For just over a month, Baseball NSW were joined by the Doosan Bears at Blacktown International Sportspark as the Korean Baseball Organisation (KBO) powerhouse team completed their Spring Training.
The Doosan Bears provided many highlights through the month, with regular high intensity training, multiple intersquad scrimmage games and the pinnacle of their visit – the Doosan Exhibition Series. We were very grateful to have the opportunity to showcase Australian competition against one of the top KBO Professional Baseball teams, the 두산 베어스 (Doosan Bears).
Baseball NSW CEO, Mark Marino has worked hard to engage with the Doosan Bears and Asia, saying “We are really excited to bring quality levels of baseball back to the park. It’s a great opportunity for our local talent to be on display against some world class competition and it was fantastic to see the uniqueness of Korean fan engagement come through at the game.”
This is the fourth year that we have hosted the Doosan Bears Spring training in Sydney, and the relationship with the Korean Baseball Organisation has been built over six years. Baseball NSW staff and Board look to maintain this relationship into the future as we continue to the grow the game in our state.
On the 22nd of February the Mayor of Blacktown City, Tony Bleasdale OAM, arrived at Blacktown International SportsParks
to meet the members of the Doosan Bears. Key figures like Korean Baseball Organisation legend, and first-year manager Lee Seung-Yuop and the Doosan Bears General Manager and Assistant General Manager, were able to discuss their time
in Australia and how the training has gone thus far with the Mayor, as well as what the future looks like for the relationship between Doosan, Baseball NSW and Blacktown City Council.
Blacktown International SportsPark continues to be a home for international baseball and will further grow the game across Australia and relationships around the world.
Baseball NSW would like to thank the Mayor for continuing to support Baseball NSW’s efforts to develop the sport of baseball through opportunities like these. We look forward to strengthening the relationships with the Doosan Bears and Korean Baseball for years to come and will continue to welcome them with open arms back to BISP.
We express sincere gratitude to the Doosan Bears organization for the time we shared both on and off the field and wish you alI the best in your competition during the 2023 KBO Season.