Did MLB grab the Seoul from U.S. fans?

{And to think that publicity from baseball’s Not-Opening Day isn’t about baseball … but I digress.}

It’s the time of year when Major League Baseball romantics are giddy with delight. They embrace the crack of the bat, and the smell of hotdogs and beer permeates the air.

But don’t look for professional baseball games during your lunch hour. Or even the traditional dinner hour. If you’re on the West Coast, you better plan on pulling an all-nighter so you don’t miss broadcasts of the first real games of the 2024 season.

Did Major League Baseball take the Seoul out of the game for American fans by playing its first games in South Korea?

Opening Day for Major League Baseball presents a perfect publicity opportunity at home for the game’s stewards. Instead, they started the 2024 season abroad.

This isn’t whine with the Dodgers and Padres throwing the season’s first cheese in South Korea. That’s cool. It’s the publicity principle for Major League Baseball which says it’s doing all it can to grow the game in the United States. There are plenty of opportunities during Spring Training or during the 250,000-game regular season to stage series off-shore. (If you don’t follow baseball, that number is a bit of an exaggeration.)

Professional baseball, like all sports, is global. We live in a gloriously global community. For baseball romantics, however, there’s something special about first pitches being thrown in your backyard. Or at least while you’re awake.

Hoops and More Hoops. I know lots of you will have your eyes on NCAA basketball tournaments these next couple of weeks. Enjoy, and may your brackets last past the first round.