Padres' 2024 Korea Season Opener Proves Spending Spree Paid Off
The number one point that every opposing franchise has brought up following the San Diego Padres' disappointing first month of the season is all the money they have to give out over the next few years. Everybody was expecting to see a hot start and one of the most stellar offenses and it's been quite the opposite.
Even when they finally starting gaining some positive traction over the past two weeks, the Los Angeles Dodgers walked into Petco Park and took their most recent series. However, Peter Seidler and the rest of the front office believe in this roster and investing in the star power was part of a bigger vision.
It has been reported that both the Dodgers and Padres will kick off their 2024 season with the first ever series to be played in Korea. This will be a two-game series and will take place at the Gocheok Sky Dome.
We all saw what it meant to the sport of baseball recently when the Friars took a trip to play in the first MLB series at Mexico City and the environment was unmatched. Everybody there wanted the chance to see all of the stars play on the team and they helped expand in the league in just a few days.
With San Diego set to make history once again and debut in Korea next season, it's clear that the league recognizes the type of value their franchise holds. They boast some of the biggest talents in the world and everybody wants to see them live.
Petco Park is already on track to easily record their most sellout crowds in a single year and as the Padres continue to figure things out on the baseball side of things, they will only grow their revenue and brand.
Ha-Seong Kim was beyond ecstatic to hear the news and he said it's a huge honor to be able to play in his home country while wearing the brown and gold uniform.
"It’s going to be a great opportunity to show the world the passion of Korean baseball fans,” Kim said through interpreter Leo Bae. “They love baseball. ... The fans love the Dodgers. They had Chan Ho. They had (pitcher) Hyun Jin Riu. They’re really familiar with the Dodgers. It’s gonna be great. It’s gonna be a really historic.”
(Via The San Diego-Union Tribune)
But, of course, we must focus on the season that is going on right now and more specifically this current series against the Minnesota Twins.
