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KBO sets preseason attendance record

Published: 19 Mar. 2025, 14:16

Fans watch a KBO preseason game between the Hanwha Eagles and Samsung Lions at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon on March 17. [NEWS1]

The Korean baseball league announced Wednesday it set a new attendance record in the preseason this month, the latest sign of the sport's massive popularity.

The KBO said the 42 preseason games, played from March 8 to Tuesday, drew 321,763 fans for a record 7,661 fans per game. The previous mark stood at 7,470 fans per game in 2012.

On March 9, the league's 10 teams drew 71,288 fans, a single-day preseason record.

Preseason games on weekdays were free, and teams only charged small amounts for weekend games.

The KBO enjoyed its most successful regular season in 2024 with just over 10.88 million fans, but in the preseason that year, the league averaged under 5,000 fans per game.

The league implemented the pitch clock for the first time this preseason, hoping to speed up the game. It did not achieve the desired result, however, as the average game went on for two hours and 45 minutes, six minutes longer than 2024.

The KBO said there were 13 pitch clock violations by pitchers, who have 20 seconds to begin their delivery with the bases empty and 25 seconds with runners aboard, and four violations by hitters, who must be in the box and alert to the pitcher by the eight-second mark.

Batters have 33 seconds to step into the box, and the league caught nine violations during the preseason.

Yonhap