MLB Bullets is all in on Asian baseball broadcasts

I don’t know about you, but I spent a good chunk of my Friday morning watching an extra-innings baseball game. And if your first response was “But, Ashley, there’s no baseball right now!” well, I have delightful news for you.

The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) has begun broadcasting some of its games on Twitter live streams with English-speaking announcers. As of last week it seemed to largely be the Taiwan-based Rakuten Monkeys whose home games were being shown. For those in North America it scratched a much-needed baseball itch while also giving us a glimpse of what MLB play might look like this year: empty stadiums, robot fans.

But with irreverent announcers and some pretty solid quality managerial moves on the field, it was exactly what this baseball fan needed. ESPN apparently agrees, because according to a Yonhap News Agency artile by Yoo Jee-ho, the US broadcasters have been trying to get broadcast rights for KBO (the South Korean baseball league) games.

Yes, please. Al will have more on the CPBL at 9 a.m. CT.

• While not related to live sports events, if you’ve been bitten by the CPBL and KBO baseball high and are also keen to binge-watch more TV, there’s a fun baseball-themed K-drama you can stream in North America on Viki. (First 2 eps are free, then there’s a free week trial)
• Speaking of the KBO, Jay Jaffe looks at how the Korean league is gearing up for play.
• Similarly, Jorge Castillo brings us a look at how the CPBL have begun to play in Taiwan.
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And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.