KBO passes 6 million spectators in record time in year of records

The KBO reached six million fans before the season’s halfway mark for the first time ever this week, setting the stage for its best-attended season in a year of records for Korean baseball.

The Lotte Giants take on the Doosan Bears in front of a packed crowd at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul on Wednesday. A total of 64,201 spectators attended the five KBO games on Thursday, pushing the total for the first half of the season above 6 million for the first time in the league's history. [YONHAP]

In Korea, the ballpark is the place to be — especially this year, according to a record-breaking rush of fans.

The KBO reached six million spectators before the season’s halfway mark for the first time ever on Thursday, setting the stage for its best-attended season in a year of records for Korean baseball.

A total of 6,057,323 spectators have attended the 418 games between opening day on March 23 and Thursday, the KBO said in a press release Friday, notching the milestone in the final days of action before the All-Star break. Of that total, 64,201 people were through the doors on Thursday.

The 2024 KBO season has already seen the highest-ever number of sold-out games since the league grew to 10 clubs in 2015, with fans selling out 116 games by the end of the first half.

And the league is well on its way to breaking the all-time attendance record — a total of 8,406,880 spectators in 2017.

The league’s high numbers in the stands come in a year of changes to Korean baseball’s history books, with players setting a slew of new records over the last three months — and continuing to break them in every game.

SSG Landers slugger Choi Jeong in April set a new record for the all-time KBO career home run record, previously held by retired Samsung Lions star Lee Seung-yuop.

SSG Landers' Choi Jeong gets a timely two-run hit in the bottom of the third inning in a game against the Kia Tigers at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon on June 12. [YONHAP]

Choi, 37, hit his 468th career home run at the top of the fifth inning during a game between the Landers and Lotte Giants at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan to surpass Lee’s 467. That was Choi’s 10th homer of the season — keeping alive a double-digit home run streak since 2006, his sophomore year.

He’s hit a total of 21 home runs as of press time and is batting an average .277.

The Lions’ Kang Min-ho, 38, was the first to alter the history books, breaking the all-time record for the most number of games. Kang, who played for the Lotte Giants from 2004 to 2017 before joining the Lions in 2018, played his 2,238th KBO game against the LG Twins at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on March 28, breaking Twins legend Park Yong-taek’s 2,237 games.

With runners on the first and second bases with one out in the bottom of the third inning, Samsung Lions' Kang Min-ho hits an RBI in a game against the Kia Tigers on July 2 at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu. [YONHAP]

Park also lost his career hits crown to the NC Dinos' Son Ah-seop, who tied and broke Park's 2,504 record last month and has 2,511 knocks as of press time. Showing no sign of stopping soon, 36-year-old Son could go on to be the KBO's first 3,000-hit man.

NC Dinos' Son Ah-seop sets a new all-time KBO hit record in a game against the Doosan Bears on June 20 at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul. [YONHAP]

But it’s been a banner year for the KBO’s new guard, too.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Kia Tigers infielder Kim Do-yeong became the second-youngest player ever to join the 20-20 club in the KBO and tied with former NC Dinos starter Eric Thames to become the third-fastest to hit the milestone — 73 games into the season. Only four KBO players have ever managed a 20-20 line before the All-Star break.

The All-Star Futures game will take place on Friday at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon while the KBO's all-stars will play on Saturday at the same place.

BY MARY YANG AND JIM BULLEY [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]