SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The new baseball season has begun in South Korea with the crack of the bat and the sound of the ball smacking into the catcher's mitt echoing around empty stadiums.
Umpires wore protective masks and cheerleaders danced beneath rows of unoccupied seats as professional baseball got back on the field after a weeks-long delay because of the coronavirus pandemic.
ESPN announced that they will broadcast the games.
Hey guys. ESPN is going to have live baseball six days a week. Live. Baseball. Almost. Every. Day.
First pitch of the Korean Baseball Organization season is at 1a ET, less than 14 hours from now, and we’ll be calling the game between the NC Dinos and Samsung Lions.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 4, 2020
Games will air on ESPN2 at 5:30 a.m. ET from Tuesdays through Fridays, 4 a.m. ET on Saturdays and 1 a.m. ET on Sundays, ESPN reported.
There were many faces in the stands in at least one stadium but they were pictures instead of real people because fans aren't allowed into the venues.
The country's professional soccer leagues will kick off Friday.
They will also play without spectators in the stadiums.