The Los Angeles Dodgers will be the first MLB team to broadcast games in three languages in 2014 when their new TV deal goes into effect reports the LA Times. In addition to the standard English and Spanish broadcast, the Dodgers will be adding in a Korean broadcast for their games.

Korean may seem like an odd choice as a third language, but the Dodgers have had a tie to Korea for nearly 20 years. Chan Ho Park was the first Korean player in MLB, and he got his start with the Dodgers, where he spent the first eight seasons of his career before cashing in on the free agent market. The Dodgers also had a presence in the Korean market with Hee Seop Choi during the final two years of his career, and signed free agent Korean pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu this winter to continue their dominance of the market.

California also has the largest Korean population in the country at 452,000 (as of the 2010 US Census), triple that of New York state, the second most populous state amongst Koreans. The greater LA area also has the highest population of Koreans in the country at 334,000 (again, as of the 2010 Census), and the population of Koreans in America has been continually growing over the last 40 years. 

This is a great move by the Dodgers in an attempt to plant their flag as the team of the Korean community in America. If Ryu succeeds with the Dodgers in 2013 and beyond, that will help their branding efforts even more going forth, and they can be the first MLB team to really make a huge impact in Asia.

[LA Times]

About Joe Lucia

I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.

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