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Korean baseball preseason set for March 8 with pitch clock rollout

Published: 06 Feb. 2025, 09:45 Updated: 06 Feb. 2025, 17:47

The KBO logo [KBO]

The 2025 preseason in Korean baseball will open March 8 with the new pitch clock in operation, the league office announced Wednesday.

The KBO said its 10 clubs will each play 10 games from March 8 to 18. All games are scheduled to start at 1 p.m., and there will be no extra innings or doubleheaders.

Teams can and often do ask the KBO to move some games to evening hours so that their players can get acclimated to playing under lights before the regular season. Preseason games that are canceled will not be rescheduled.

All new rules for the 2025 season will be in effect during the preseason, including the pitch clock.

Pitchers will have to start their delivery within 20 seconds with the bases empty, and 25 seconds with runners on.

The KBO sought to put the clock in play in 2024 but was met with opposition from teams. The league still kept track of pitch clock violations but did not impose any penalties.

The new strike zone under the automated ball-strike (ABS) system will also apply to preseason games.

In the first year under the ABS in 2024, the top of the strike zone was set at 56.35 percent of a hitter's height, and the bottom was at 27.64 percent. For 2025, those numbers will be 55.75 percent at the top and 27.04 percent at the bottom, meaning the zone will be lowered as a whole without changes to the size.

The KBO also adjusted the contentious "three-foot rule" and widened the runner's lane for this year, following the change implemented by MLB in 2024.

Previously, a batter had to run the last half of the distance between home plate and first base between the foul line and a three-foot line drawn on the right side of the dirt. Under the rule change, instead of being forced to be in foul territory, the runner will be deemed in compliance with the rule as long as he keeps both feet on the dirt between home plate and first base.

During the preseason, teams will each have two challenges per game for video reviews. If they are successful on two consecutive challenges, they will receive an extra challenge.

The 2025 regular season will start on March 22, the earliest start to a season in the league's history.

Yonhap