스포츠토토 The 2023 KBO Futures League kicked off on April 4 and concluded with four games on April 24.
The 2023 KBO Futures League featured 11 teams divided into two leagues, the Northern (Hanwha, LG, Goyang (Heroes), SSG, and Doosan) and Southern (Sangsung, NC, Samsung, Lotte, KT, and KIA).
In the Northern League, Hanwha topped the standings for the second year in a row, beating runner-up Doosan by two games. In the Southern League, the Sangsung Baseball Team won the title for the 12th consecutive year since 2012.
In an effort to speed up the pace of the game and make it more exciting, the KBO officially introduced the penalty shootout system, which was piloted last year, this year. Based on the results of the trial, the KBO plans to explore improvements and incorporate them into future KBO leagues.
The KBO also piloted the automated pitch judgment system, or “robot umpires,” in 123 games this year at KBO League stadiums and at Icheon (Doosan), Masan, Iksan, and Hampyeong stadiums.
The automated pitch judgment system was implemented in 2020 and has been operating for four years in the Futures League. The system has been stabilized by steadily complementing the problems that occurred and shortening the judgment time.
The KBO said, “We are comprehensively analyzing the impact of the automatic pitch judgment system on the game if it is introduced to the KBO League, and we plan to determine whether and when it will be introduced to the KBO League through continuous cooperation and exchange with Major League Baseball (MLB).