Dodgers and Padres open the season

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, two rivals from the Western Division of the National League, will play the first game in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB) in South Korea early this Wednesday, to inaugurate the 2024 season.

While the Dodgers arrived in Seoul with a roster loaded with superstars and MVP winners, including legendary Japanese player Shohei Ohtani, the Padres have their own stable of horses, including Dominicans Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis. Jr., the Aruban Xander Bogaerts and the Japanese Yu Darvish.

More important for the local public: on the San Diego roster are the brilliant shortstop Ha-Seong Kim and the pitcher Woo-Suk Go, two of the six Koreans on MLB rosters at the start of the season.

As part of the 2024 MLB Wold Tour, which also includes events in the Dominican Republic, Mexico and England, the two California teams will play a two-game series in Seoul, beginning each day at 6:05 a.m. ET (7:05 p.m. local). , a week before the traditional inauguration day in the United States.

The Seoul municipal government reported that although the park only has about 17,000 seats, more than 100,000 fans are expected around the facility during the two Dodgers and Padres games.

“We will ensure that the crowd is completely controlled during entry and exit to create a perfect game without any safety issues,” said Mayor Se-Hoon Oh.

Right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays and signed a five-year, $136.5 million contract, will start for the Dodgers, while Darvish, who begins the five-year, $90 million extension he agreed to in 2024 in February of last year, starting with the Padres.

Glasnow, 30, has been plagued by injuries (including Tommy John surgery) for most of his eight-year career, and although he missed the first six weeks of the 2023 season, he posted career highs in starts (21) , innings (120) and strikeouts (162).

During spring training, the California native was immense, striking out 14 and allowing two runs in 10 innings over three appearances.

“It means everything. Just signing here, to make it all happen is crazy. Then when he told me I was the opening day starter, I definitely felt a lot of pride and excitement,” said Glasnow, who started the team’s first game. . game. game. Lightning in 2021.

Darvish, 37, also enjoyed a good spring (2-0, 2.89 and 10 K in 9.1 IL) after being limited to 136.1 innings in 24 outings due to a right back injury. elbow last year, when he had an 8-10 record and a 4.56 ERA.

“I’m very happy and honored by this,” said Darvish, who will start San Diego’s opener for the third time in four seasons with the club and also started the Texas Rangers’ opener in 2017.

“I’ve never been to Korea before. That makes it even more special. Playing in Korea is very important to me, but besides that, we faced a really good team that made very good additions during the offseason,” the five added. . times All-Star and leader in wins (103), strikeouts (1,929) and bWAR (31) among Japanese pitchers in the MLB.

Glasnow, Yamamoto ($325 million for 12 years), Ohtani and Dominican outfielder Teoscar Hernández will debut with the Dodgers, who invested more than $1.2 billion in the quartet in the winter market to improve their chances of winning some championships next season. .

Ohtani, who will not be available to pitch this season, cost the Dodgers $700 million over 10 years, the largest contract in American sports. The two-time MVP appeared ready to help out as a designated hitter, going 11-for-22 with two home runs, a triple and a double in the Arizona Cactus League before missing five at-bats in two exhibition games in Seoul. . .

The Dodgers have advanced to the postseason for 11 consecutive seasons (with 10 division titles), but only lifted the World Series trophy in 2020, when a shortened schedule was played due to the coronavirus.