1 The Beginning of Baseball’s Popularity: ‘Stove League’ and ‘A Clean Sweep’

Baseball was once perceived as a sport enjoyed only by longtime fans. What broke that stereotype was the drama ‘Stove League’ and the variety show ‘A Clean Sweep.’
The SBS drama ‘Stove League’ (aired in December 2019), which depicted stories during a team’s strategic reinforcement period, started with a 5.5% viewership rating for its first episode and recorded a 19.1% rating for its final episode, creating the ‘Stove League syndrome’. Not only baseball fans, but also viewers who knew little about baseball, fell in love with the sport through this drama.
JTBC’s variety show ‘A Clean Sweep’ (started June 2022) is a program where retired professional baseball players gather to compete against amateur players. The passion and narratives of retired baseball players toward the sport captivated viewers’ hearts, leading more people to take an interest in baseball. Additionally, shorts posted by A Clean Sweep and professional baseball game highlights were both promoted by the same algorithms, further spreading interest in baseball.

2 Baseball is Now the Charm.

As the fan base has expanded, baseball teams are showcasing various collaborations for their fans. Here are some impressive collaboration cases worth highlighting.

The Samsung Lions collaborated with fashion brand Sansan Gear. Sansan Gear is a representative brand that brought outdoor fashion into everyday life and is beloved by Millennials and Gen Z. The reason this collaboration received such a positive response was due to the details embedded in the clothing. The back of the uniform features silhouettes and jersey numbers of retired Samsung Lions players, set against the backdrop of Samsung Lions Park, along with championship years displayed and eight stars embroidered to represent their championship count (V8), evoking strong emotions among Samsung fans.

The collaboration introduction video also had exceptional attention to detail. It captured the growth process of a young Samsung fan, with Easter eggs hidden throughout that only Samsung fans would recognize, from retired jersey numbers to past and current pitchers representing the Samsung Lions. It showcased the history of the Samsung Lions through the lens of one boy’s life, delivering heartwarming moments to fans.

The KIA Tigers collaborated with ‘Catch! Teenieping’ for Children’s Day. ‘Catch! Teenieping’ is so popular among children that it was selected as the number one favorite character for ages 3-9 by the Korea Creative Content Agency. KIA fans started lining up the day before the merchandise release, and just before the sales opened, the line was so long it wrapped around the stadium. Even KIA Tigers players reportedly did an opening run for their children. The collaboration with ‘Catch! Teenieping’ wasn’t limited to merchandise. During the ‘Early KIA-Kids Day Series’ held from the 2nd to the 4th, they installed photo zones for fans to take commemorative photos freely, and the series’ first game began with Heartsping’s ceremonial first pitch.
When news of the ‘Catch! Teenieping’ collaboration broke, there was talk online about how fun it would be to add “-ping” to players’ names like Teenieping. Players took the field wearing uniforms marked with “OO-ping” (Doyeong Kim → Doyeong-ping), and both home and away team rosters on the scoreboard were posted entirely as “OO-ping,” creating an impressive scene where everyone immersed themselves in the Teenieping universe on Children’s Day. It was a romantic day the whole family could enjoy, with character collaborations fitting for Children’s Day and unexpected immersive elements at the stadium.

3 Baseball as Everyday Life

Riding baseball’s popularity wave, items that let people enjoy baseball beyond the ballpark are emerging in daily life.

Since last year, blokecore—wearing sports uniforms in daily life—has been trending. Baseball fans wanted to wear uniforms regularly but hesitated, fearing people would ask, “Is there a baseball game today?” Reflecting this customer concern, the Doosan Bears collaborated with SPAO. They conducted preference surveys with 60,000 consumers before product launch, creating practical yet differentiated products with comfortable materials and sophisticated designs suitable for daily wear at a lower price than uniforms. The collaboration products prepared at SPAO’s Gangnam Branch 2 sold out in just four hours. Can you feel the firepower of baseball fans?

Doosan Bears fans are known for their serious appetite, earning the nickname “Meoksan” (Doosan with a good appetite). CU introduced “Yonsei Milk Meoksan Fresh Cream Bread” for these Doosan fans. The product sold approximately 100,000 units in just five days after launch, becoming CU’s number one dessert in overall sales. Building on this popularity, a new collaboration line called “Yonsei Milk Hustle-Doo Fresh Cream Bread” will launch in May, complete with character stickers. I’m curious to see how well this new product, prepared in collaboration with “Broken Bear,” which is also partnering with the Doosan Bears, will capture the hearts of Doosan fans. Beyond Meoksan bread, you can find various baseball-related products at convenience stores, including KBO bread made with confectionery companies and Lotte Giants bread.

Article Sources
1. Baseball surpasses 4 million spectators https://www.maniareport.com/view.php?ud=2025052011364259416cf2d78c68_19
2. Uniform sales https://sports.khan.co.kr/article/202412220900003?pt=nv
3. Meoksan cream bread https://www.youthdaily.co.kr/news/article.html?no=185274
4. Teenieping collaboration http://www.jndn.com/article.php?aid=1746173620408926104
5. Heartsping’s popularity https://kbthink.com/main/living-finance/consumption-life/mz-consumption/teenieping.html
6. Sansan Gear introduction https://justdott.com/entry/%EC%9A%94%EC%A6%98-%EB%AA%A8%EB%A5%B4%EB%A9%B4-%EC%95%88-%EB%90%9C%EB%8B%A4%EB%8A%94-%ED%95%9C%EA%B5%AD-%ED%8C%A8%EC%85%98-%EB%B8%8C%EB%9E%9C%EB%93%9C-%EC%82%B0%EC%82%B0%EA%B8%B0%EC%96%B4-San-San-Gear
7. Teenieping photos https://www.osen.co.kr/article/G1112559884
8. Changki Hong cheer song https://news.sbs.co.kr/news/endPage.do?news_id=N1008056607
9. SPAO x Doosan collaboration https://www.newsbrite.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=190393
10. SPAO sellout https://biz.newdaily.co.kr/site/data/html/2025/05/20/2025052000130.html