Dodgers and Padres to open 2024 season with MLB's 1st games in South Korea
MLB will expand its international footprint with games in South Korea, Mexico City, London and the Dominican Republic
The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will open the 2024 MLB season by making history.
MLB announced Wednesday that the two NL West contenders will play a series in Seoul, South Korea, on March 20 and 21 next year, marking the first time an official MLB game will have been played in one of the world's most baseball-loving countries.
For the first time in MLB history, the regular season will start in Korea!
The @Dodgers and @Padres will open the 2024 slate on March 20-21. pic.twitter.com/IvIJ9nqI8V— MLB (@MLB) July 12, 2023
Barring a trade, the Padres will bring at least one Korean player to the game in middle infielder Ha-seong Kim. The former Kiwoom Heroes star, who played in Seoul during his KBO career, currently leads the Padres in bWAR with 4.1 while hitting .258/.349/.411 with 10 homers and a team-leading 16 stolen bases.
The Dodgers are also one of the most popular teams in the country, with past Korean players Chan Ho Park, Hee-seop Choi and Hyun-jin Ryu boosting the team's profile.
The Korea games are part of MLB's "World Tour" program, which will see two other international series played in 2024. The Colorado Rockies and Houston Astros will face off in Mexico City on April 27 and 28, and the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies will play in London on June 8 and 9.
A spring training series between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays will also be played March 9 and 10 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
MLB resumed scheduling international games this season, after a three-year hiatus brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2023 season featured series in Mexico City and London, and there's no sign of the league planning to slow down in the future.
