In July 2023,
Major League Baseball (MLB) announced that the
Los Angeles Dodgers and
San Diego Padres would open the
2024 season at
Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, playing the first regular-season MLB games in South Korea.
2024 edition Prior to the regular-season games, the MLB teams played four
exhibition games against Korean teams, which were broadcast locally in the U.S. The Dodgers played the
Kiwoom Heroes on March 16, at 8:00 p.m. PDT. On March 17, the Padres played
Team Korea at 3:00 a.m. PDT and the KBO's
LG Twins at 8:00 p.m. PDT. The Dodgers played Team Korea on March 18 at 3:00 a.m. PDT. with each team designated as the "home team" once. The Dodgers won the first game, 5–2, and the Padres won the second, 15–11. at-bat during the 2024 Seoul Series. The Seoul series was
Shohei Ohtani's regular-season debut with the Dodgers; the team signed him to a long-term contract during the 2023–24 offseason. Ohtani was accompanied by his wife,
Mamiko Tanaka; the Seoul series was the first time Ohtani and Tanaka appeared in public together, after the couple married during the preceding month. Local police reported that a person sent a
bomb threat by email, threatening to harm Ohtani and other players at the first game. Police found no dangerous or suspicious activity at the stadium, and both games went on as planned. The games celebrated Asian players past and present in MLB.
Ha-seong Kim, a shortstop for the Padres who formerly played in the Sky Dome for the Kiwoom Heroes of the
Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), received the loudest cheers of any player.
Chan Ho Park, a former Dodgers pitcher who is the first Korean person to play in MLB, threw the
ceremonial first pitch. Ohtani attracted many fans to the game.
Yu Darvish, a Japanese pitcher for the Padres, received a loud ovation after an inning-ending strikeout.
ESPN and
ESPN Deportes broadcast both games, with coverage beginning at 5:30 a.m.
Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), or 2:30 a.m.
Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). ESPN's nationwide U.S. coverage was
blacked out in the Los Angeles and San Diego media markets.
SportsNet LA and
Padres.TV produced broadcasts for the teams' home markets. ==See also==