All 5 games sell out on KBO's Opening Day
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, April 1 (Yonhap) -- All five games on the first day of the new South Korean baseball season were played before packed houses on Saturday.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced the five games on Opening Days all sold out, the first such feat since the league expanded to 10 clubs in 2015.
The last time all Opening Day games sold out came in 2012, when the KBO still had eight teams.
A sellout crowd of 23,750 watches a Korea Baseball Organization Opening Day game between the Lotte Giants and the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on April 1, 2023. (Yonhap)
The defending champions SSG Landers hosted the Kia Tigers before 23,000 fans at Incheon SSG Landers Field, some 30 kilometers west of Seoul. In Seoul, the Doosan Bears and the Lotte Giants clashed in front of 23,750 fans at Jamsil Baseball Stadium, while the Kiwoom Heroes and the Hanwha Eagles met before 16,000 fans at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.
In Suwon, some 35 kilometers south of the capital, the KT Wiz and the LG Twins drew 18,700 fans to KT Wiz Park.
President Yoon Suk-Yeol threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Samsung Lions and the NC Dinos played at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, with 24,000 fans on hand.
In total, 105,450 fans watched Opening Day action, the second-highest total in league history.
The five games on the first day of the 2019 season drew 114,021 fans, with four of those games drawing capacity crowds.
President Yoon Suk Yeol (C) waves to fans at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, some 240 kilometers southeast of Seoul, before throwing the ceremonial first pitch before a Korea Baseball Organization Opening Day game between the Lions and the NC Dinos on April 1, 2023. (Yonhap)
jeeho@yna.co.kr
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