With restrictions, fans set to return to SKorean baseball

South Korea’s professional baseball league says it will require fans to wear masks and to sit at least a seat apart as it prepares to bring back spectators in the coming weeks amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Korea Baseball Organization on Tuesday said fans will also not be allowed to eat food in the stands. Teams will be initially allowed to sell only 30% of the seats for each game, a figure that could be expanded to as much as 50% depending on the progress in the country’s anti-virus efforts, according to the league’s plans.

Fans will also be screened for fevers and discouraged from excessive shouting, singing and cheering during the game to prevent contact or dispersion of droplets, the KBO said. And perhaps as a means of discouraging any boisterous behavior, beer will also be banned and fans will only be allowed to drink water or non-alcoholic beverages.

Why Matt Williams left the A’s to manage a team in Korea

The desire to manage again ate at him. But the outlook for him was not promising.

“I think that anytime you don’t accomplish what you want to accomplish you feel a little bit of an empty belly,” Williams said last week by phone from Deagu, South Korea, where his team was preparing to play the Samsung Lions. “I wanted to give it another try. And it didn’t seem as if there would be an opportunity in the U.S. to do so immediately. anyway.”

Williams talked it over with his wife and children. He talked it over with Melvin and A’s executive vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane. Beane told him a managerial job in Korea wouldn’t guarantee the same back home.

“I’m fully aware of that,” Williams said. “But this was put out in front of me. I decided to go ahead accept and pour my energy into this. It’s not what I’m used to, but sometimes it’s good for you to be comfortable being uncomfortable.”

Former Cardinals translator Eugene Koo is talking a different game | St. Louis Cardinals | stltoday.com

Three ways of wearing (or not) wearing a mask.

Report: ESPN inquires about broadcasting Korean baseball

Oh please let this happen!

It is unknown when the Major League Baseball season will finally be able to get underway, but baseball may be returning to American airwaves soon.

According to Daniel Kim, who covers MLB and the Korean Baseball Organization, ESPN has approached the KBO about broadcasting its games during the shutdown.