▲ Rick Dell, who visited Gocheok Dome, MLB Asia Baseball Development General Manager


The match between the American major leaguers and Korean KBO stars has been canceled.



On the 29th (Korea time), the MLB Secretariat of the American professional baseball team participated in the 'MLB World Tour Korea Series 2022', which was scheduled to be held in Korea in November due to practical problems such as contract implementation issues with the event promoter (organizer). I can't," he announced.



Jim Small, Vice President of MLB International, said, "Unfortunately, we have decided to cancel the World Tour Korea Series because we cannot have a level that can satisfy Korean fans. We worked together for a long time for the growth of the sport. I look forward to (MLB-related) events in Korea in the future.”



The MLB Secretariat informed the KBO of the cancellation of the world tour, and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred sent a letter of regret to KBO President Huh Gu-yeon.



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Initially, the MLB Secretariat planned the 'MLB World Tour Korea Series 2022', which will be played four times in Korea in November, and requested participation from the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).



The KBO also announced the roster of 'Team Korea' (KBO All-Star Team) and 'Team KBO' (Yeongnam Coalition Team), with Team KBO at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 11th, Team Korea at Sajik Stadium on the 12th and Gocheok, Guro-gu, Seoul on the 14th and 15th. We made a schedule to face the MLB team at Skydome.



Korean baseball fans are Korean big leaguers such as Ha-seong Kim (27, San Diego Padres), Ji-man Choi (31, Tampa Bay Rays), Hyo-jun Park (26), and Bae Ji-hwan (23, Pittsburgh Pirates), Salvador Perez (32, Kansas) City Royals), Stephen Kwan (25, Cleveland Guardians), and Randy Arosalena (27, Tampa Bay Rays), etc., and expected a scene to play against the representatives of the KBO League.



With the end of the regular season in 2022, expectations also increased with the joining of team KBO of Lee Dae-ho (40, former Lotte Giants), who retired.



There was also the 'historical significance' of the MLB team's visit to Korea for the first time in 100 years since 1922.



However, the response from the big leaguers was not great.



After a long race against players representing the big leagues, it is very burdensome to cross the sea and play in an unfamiliar land when you need to rest.



It is difficult to guarantee a box office success as the ticket price is set quite high, such as 60,000 won for the 3rd and 4th floors of Gocheok Dome, 390,000 won for diamond seats, 70,000 won for reserved seats at the first and third bases of Sajik Stadium, and 390,000 won for central table seats. The situation has come.



The KBO was puzzled by the decision of the MLB Secretariat, the promoter.



On this day, the KBO said, "The KBO, which has been preparing for the match against the MLB team by forming Team Korea and Team KBO in response to the MLB's request to participate, is very perplexed. We plan to convey our regrets about the damage and other things to MLB."



He continued, "The MLB Secretariat has requested the KBO to hold the MLB World Tour several times. Earlier this year, we announced that the promoter had been confirmed, and Commissioner Manfred officially offered to cooperate with the tournament in April. Although there were difficulties, we decided to cooperate for the globalization of baseball and signed a contract with the organizer to dispatch players.” "He said.