Card Collecting Across the Globe

In March 2020, as Americans sheltered at home and faced the sobering realities of a disease that was killing thousands daily, they also sought a release, a distraction. Normally, baseball played that role for millions, but Major League Baseball was forced to put the season on hold. Suddenly, baseball fans sought alternatives-woodworking, knitting, baking, and, quite notably, sports card collecting. Some had collected before and still had cards stashed away. Others were newcomers. Both groups quickly found the hobby overwhelming. Sports card collecting had experienced sea change since the junk-wax era heyday of the mid- to late-1980s and early '90s. 

For me, the card collecting was a small joy in a dark time, but it just wasn't enough. I needed more baseball in my life. I missed the game. I needed to see the green grass and the dirt and the nine players on the field with an opposing player at bat. Amidst this crisis, an unlikely hero emerged: the Korean government and something new to me, the Korean Baseball Organization. 

With no fans, the KBO began to play games, and, with no other sports to air, ESPN and other outlets began to broadcast the games, which were usually played in the wee hours of the morning. It would have been a hindrance had I any real life to live, but Covid had made it possible to keep nearly any schedule one desired. So I'd sometimes set my alarm for 4 a.m. Other days, I'd simply stay up beyond socially acceptable hours to take in a game. 

At first, I was as lost as if I had been dropped off by parachute in Korea. How many teams were there? How would I know who the good players were? After a few days of watching, doing Google searches on the teams and players and after downloading the KBO phone app, I began to formulate some opinions. Foremost, the KBO was fun. Teams had cheerleaders and mascots in uniform. They were the only people watching from the seats. Teams also had history, and it became obvious after several games that certain players were good enough to play and play well in MLB.

My favorite team was the Kiwoom Heroes, whose history and lack of success made them an obvious underdog. The Heroes had some great, young stars, and Lee Jung-hoo quickly became my favorite Korean baseball player. He reminded me of a more powerful version of Ichiro. He batted left-handed, played right field well, had good speed and hit the ball hard nearly every time. 

It's been three years since I fell in love with the KBO. Today, MLB is back, and my card-collecting craze has become somewhat absurd. Thus, I sort of forgot about the KBO until this week. With the World Baseball Classic under way, I remembered how the KBO helped me through a tough patch of life, and it made me curious to catch up on the Korean players' recent exploits. After reading about how Lee Jung-hoo might be coming to play in the big leagues, I raced to eBay in search of any Jung-hoo cards I could find, and I did find some. However, they weren't made by Topps or Panini. It appears that a company called SCC makes baseball cards of KBO players and teams. Oddly, the cards and even the retail boxes seem to feature English wording, but all of the searches I have done for more information on the manufacturer of the cards has brought me only to Korean writing, which I can't comprehend in the slightest.

I figured that I might not be the only person who wants to know more about SCC and Korean baseball cards. So here's a link to an article that might serve as a primer for anyone interested in buying them.