The Padres will open the 2024 baseball season in South Korea against the Dodgers, marking the first regular-season Major League Baseball games to ever be played there.
MLB and the MLB Players Association on Wednesday announced the historic two-game series, to be played in Seoul, along with other international games in Mexico City and the Dominican Republic.
The Padres-Dodgers games are set for March 20-21, with each team taking a turn as the home team.
Padres CEO Erik Greupner, in a statement, called Korea “a great baseball country with a rich tradition, passionate fans and talented players,” Padres CEO Erik Greupner said in a statement, while singling out current Padre Ha-Seong Kim, a native of Korea.
“The Padres are proud to serve alongside the Dodgers as global ambassadors for the game of baseball with our historic 2024 Korea Series,” Greupner added.
In a video posted to the Padres’ social media accounts, Kim said he “cannot express in words how happy I am to be able to play in Korea in a San Diego uniform.”
The series will mark the second straight season in which the Padres will play internationally – they faced the San Francisco Giants for two games in Mexico City in April, winning both.
The Padres also opened the 1999 season in Monterrey, Mexico, against the Colorado Rockies.
Mexico City will host another regular season series, between the Houston Astros and Colorado Rockies on April 27-28, while the Tampa Bay Rays will face the Boston Red Sox on March 9-10.
A London series between the Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, set for June 8-9, was previously announced.
– City News Service
