Major League Baseball (MLB) is set to make history as it prepares to play its first regular-season games in South Korea in 2024. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will open the season with two games in South Korea, according to a source familiar with the process. This will be the eighth time since 1999 that MLB has played its first regular-season games outside the United States or Canada.
Padres and Dodgers to Play Early
The games are expected to be played early enough to allow the Padres and Dodgers to return to the United States and prepare before the rest of the 28 teams start their seasons. The Padres have one South Korean player, infielder Ha-seong Kim, on their roster.
MLB’s Previous International Games
MLB has previously played season openers in Monterrey, Mexico (1999); Tokyo (2000, ’04, ’08, ’12, ’19); and Sydney (2014). This year, four games are being played outside the U.S. or Canada, with the Padres sweeping a pair against the San Francisco Giants in Mexico City last month and the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals set to play twice in London in June.
The Dodgers and Padres are currently playing their first series of the year this weekend. The NL West rivals split the first two games ahead of a deciding matchup on “Sunday Night Baseball” on ESPN at 7 ET. This historic event in 2024 will undoubtedly attract a lot of attention from MLB fans in South Korea and around the world.
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