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Everything you need to know about the MLB Seoul Series

The Dodgers and the Padres have left for South Korea as San Diego pulls off last minute blockbuster trade. We give you the full lowdown on the Seoul Series.

Jeffrey May
Jeffrey MayJeff_DiarioAS
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Mar 13, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto against the Seattle Mariners during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Mark J. RebilasUSA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con

Just days away from the historic 2024 MLB Opening Day that will see Seoul, South Korea host regular season baseball for the first time ever, we hardly know where to start.

The thirst for Shohei Ohtani in the far east is a phenomenon in itself, and after the 2023 World Baseball Classic brought a taste of the Japanese superstar to South Korean fans, it was no surprise that the league decided to look to Seoul to host a Dodgers series.

As an added bonus, the Dodgers will take on the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes and Team Korea in two final Spring Training games prior to facing off with SoCal rivals, the San Diego Padres. For their part, the Padres will face Team Korea and the KBO’s LG Twins before Opening Day.

Ohtani is not the only big Asian name on the two rosters, with Japanese stars Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Yu Darvish also pulling in scores of fans in the far east. Yamamoto is scheduled to start Game 2 for the Dodgers against Joe Musgrove on the Padres side, while Game 1 is scheduled to feature the Dodgers’ Tyler Glasnow duelling with the Padres’ Yu Darvish.

The South Korean crowd will have a pair of their own to cheer on as well, with San Diego’s roster featuring in infielder Ha-Seong Kim and reliever Woo-Suk Go, two South Korean-born players.

The 2024 Seoul Series will be the ninth time that the MLB season was kicked off abroad. The previous instances were:

  • 1999: Monterrey, Mexico (Rockies vs. Padres)
  • 2000: Tokyo, Japan (Mets vs. Cubs)
  • 2001: San Juan, Puerto Rico (Rangers vs. Blue Jays)
  • 2004: Tokyo, Japan (Rays vs. Yankees)
  • 2008: Tokyo, Japan (Red Sox vs. A’s)
  • 2012: Tokyo, Japan (A’s vs. Mariners)
  • 2014: Sydney, Australia (Dodgers vs. D-backs)
  • 2019: Tokyo, Japan (A’s vs. Mariners)

The travel ball won’t stop with Opening Day either, with the 2024 season seeing the Show go on the road with the Mexico Series, where the Astros and Rockies will face off on April 27-28, and the London Series, where the Mets will clash with the Phillies on June 8-9.

If you want to follow along with all of the action, Diario AS USA will be covering both games live in a text stream, while the Dodgers’ exhibition games will be televised on SportsNet LA and MLB.TV, and the Padres’ exhibition games will stream on Padres.TV.

On the eve of boarding the plane for South Korea, the Padres pulled off a coup in signing ace right-hander Dylan Cease from the Chicago White Sox. Cease has two years left on his current deal and will earn $8 million this year, but his 3.83 ERA and his close-run chase on the Cy Young in 2022 mean that the Padres rotation has picked up a huge arm to bolster their season, effectively making up for the loss of Blake Snell.

The Padres are looking for power and longevity, with their formidable bullpen last year riddled with question marks as the post season approached. That is an area where Cease can really shine, providing durability for this rotation. It has all the makings of a stellar season.

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