The Korean Baseball Organization officially kicked off its 2020 season Tuesday, and, despite being broadcast in the middle of the night for anyone stateside, the games are already offering starved-for-sports fans what they want with home runs, wild bat flips and, you know, live competition.
The ceremonial first pitch at one of the games was awfully memorable too — and not just because there were no fans in the stands celebrating the start of the season, which was scheduled to begin March 28 but was delayed several weeks because of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Before KT Wiz’s game against the Lotte Giants on Tuesday, a young boy delivered a socially distanced first pitch from inside a large, clear balloon. The balloon itself also seemed to serve as the first-pitch ball because it was decorated like a baseball, and the boy, obviously, didn’t literally throw or hand the catcher anything. (They high-fived.)
Different, but certainly creative under the circumstances. Here’s how Reuters described the scene:
Lee Raon, a nine-year-old baseball fan, stood on the mound. But instead of throwing the ball, the boy, inside a giant clear balloon, walked towards the catcher in what was called a “socially distant first pitch” for South Korean club KT Wiz on Tuesday.
And you can see for yourself what exactly that looked like…
This ceremonial first pitch doesn’t quite compare to the acrobatics, choreography or literal ball-of-fire first pitches the KBO has seen before. But — especially given the times with the world shut down and trying to stay safe while simultaneously bringing sports back — this one is still pretty unforgettable.
