The first half of the 2023 season of professional baseball has wrapped up.
With LG and SSG at the top of the standings, seven teams clustered in the middle of the pack are in a fierce battle for the postseason.
Reporter Lee Seung-guk reports.
At the World Baseball Classic, held just before the season started, the Korean national team was eliminated in the first round after performing below expectations.
Coupled with a series of scandals, this season’s professional baseball started with a heavy atmosphere.
However, fans continued to flock to baseball stadiums in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, with all five opening games drawing full crowds.
Attendance is up 33% from last year, surpassing 4 million fans for the fourth-fastest time in history, and hopes are high for the first time in five years to reach 8 million fans.
Baseball’s box office success can be attributed to a tight, never-ending race for the top spot in the standings.
As of the season’s return, LG, which is seeking its first regular season title in 29 years, is in the lead, with SSG trailing by two and a half games.
Then there are only seven games between third-placed Doosan and ninth-placed Kiwoom.
The mid-table has been volatile, as evidenced by the fact that Doosan, who started July in sixth place, went on a 10-game winning streak to finish the first half in third place.
“I think the second half of the season will be more than the first half, because Doosan, KIA, KT, and Hanwha, whose starting lineups are starting to take shape, have the momentum to continue to rise, so the battle for the mid-table will probably go to the end….”
Professional baseball will take a break until the 20th after the All-Star Game at Sajik Stadium in Busan.
They will then enter the second half of their schedule, starting with a three-game weekend series on the 21st.
I’m Lee Seung-guk, Yonhap TV (kook@yna.co.kr)
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