Why the KBO?The KBO season is currently the highest level of profe sional baseball playing on the planet and is, for my money, the most entertaining brand of baseball in the world. Ticket prices are cheaper than in Japan, the atmosphere is louder than in the United States, the standard is higher than in the four-team CPBL (currently playing in Taiwan). And normally, you can buy a 35 ounce beer for $3.00. Or, bring a crate Brandon Brennan Jersey in with you, as thats fine too.Whats the baseball like?The quality of baseball is high (roughly between AA and AAA), with a greater focus placed on contact hitting, base running and bunts.Pitching focuses more on off-speed stuff with craftine s favored due to a lack of power arms. Traditionally, this is a hitters league, but the introduction of a deadened ball in 2019 helped lower the league-wide ERA from 5.14 in 2018 to 4.17, and reduced slugging percentage from .452 to .385 in 2019. It will be interesting to see how the ball used this season impacts these statistics going forward.Who are the teams?The KBO was founded with six franchises in 1982 and has expanded to ten teams since. Nine of the ten franchises are named after the companies or busine s conglomerates which own them, with the exception being the Heroes who are sponsored currently by Kiwoom Securities.How is the season structured?Traditionally, the regular Blank Jersey season starts in late March and runs until the end of September. Each of the ten teams play 144 games (each other 16 times) with every Monday being an off day.The top five teams make it to the playoffs. Unusually, there is a ladder system whereby the fifth place team faces the fourth place team and needs two wins to advance or face immediate elimination. The winner then plays the third place team with the winner of that series advancing to face the second place team. Both rounds require the victor to reach three wins for progre sion.This means that the league winners often have to wait a number of weeks to find out who they are playing in the Korean Series. The first team to win four games is crowned Korean Series champions.Are there different rules in the KBO?A tie game is po sible - if an outcome is undecided after 12 innings of baseball.Each team is allowed to sign three foreign players, who are usually paid well above the major league minimum J.P. Crawford Jersey .2020 marks the first season where all three foreign players are allowed to play in the same game - although this is unusual as foreign slots usually go to two starting pitchers and one power hitter.The DH is universal in the KBO and there are no divisions.Fans are allowed to take their own food and alcohol into the ballpark.Where are the ballparks?Roughly half of the entire South Korean population lives within the city or greater metropolitan area of Seoul. Five of the 10 ballparks are within an hour's commute of the city center and can be reached via an extensive public transport system. The Doosan Bears and LG Twins share Jamsil Baseball Stadium, which explains why they both have the same red dot on the map shown above.Scroll to ContinueWhen it is safe to do so, how can I get a ticket?The average attendance for games in 2019 was 10,119. Weekend games almost guarantee a big crowd and a memorable atmosphere. Between Tuesday and Friday there are lower attendance figures but also a lot more options available when walking up to buy a ticket. For foreign fans, this is sadly still the best method of gaining entry due to the complicated online ticketing sites, which do not cater easily to the non-Korean fans of the game. For those interested in buying official merchandise, the team sites are also difficult to navigate and use.Tickets are cheap, between $7-$19 Dee Gordon Jersey for most areas of the ballpark. Premium tables and seats are available but will set you back closer to $35-$62. You can also cut costs by taking your own food and alcohol into the ballpark. Inside the stadiums you will often have the choice of various fast food options, including Burger King, KFC and Pizza Hut, alongside more traditional Korea fare, such as tteokbokki (hot and spicy rice cakes), dried fish and chimaek (fried chicken and beer). Alcoholic choices are largely focused on lager style beer, which is very cheap roughly $3.00 for a 35 ounce cup.Unique selling points: Bat flips, bunts and cheerleadersPlayers are allowed to expre s themselves freely on the field of play in the KBO. Bat flips are frequent and often extravagant. This show of emotion is rarely seen as Jay Bruce Jersey disrespectful, although there have been some fairly memorable bench-clearing brawls over the years.Bunts, often frowned upon in the States, are commonplace here. The most exciting plays are the squeeze bunt, to score a dashing runner from third, and the rare bunt double, where the hitter is able to place the bunt so precisely and powerfully that he can scramble to second base.Each team also has their own cheerleading squad usually four young women accompanied by a cheermaster. Most players have their own walkup song and fan chants that are led by the cheerleaders.How can I follow the KBO?The best KBO Twitter account is run by . KBO Insider on Twitter. Yonhap News sports journalist on Twitter. The best website for English language information on the KBO is run by Danny Kurtz (see above). - Korean site with advanced statistics (translation to English provides some amusing word choices). is the best Facebook groupStill not convinced? Watch these!Batflips My favorite is number 5. CasualSuper fan More detailed focus on the Lotte Giants and super-fan Kerry Maher.