KBO announces level-up project
Reviving the national team’s full-time managerial system
Increased base sizes and more
The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) has drawn its knives to bolster the international competitiveness of Korean baseball. It will revive the national team’s full-time managerial system for the first time in two years and introduce a pitch clock and extra innings in the KBO League from next year.
The KBO Secretariat announced the KBO League-Team Korea Level-Up Project on Tuesday. The task force was formed in March after the team struggled at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) and was knocked out in the first round, and came up with a long-term strategic direction for Korean baseball. The project outlined four main directions: improving the national team, improving the game system, nurturing prospects and leaders, and expanding the baseball community.
The most notable was the reinstatement of the full-time managerial card after a two-year hiatus. The KBO had operated a full-time managerial system until the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, when it switched to a system in which active professional team managers serve as coaches, in response to the need for “on-the-ground, practical experience.” However, after KT manager Lee Kang-cheol took charge of the WBC team and the team performed poorly, the need for a full-time manager emerged again. “In order to establish a long-term and consistent direction for the national team, we have decided to operate a full-time managerial system until the 2026 WBC,” the KBO said.
The KBO will also introduce the pitch clock, which measures the interval between pitchers’ pitches, and extra innings, which allows teams to bat with runners on base in the 10th inning if the game is not settled in nine innings. The pitch clock and extra innings have been well-received in the US Major League Baseball (MLB), where they have shortened game times and made for more exciting games.
Pitch Clock will be installed at all stadiums in the Futures (second division) League and KBO League in the second half of this year, and will be implemented first in the Futures League next year, followed by a pilot in the KBO League. In addition, we plan to introduce new systems introduced by Major League Baseball this year, such as expanding base sizes and limiting defensive shifts, in Korea. The league is also considering introducing an automated ball-and-strike judgement system to enhance fairness.토토사이트
The KBO is also pushing for prospects to participate in Major League Baseball’s instructional league from next year, and is considering sending a combined team of commercial baseball clubs and the KBO to the Australian Professional Baseball League in the first and second halves of the season. The KBO said, “We plan to continue to work hard to ensure that Korean baseball continues to develop and become competitive on the international stage.”