Dodgers, Padres will open 2024 season in Seoul, South Korea

Major League Baseball and the Players Association on Wednesday announced the slate of international games for the 2024 season, including the Dodgers and Padres starting their regular season schedule with two games in Seoul, South Korea.

The games in Seoul will take place on Wednesday, March 20 and Thursday, March 21, and will be MLB’s first-ever regular season games in Korea. Neither the Dodgers’ nor MLB press releases specified which Seoul stadium in which the Dodgers and Padres will play.

Start times are also to be announced, but there’s a 16-hour difference between Los Angeles and Seoul. So a 7 p.m. game in South Korea would start at 3 a.m. PT. Adjust your sleep schedules accordingly.

News of the Dodgers and Padres potential trip overseas first broke in May. For the Dodgers, these will mark their first international games since 2018 in Monterrey, Mexico, also against the Padres.

“We can’t wait to play meaningful Major League games for the very first time in front of the outstanding baseball fans of Korea next season,” Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten said in a statement. “The Dodgers have a long and proud history of helping to grow the game abroad, highlighted by our trips to Mexico, China and Australia. It’s very exciting to add Korea to the list. I know our players are thrilled to put their talents on display in a country so rich with baseball tradition and talent, including former Dodgers Chan Ho Park, Hee-Seop Choi and Hyun-Jin Ryu.”

Chan Ho Park was the first Korean player to play in MLB, debuting with the Dodgers in 1994. Fellow Korean Jae-Wong Seo also played for the Dodgers in 2006.

In addition to the Dodgers and Padres in South Korea, two other international series for 2024 were announced on Wednesday. The Astros and Rockies will play in Mexico City for two games from April 27-28, while the Phillies and Mets will play in London from June 8-9.

During spring training, the Red Sox and Rays will play two exhibition games in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic from March 9-10.

MLB plans to unveil the entire 2024 schedule in full on Thursday at 10 a.m. PT. Considering the timing of the Dodgers-Padres series in South Korea, and common sense, it sure looks like opening day next year will be Thursday, March 28.