Besotted.

I bet you thought this would be a post about romance, right? Nope, it’s about baseball, that quintessential American sport. It’s a favorite in Korea as well, and Kdramas have even featured it in some of the dramas I’ve watched.

Everyone who calls themselves a Kdrama addict has watched Prison Playbook, starring Park Hae-soo as a superstar baseball player who is unjustly incarcerated and attempts to keep up his baseball skills in prison. It’s a great show.

Our latest foray into baseball related Kdramas is Hot Stove League starring Namkoong Min and Attorney Woo herself, Park Eun-bin. I even got my husband to watch it with me, and to say we are obsessed is an understatement. At 10:30 last night he wanted to watch “just one more episode,” and this was after we’d finished the prior TWO episodes. We were both so happy it’s raining today so we can watch as soon as he finishes breakfast.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t do a shout to our friends who recommended Hot Stove League. They like to remain anonymous so there won’t be any identifying remarks here. Hey, buds, you hit this one out of the park! (I just couldn’t help myself.) ~ Pat

Namkoong Min (His name is different than most... Last name is 2 syllables & first name is 1 syllable! Just when I think I'm getting the hang of things they throw this out to confuse me! ~ Judy

This show has been a steep baseball learning curve for me. I usually go to one or two games a year, have a beer and a hotdog, talk too much, and miss all the great plays on the field. Had I ever heard of sabermetrics? Knew what a bean ball was? Understood what WAR signified? The answer is NO. Tony has been interpreting and explaining all the baseball speak as we go.

This is a compelling show with the right amount of passion and drama that makes it addicting. We’re on episode 13 out of 16, and it’s a bit short on romance and I don’t see how they’re going to accomplish that by the time it ends. Oh, well…Sometimes you just gotta take one for the team. (Couldn’t help myself again.)

Pat has been raving about this show for days.... It's up next on my list to watch! It's interesting that we get involved in sports just because of Kdramas. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about fencing (from the show 2521) and about ssireum (traditional Korean wrestling from the show Flowers in the Sand.) Who would have thought? ~ Judy