“It’s raining like crazy”… Fans in the City of Brotherly Love were serious about baseball
“What’s the big deal about the rain, I can watch my favorite players to my heart’s content…”.
Fans living in Busan, the ‘city of baseball’, were serious about baseball.
On the 15th, the 2023 KBO All-Star Game was held at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan. The 22,990-seat crowd cheered for the Nanum All-Stars (Kiwoom Heroes, LG Twins, KIA Tigers, NC Dinos, Hanwha Eagles) and Dream All-Stars (Lotte Giants, Doosan Bears, KT Wiz, Samsung Lions, SSG Landers).
The KBO All-Star Game concluded successfully on the 15th. Photo (Busan) = Chun Jeong-hwan
Initially, it was unclear whether the game would be held. However, fans in Busan, where the All-Star Game was being held for the first time in 16 years since 2007, were unconcerned.
Lee Jung-chan, a man in his 50s who lives in Dongnae-gu, Busan, told reporters before the game, “I don’t mind the rain. I can watch my favorite players to my heart’s content.” “I hope my favorite player, Noh Jin-hyuk (Lotte), becomes Mr. All-Star,” he said. Noh Jin-hyuk, who started at shortstop and batted seventh for the Dream All-Stars, missed out on the MVP award, but made Lee happy with a 2-for-4 performance.
Jeon Jeon-hee, a woman in her 20s who lives near Busan Station, also has a love for baseball. “I hope Han Dong-hee (Lotte) does well,” said Jeon, who said she started watching baseball in middle school because of “legend” Lee Dae-ho. Now that Lee Dae-ho has retired, I think Han Dong-hee is his successor. She looks so cute,” she smiled. Han Dong-hee also made her presence felt in the game, going 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs.메이저놀이터
The All-Star Game was also characterized by a large number of fans with families. “I came with my wife and children when I heard that the All-Star Game was being held,” said Lee Jung-hyun, a man in his 40s from the western part of Busan. “My passion for baseball cannot be stopped by rain,” said Woo Moon-hyun when asked by a reporter about the possibility of rain.
The heavens, which have been dumping a lot of rain lately, seemed to be impressed by the fans’ wishes. It rained heavily until around 4 p.m., when a fan signing session was held on the field, but by 6 p.m., when the game started, it had stopped. Later in the day, there was a light drizzle, but it didn’t interfere with the game.
Chae Eun-sung (left), who had a great game at the All-Star Game on the 15th. Photo (Busan) by Chun Jeong-hwan
With such a large number of fans in attendance, the players’ performances were at a high level. In particular, Chae Eun-sung hit a grand slam in the All-Star Game for the first time in 41 years since Kim Yong-hee (Lotte) in 1982. He also added five RBIs to lead the Nanum All-Stars to an 8-4 victory, tying the record for most RBIs in an All-Star game (previously held by Han Yoo-seom of the SK Wyverns in 2019).
Chae Eun-sung, who had also won the Home Run Race the day before with five arches, was honored as Mr. All-Star for his performance. This is the first time Chae Eun-sung has won both the home run race and the MVP of the All-Star Game.
There were plenty of highlights, too. Socrates Brito (KIA) appeared in a bowler hat and sunglasses, blowing a trumpet to his own cheer. Teammates Lee Woo-sung and Choi Ji-min also put on a great (?) show with toy trumpets. Koo Ja-rook (Samsung) showed off his “beauty” with a long wig, and “old prosecutor” Noh Jin-hyuk (Lotte) came to bat in a prosecutor’s uniform.
Buchanan bats for a hit at the All-Star Game on the 15th. Photo (Busan) by Chun Jeong-hwan
The centerpiece was Samsung’s ace David Buchanan. Appearing in a combat outfit reminiscent of Tom Cruise in the movie “Top Gun,” he saluted a video commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice that was shown in the middle of the game.
Buchanan pitched a complete game, 119-pitch shutout against the Gwangju Kia Tigers (Samsung won 4-1) on April 13. Realistically, he wasn’t going to pitch a complete game. Instead, he replaced Kim Hyun-joon in right field in the bottom of the eighth inning and made a clean catch of Oh Ji-hwan’s hit.
In the ninth inning, he came up to bat. It was runners on second and third, and on the mound was Go Woo-seok (LG), arguably the best closer in the KBO. But Buchanan didn’t hesitate. After a fierce six-pitch battle, he hit a single to left-center field, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
After the game, it was hard for fans to leave the stadium after seeing these players soak up the fun of baseball. They chorused the cheers of all 10 teams in unison, and even summoned the cheers of past players such as Lee Dae-ho and Jim Aduchi (former Lotte). In particular, when one fan shouted, “Baseball is Busan, Busan is baseball,” the fans behind him cheered as well. The fans who live in ‘Gudo’ Busan are serious about baseball.