After a long winter offseason for Major League Baseball, filled with trades, signings and breakout stars, the beginning of the 2024 season has kicked off.
On Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in Seoul, South Korea, the Los Angeles Dodgers took on National League West competitors, the San Diego Padres, in their opening series. These games took place in the Gocheok SkyDome in Seoul as a part of the MLB World Tour 2024.
These games would make history, as they were the first MLB games ever to be played in Seoul. Phil Orlins, the vice president of production at ESPN, spoke about this historical moment in a press conference.
“We did 150 KBO League games, starting during the pandemic and continuing even when MLB returned,” says Orlins. “It has been really special for us to reconnect with that experience of producing the first Major League Baseball games played in Seoul.”
The games took place a week before the scheduled Opening Day for the 2024 season. However, the games were played early due to the time difference in South Korea. The Dodgers and Padres will continue their season on MLB’s Opening Weekend scheduled for Thursday, March 28, 2024, along with the 28 other MLB teams.
The first game occurred on March 20 at 7:05 p.m. local time, which took place at 3:05 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on ESPN. Stars such as Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts took the South Korean field for an unforgettable matchup.
Moorpark College Baseball player Brendan Watkins spoke about this early call time for United States fans and how it could affect the series’ viewership.
“I honestly only got to see highlights of the games since they were so early in the morning on a weekday,” Watkins said. “In the future I think it would be cool to stay up and watch a dodger game on a weekend, but the timing made it hard to watch.”
Tyler Glasnow was given the starting pitcher role for the season’s first game. Glasnow was signed during the MLB offseason to the Dodgers organization as they made a huge splash within the trade space. Yu Darvish, a former Dodger, was on the mound for the Padres.
Along with the signing of Glasnow, the Dodgers also landed superstar Shohei Othani on a 10-year, $700 million contract. Ohtani made his Dodgers debut in Game 1 in the designated hitter position and batting second in the lineup.
Moorpark College Baseball player Rodney Sabbe spoke about the Dodgers’ offseason and how vital the signings and trades were for the organization.
“The Dodgers did everything they could do to fix the holes in their team this offseason. I think that’s the benefit.”
Game 1 remained close in scoring as the Dodgers and Padres faced off for the first time since 2023. By the fourth inning, the Padres led the Dodgers 2-1. However, the Los Angeles team flexed its powerful lineup in the eighth inning and scored four runs off Padres relief pitchers. Betts, Ohtani and Teoscar Hernandez both recorded two hits in the season opener and held the Padres to only two runs, with the final score of Game 1 being 4-2.
Sabbe commented on the star-studded lineups for this historical game and how the two teams could benefit MLB viewership.
“I think it was the perfect matchup to increase viewership for the MLB,” Sabbe spoke. “Having Shohei and Yamamoto playing for the Dodgers and Ha Seong Kim playing for the Padres in his home country was great for viewership.”
Game 2 took place at the same time as Game 1, with both lineups staying the same except for the starting pitchers. The Dodgers went with new signee Yoshinobu Yamamoto in his MLB Debut. In contrast, the Padres went with Joe Musgrove on the mound for their second game of the season.
The Padres offense jumped on Yamamoto in his debut, and he gave up five runs in the first inning. From then on, the pitching would not help the Dodgers move forward in the game. The pitching staff, in total, gave up 15 runs in Game 2. However, much of the same could be said for the Padres pitching staff, who gave up 11 runs.
The stars of the game were the offenses of both teams. Dodgers star Betts recorded MLB’s first home run of the season and drove in six of the Dodgers’ eleven runs in the game. Catcher Will Smith also recorded four hits during the game. However, the Padres lineup overpowered the Dodgers’ offense and pulled ahead with a final score of 15-11.
Watkins discussed Betts’s potent offense in the second game of this matchup and shared his prediction for Betts’s baseball season.
“I think Mookie Betts is a talented enough baseball player to finish with at least a 900 OPS [on base + slugging percentage] while also finishing top 5 in the Gold Glove award at shortstop.”
The Dodgers and Padres will continue their 2024 season on Thursday, March 28, 2024, on MLB’s iconic Opening Day. The Dodgers will take on the St. Louis Cardinals in a four-game series at Dodger Stadium, while the Padres will challenge the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park.
For more information on the MLB Opening Weekend schedule, click here.
