The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres are scheduled to open the 2024 regular season with the Seoul Series for MLB’s first games ever played in South Korea.
While the teams or league has yet to make an official announcement, the Dodgers posted photos on social media that reveal the 2024 Seoul Series will be played at the Gocheok Sky Dome. It’s traditionally home to the Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO League.
Former Dodgers All-Star Yasiel Puig played for the Heroes in 2022. He reportedly is on the verge of signing a Minor League contract with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Dodgers social media director Sue Jo, senior director of team travel Scott Akasaki and senior director of clubhouse operations Alex Torres arrived in South Korea this week.
Opening Day of the 2024 season is Wednesday, March 20. First pitch for the Padres’ home game is 7:05 p.m. local time, which amounts to 3:05 a.m. start in the Pacific time zone. The finale of the two-game series, when the Dodgers are the home team, starts at the same time.
See you soon, Seoul. 🇰🇷 pic.twitter.com/ri0JdqYhUA
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 12, 2024
The Seoul Series is part of the 2024 MLB World Tour, which also includes the Mexico City Series and London Series. During Spring Training, the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays will play a pair of games at Estadio Quisqueya in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Prior to this season, the last time Opening Day was held outside of the United States and Canada was in 2019, when the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners played the Tokyo Series.
In 2014, the Dodgers faced the Arizona Diamondbacks for an Opening Series in Sydney, Australia. Their 2018 trip to Monterey for the Mexico Series produced a combined no-hitter started by Walker Buehler while he was on a pitch count. The Dodgers otherwise have not played regular season games outside of the United States or Canada.
“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,” Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten said in a statement.
“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.”
Chan Ho Park was the first Korean native to play in the Majors when he made his debut with the Dodgers in 1994. Along with Park, Hee-Seop Choi (2004-2005) and Hyun-Jin Ryu (2013-2019) and Jae-Wong Seo (2006) are other South Korean natives who played for the Dodgers.
Gocheok Sky Dome facts and history
The Gocheok Sky Dome (Korean: 고척스카이돔; Hanja: 高尺—-) opened in September 2015 and is located in Gocheok-dong, Seoul, South Korea. It’s a natural stadium choice for the Dodgers due to being covered by a dome and the potential for inclement weather at the time of the Seoul Series.
Gocheok Sky Dome’s capacity is 16,744 for a baseball game and an estimated 25,000 for concerts. Gocheok Sky Dome dimensions are 325 feet down the left field line, 400 feet to straightaway center, and 325 feet to right field as well. The outfield fence stands 12 feet tall.
A history of performers and events at Gocheok Sky Dome include the 2017 World Baseball Classic, Britney Spears “Piece of Me Tour,” BTS, The Weeknd, all KBO postseason games in 2020, Queen and Billie Eilish, among others.
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