By Kang Seung-woo
Korean baseball has enjoyed a renaissance over the past few years, with total attendances soaring to 6.8 million last year. With the homecoming of a slew of high-profile players, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) is expecting to see 7 million spectators this season.
However, allegations that baseball isn’t exempt from the match-rigging scandal sweeping the nation’s professional leagues is expected to put a damper on the unprecedented popularity.
Following a game-rigging scandal in the volleyball league, the Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office said Tuesday that two pitchers from the LG Twins have also been involved in similar practices.
Nexen Heroes right-hander Moon Sung-hyun told his team that he turned down an offer to join a match-fixing scheme.
“If the allegations turn out to be true, Korean professional baseball will be hit hard,” said an official of a local baseball club.
Baseball has established itself as the most popular sport in the nation, attracting more and more fans every year.
A military service scandal among players in 2004 negatively affected the league, with numbers through the turnstiles dropping to as low as 2.3 million but the KBO recovered following Korea’s impressive performances at the 2006 World Baseball Classic and the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
This year, the KBO is expecting to grow further as veteran players, formerly in Major League Baseball (MLB) or Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), will appear in front of local fans. They include former Los Angeles Dodger Park Chan-ho, now with the Hanwha Eagles, and Lee Seung-yeop, the Asian home run record holder, who has returned to the Samsung Lions. Kim Byung-hyun, who served as a closer for the 2001 World Series winner Arizona Diamondbacks, and Kim Tae-kyun, a former Chiba Lotte Marine, have also headed home, signing for the Heroes and Eagles, respectively.
Disappointed fans may stay away from the ballparks in the coming season if the rumors are confirmed.
“I really want to watch Park Chan-ho throw on the mound in Korea this season but if the match rigging proves to be true, I might be frustrated by it and not go to games,” said Yoon Jin-hyun, who roots for the Eagles.
“The match fixing is a glaring deception of all baseball fans.”
A lifetime Twins fan Min Joong-ki also said that he would not watch baseball any more if prosecutors’ investigations reveal match rigging is extensively linked to include the coaching staff.
“The KBO plans to draw more spectators than last season,” said Lee Jin-hyung, the KBO’s public relations team manager.
“We will show no leniency to those involved in the alleged scandal so as not to disappoint baseball fans and lure more to games.”
Unlike other sports, baseball is more likely to be engulfed by the ongoing scandal, given that it has more floating fans.
The trouble that hit the nation’s professional football and volleyball leagues hardly dented attendance. The K-League was hit hard last year as dozens of active and former players were indicted or found guilty of match fixing but saw more than 3 million go to the stadiums for the first time last year. The volleyball league also saw a single-match attendance record of 6,485 in Sunday’s match between the Hyundai Capital Skywalkers and Samsung Bluefangs.
But baseball has a large child and female fan base, who have recently been won over by the national team’s recent solid displays.
Observers say that while they widen baseball’s fan base, they could also be susceptible to turning their back on the sport, which could put the KBO’s goal of reaching 7 million, once seen as child’s play, in jeopardy.