"There used to be more trash cans..." National shortstop also feels the popularity of professional baseball

"There used to be more trash cans..." National shortstop also feels the popularity of professional baseball

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Samsung Lions manager Park Jin-man (49) was surprised by the popularity of Korean baseball in recent months. He said, "Thanks to the spectators who filled the stadium, I can concentrate more on the game."안전놀이터

Recently, professional baseball is enjoying the highest popularity ever. Last season, the KBO league surpassed 10 million spectators for the first time in the 2024 season since its launch in 1982. It broke the previous record of 8.4 million spectators (2017). This season is also popular. The opening series, which was held on March 22 and March 23, were all sold out for the first time ever.

Samsung, which also includes coach Park Jin-man, also held five consecutive opening games, with a total of more than 20,000 spectators filling Samsung's home stadium, Lions Park. All games except March 25 and March 27 (game against NC) have been sold out.

Asked about the explosive popularity of baseball ahead of the match against Samsung at Jamsil on Wednesday, Park said, "I think the atmosphere is quite different from when I was a player. The age group who liked baseball was different from now when I was active. The environment and facilities have improved, and the number of young fans has increased as well as the number of family members. There are also more promotions and marketing tools. I think that's what happened because the existing baseball fans and young people were combined."

"In fact, selling out games during weekdays was not common in the past, but now games during weekdays are almost sold out. That's how many requests I get for tickets. I think it's actually very difficult to deal with," coach Park said.

Still, he said full seats are more concentrating in the game than in the cold. "I can concentrate better. In our team, there are more young players, so once we get in the mood, we can't control it," coach Park Jin-man said. "Young players in our team have adapted to some extent, so I think we can make good use of them and enjoy the game."

Finally, coach Park Jin-man recalled playing at Suwon Baseball Stadium. He played for the Hyundai Unicorns from 1996 to 2004, when his home stadium was Suwon Baseball Stadium (currently Suwon KT Wiz Park). "When I was at Suwon, there were more trash cans in the outfield than in the audience. There were so few spectators that I could compare with fans," Park said. Not only Suwon but all other stadiums were like that. The outfield was empty during the week, but now I'm feeling a definitely different atmosphere," he said with a smile.