Australian Baseball Creates History with All-Korean Team


AN Australian based team made up entirely of South Korean players will join the Australian Baseball League (ABL) for the next five-years. 

Winterball Korea will have all 40 of their regular season games played in Australia, with live televised coverage into Korea and an expected audience of up to one million viewers per game.

Chief Operating Officer of Baseball Australia, Ben Foster, telling Ministry Of Sport this deal is just the tip of the iceberg with Baseball in Australia growing exponentially.

“Last year we increased our online viewership by over 300%; with peaks of up to 60% of that viewership coming from Asian markets,” he said.

“When we combine that with double-digit growth in our youth participation in recent years, I think we are on the cusp of a genuinely transformative time for the sport.”

Foster see’s the new exposure into the Asian market as a positive for aspiring Australian Baseball players.

“Some of our best Australian players have had very successful careers in Asian professional leagues and that is something we will strive to capitalise on,” he said.

Baseball Australia CEO Cam Vale, speaking from Seoul, is confident this deal will provide more exposure for Australian sponsors.

“With an anticipated broadcast audience of up to 1 million viewers per game, we expect the international exposure for our partners and our teams’ partners to increase exponentially,” he said.

“In a region where more people attended live baseball games last year than the entire population of Australia, the spotlight will be on us when traditional northern hemisphere powerhouses Korea, Japan and Taiwan are dormant in their winter months.”

The location of the team will be confirmed in the next fortnight, along with details regarding the second expansion team