list. I know our players are thrilled to put their talents on display in a country so rich with baseball tradition and talent, including former Dodgers Chan Ho Park, Hee-Seop Choi and Hyun-Jin Ryu.”

For the Dodgers, this will mark their first international trip since playing the Padres in Monterrey, Mexico in 2018. Los Angeles has also played in the 2014 Sydney opener vs. the Diamondbacks, the 2010 exhibition games in Taiwan against the Chinese Professional Baseball League All-Stars, the 2008 exhibition games against the Padres in Beijing, China, the 2003 exhibition games against the Mets in Mexico City and the 1988 exhibition games against the Montreal Expos in San Juan and Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Over the years, the Dodgers have also played additional exhibition games and done barnstorming tours in Japan, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

Los Angeles has had four South Korean-born players wear Dodger Blue, starting with Park (1994-2001, 2008), who was the first native of Korea to play in the Majors in 1994. Since then, Choi (2004-05), Jae-Weong Seo (2006) and Ryu (2013-19) have played for the Dodgers. Park (2001) and Ryu (2019) both made All-Star teams and are two of four Korean-born players to appear in the Midsummer Classic, joining Byung-Hyun Kim (2002) and Shin-Soo Choo (2018).

The Opening Series in South Korea will mark the ninth international opener outside the 50 United States and Canada in Major League history.

The league also announced today games next year in Mexico City (Astros vs. Rockies, April 27-28) and the Dominican Republic (Rays vs. Red Sox, March 9-10) in addition to the previously announced London Series (Mets vs. Phillies, June 8-9).

(The Dodgers Media Group furnished the information provided in this report)

4 thoughts on “Dodgers Scheduled to Open 2024 Season in South Korea

  1. One thing for sure, the Dodgers and Padres will not be thrilled with that 17 or so hour flight back and forth each way. Hopefully the rest of the season will start a few days after they get back so they don’t have to play their third game immediately after returning.

    As long as we’re opening in Korea, we should absolutely sign Jung Hoo Lee, a great hitter from Korea who will be turning 25 next month and will be posted this off season.

    Lifetime batting avg of .340 and OPS of .898 over 7 years. More walks than strike outs and great bat to ball skills. The only thing he lacks is power but I think AF is already changing his mind about 3 true outcome players and looking to add some contact hitters to intersperse into the lineup. That is evidenced by our 1st pick in the draft this year, Kendall George. Lee is an outfielder who can play all three outfield positions.

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  2. Not a fan of this trip. Wasn’t much of a fan of the Australia trip either. Mexico City, at least you are in the same hemisphere. But I am not the one making the trip. I believe Manfred really would like to keep the As in Oakland, but the owners might feel a lot different. Their proposed move is coming up before the three-man committee soon.

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  3. Lifetime batting avg of .340 and OPS of .898 over 7 years. More walks than strike outs and great bat to ball skills. The only thing he lacks is power but I think AF is already changing his mind about 3 true outcome players and looking to add some contact hitters to intersperse into the lineup. That is evidenced by our 1st pick in the draft this year, Kendall George. Lee is an outfielder who can play all three outfield positions.

    Like

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