Take me out to the ballgame

I went to my first professional baseball game in Korea last week. On his first night in town, Eric and I saw the visiting Lotte Giants defeat the Doosan Bears 7-2 in what, for the most part, looked very much like a MLB game in the States. Other than a disproportionate number of left-handed batters (switch hitters was Eric's guess), the game is basically the same; the whole baseball experience, though, has a Korean twist.

One difference from the States is that pro baseball teams in Korea are associated with their corporate sponsors rather than the cities they play in - you won't find Lotte or Doosan if you look for them on a map of Korea. The Bears are one of the two teams that play their home games at the stadium used for baseball at the Seoul Olympics (though baseball was only a demonstration sport in '88). I should ask some Korean friends about team loyalty; I'd assume that people root for their hometown team, but I'm really not sure. The Giants are a Pusan team, and they certainly had lots of fans at this game.

Another difference is that there are cheerleaders here - not only the girls with pom-pons that we're used to seeing at football and basketball games in the States, but also guys dressed in team uniforms who stand on platforms in front of the baseline crowds to lead them in chants and songs. Our seats were in left field, and we had a good view of the Giants cheerleader on the third base line. He was a wildly gesticulating conductor who displayed endless enthusiasm and used blow after blow on his whistle to get the fans to chant the name of the player at bat or to sing team ditties like "Lot-te, Lot-te, Lot-te, Lot-te" sung to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. And sing they did; fans here really, really get into the game.


As you can see, snacks at Korean baseball games are also a bit different. Instead of popcorn and CrackerJack, fans here eat kimbap and dried squid - which admittedly looks rather funny but actually tastes quite good, especially once you dip it in hot pepper paste. It goes well with beer, which they sell in cans here; apparently Korean fans are better behaved and less likely to hurl them onto the field than some of their rowdy American counterparts might be.

I'm sure it was a shame for many of those in attendance that the home team didn't win - but for two American fans it was just fun to be out with the crowd, enjoying a familiar pastime on a warm spring evening on the far side of the Pacific.