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| The spectators who filled Sajik Stadium during the 9th consecutive Children's Day period. Lotte has sold out for the last four days in a row. Photo courtesy = Lotte Giants |
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| The spectators who filled Sajik Stadium during the 9th consecutive Children's Day period. Lotte has sold out for the last four days in a row. Photo courtesy = Lotte Giants |
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| The spectators who filled Sajik Stadium during the 9th consecutive Children's Day period. Lotte has sold out for the last four days in a row. Photo courtesy = Lotte Giants |
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"I used to be warm in about 3 and a half hours, but I feel like it was a little long these days. It feels like it's average at least three hours."
This is what I hear in baseball these days. This is the result of ABS (automatic ball determination system) and pitch clock presenting real 'SpeedUp' to Korean baseball.
The game between SSG Landers and Lotte Giants held at Sajik Stadium in Busan on Children's Day ended in a whopping 2 hours and 14 minutes amid SSG starter Mitch White's good pitching of 1 run in 8 innings.
What's more surprising, however, is that this day's game is not the first place in the shortest game time in professional baseball this year based on regular innings. Except for the game that ended in a rainy cold, the shortest game of the year based on the regular inning is the match between the Samsung Lions and Doosan Bears in Jamsil on March 28. It ended in just 2 hours and 4 minutes (2-0 Doosan win) in a fierce pitching battle between Colerbin and Furado. The second place was also the match between KT Wiz and Hanwha Eagles (Hanwha 2-1 win) in Daejeon on April 26, when Ko Young-pyo and Moon Dong-ju faced off, which was 2 hours and 6 minutes.
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| The spectators who filled Sajik Stadium during the 9th consecutive Children's Day period. Lotte has sold out for the last four days in a row. Photo courtesy = Lotte Giants |
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No matter how hard the pitching was Handle, baseball that ends in two hours is very unfamiliar.
The change is more evident in this season's game time, which averages less than three hours. The league's overall average game time is only 2 hours and 57 minutes except for overtime, and 3 hours when included. He is about to enter the two-hour average range for the first time since 1998 (2 hours and 59 minutes).
This is naturally followed by the great pro baseball boom that surpassed 10 million spectators last year. The biggest complaint of baseball beginners is the overly long game time.
The cheering culture of Korean baseball is also clearly different from that of Taiwan and Japan, which use cheerleaders. As if the players on the ground, the home-away cheering seats exchange airlift, and player calls and checks have developed to enjoy more time except for pitcher-batter confrontations, such as airlift shift time and runner checks.
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| The spectators who filled Sajik Stadium during the 9th consecutive Children's Day period. Lotte has sold out for the last four days in a row. Photo courtesy = Lotte Giants |
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Based on the running time of a typical movie, it is known that the time to enjoy it pleasantly is about 2 to 3 hours. With the introduction of ABS, scuffles between players and referees have been reduced, and with the introduction of pitch clock, baseball fans can reduce unnecessary time and enjoy baseball more comfortably.
The team with the shortest game time in the regular innings is KT, which boasts an overwhelming speed of 2 hours and 48 minutes on average. LG Twins (2 hours and 50 minutes) and Hanwha and SSG (2 hours and 52 minutes).
On the other hand, Lotte (3 hours and 5 minutes) and NC Dinos (3 hours and 6 minutes) have the longest average time. The difference in pitching power, including the starting team, is also evident in the game time.
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| The spectators who filled Sajik Stadium during the 9th consecutive Children's Day period. Lotte has sold out for the last four days in a row. Photo courtesy = Lotte Giants |
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KBO announced that professional baseball surpassed 3 million spectators (3.063,197) in 175 games, the lowest ever in 2025, with 91,434 spectators entering the country, including 22,669 sold out at Sajik Stadium on Children's Day. The resignation has been sold out for four days in a row.
The trend is 15 games faster than the previous record (190 games, 2012). It is 42 games apart from last year's 3 million spectators (217 games), which exceeded 10 million spectators (10,887,705) for the first time in the history of Korean professional sports.
KBO explained "The average attendance by May 5 was 17,497, an increase of about 21% compared to the same number of games last year." Of the 175 games, 82 games, or 47 percent, were sold out.
This year, new records were set for at least 1 million games (60 games) and 2 million (118 games), followed by 3 million spectators, giving a green light to 10 million spectators for the second consecutive year.
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| The spectators who filled Sajik Stadium during the 9th consecutive Children's Day period. Lotte has sold out for the last four days in a row. Photo courtesy = Lotte Giants |
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
