Hello, everyone, I’m Alana Blaire. Welcome to the start of another wonderful week here at Naked News. I had a great weekend and I bet many of you did too, and I might know why! You didn’t hear the roar of the crowd, you didn’t know most of the PLAYERS, and you had to stay up ‘til the wee hours to watch it, BUT, baseball is BACK BABY! Sort of. Here Frankie to explain in her naked sports report!
The Korea Baseball Organization had its opening day Tuesday, with no fans in the stands. And because American audiences are so hungry for the sport, ESPN will be airing six live games a week! And the network has its own announcers calling the game remotely, so no need to worry about a language barrier… though there will occasionally be a hiccup or two!
Okay, in fairness, that home run DID have to be reviewed, so I’m not going to hold that against them. Besides, it was exciting to see a dinger again! If you feel the same, here’s what you need to know about the KBO.
There are ten teams in eight cities. Most of them named for and owned by major corporations. The league uses the Designated Hitter, and a game is declared a TIE, if no one wins past the 12 inning.
As for sheer entertainment value, players have their own customized theme songs… and Korean bat flips are not just allowed, they’re an art form!
So what team should you follow? I’m recommending the Kia Tigers. They’re basically the Yankees of the KBO, with a league-high 11 Korean Series titles. They’ve also got a familiar face as their manager: Matt Williams, the five-time MLB All-Star and 2014 National League Manager of the Year.
The team’s two foreign players are former A’s pitcher Aaron Brooks and former Astros outfielder Preston Tucker. Also on their roster is southpaw pitcher Hyeon-Jong Yang, who went 16-8 last year, with a league-leading 2.29 ERA! Pretty impressive!
The schedule may vary, but games can mostly be seen on ESPN2, live at 5:30 a.m. Eastern, Tuesdays through Fridays, 4 a.m. on Saturdays, and 1 a.m. on Sundays. Major League Baseball will be back soon but until then, Go Tigers! For Naked News, I’m Frankie Kennedy.
