China Daily, September 18 (Reporter Sun Xiaochen) MLB Major League Baseball Home Run International Challenge Home Run Derby X (hereinafter referred to as HRDX) is heading to Asia. The interactive feast kicked off at the Paradise City Hotel in Seoul, South Korea last weekend.
Following the opening of the global tour at the London Station on July 9, the Seoul Station swayed the baton, which was a wonderful upgrade on the basis of the boom in the London Station. The internationally renowned pop singer Park Jae-sang (Psy) was invited to help out. Integrating into the local culture brings a rich experience to the audience and attracts many fans to this baseball event.
The four teams participating in the showdown are MLB’s most prestigious teams: the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago Cubs, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees. After a wonderful duel, in the end, under the leadership of MLB legend Adrián González, superstar Ashton Lansdell and wild card star Yoongy Kwak ) and the hero star Keun Woo Jeong, the Dodgers beat the pack and won the Seoul Grand Prix. It is worth mentioning that the Dodgers also recently became the first team to win the playoffs in the MLB 2022 season. The victory of HRDX Seoul may also herald the Dodgers’ great playoffs this year.
Seoul swing trend carnival ignites fall event
The cool weather did not affect the heating up of the event, and the enthusiasm of baseball fans was enough to ignite the HRDX Seoul Station. In the final, the Dodgers met the Red Sox. The star Gonzalez “fired” and led the Dodgers to victory with his excellent strikes and was awarded the MVP of the Seoul Station. The Red Sox ultimately missed the Seoul championship trophy by 4 points.
The upgraded new scoring mode of HRDX has already shown its unique appeal in the previous London station. In addition to home runs, hitting the designated scoring zone can also score points, making the game more compact; batters can also apply for Hot Streak bonuses to show their profound strength and enhance the visibility of the game.
In addition to the unmissable peak baseball matchup, the cross-border collision between baseball events and Korean K-POP music also created a wonderful spark. K-pop singer Jang Da-hye (Heize) and singer Shin Hyo-shek (Crush) set off a music boom, and K-POP representative singer Park Jae-sang (PSY Psy) turned the arena into an open-air dance scene in seconds. While enjoying the audio-visual enjoyment, the audience also has the opportunity to “closely contact” baseball – the Seoul Station has set up batting facilities on site, and the audience can swing the bat in person while enjoying the intense game, immersingly experience the fun of baseball.
At the same time, MLB has opened the live broadcast of HRDX events in many countries and regions. In China, the broadcast platforms cover BesTV, Tencent, Douyin, Kuaishou, Weibo, Station B and WeChat video accounts, providing real-time simultaneous interpretation of live first-hand matches for the audience, bringing Go to the same colorful online audiovisual experience.
It is reported that the third stop of HRDX will land in Mexico City in October. The points of all teams in various city tours will be included in the standings, and the HRDX 2022 championship will be determined at the final stop. In 2023, MLB plans to expand the host city of the HRDX Home Run International Challenge to multiple countries and regions, which also means that this high-profile international baseball event is expected to land in China.
Seoul Proofing China Station can also show cultural characteristics
Looking back at the HRDX London station in July this year, the fan service was quite in place. It not only showed the classic showdown between the Yankees and the Red Sox, but also provided team-themed special snacks. Hip-hop star AJ Tracey also helped out, presenting a game The unmissable baseball carnival has created a baseball trend online and offline.
The successful conclusion of the London Station has written a perfect opening for the 2022 HRDX Home Run Competition. The Seoul Station, which took over the baton, chose the Paradise City Hotel, a popular landmark that gathers trendy arts, and combined baseball events with K-POP culture, so that baseball broke the circle and entered the field of vision of young people oriented to K-POP. It is also an Asian cultural circle. China provides a valuable model.
Following the London Station, Qi Dong, Managing Director of MLB China, came to the Seoul Station again. He said, “At HRDX Seoul Station, we can deeply feel that baseball is not only a brave and resourceful sport, It is a healthy and active culture and lifestyle, which provides an excellent case for the landing of sports events in China. In 2023, HRDX is expected to land in China. At that time, MLB hopes to combine baseball events with local culture, Let baseball become a communication window for urban culture and reach a wider audience outside of sports.”
International competitions have blossomed one after another, or China’s baseball fever will come?
In 2023, many international events will bloom in China one after another: the 19th Asian Games, men’s baseball and women’s softball will be the official competition events; and the 2023 WBC World Baseball Classic, one of the world’s highest-level international baseball games, will also be held in Taiwan, China. Set as one of the sites. Recently, the WBC World Baseball Classic Qualifying Tournament has been launched one after another to select teams for the official start in 2023.
2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) Schedule
The successive landing of international baseball events in China will attract more pan-baseball groups to understand the sport, and is expected to become a new opportunity for the Chinese baseball soil. In this context, the landing of HRDX in China is even more exciting. Interesting competition rules, flexible venue selection, enthusiastic baseball atmosphere and cross-border collision with trendy music will be a strong promoter of the popularization of baseball culture in China.
(Sun Xiaochen)
[Editor in charge: Fu Wenjia]
