SKorean club to be added to expanded Aussie baseball league

SYDNEY (AP) - A South Korean club is set to be added to an expanded Australian Baseball League from next season in a first for sports Down Under.

Baseball Australia chief executive Cam Vale said the Winterball Korea club will be based in Australia and its 40 regular-season games will be broadcast live in South Korea.

"The partnership is as significant as it timely, coming on the back of last season that saw us garner millions of viewers and capture the attention of Asia for the first time," Vale was quoted as saying Monday on the ABL's website. "Winterball Korea is an exciting and innovative opportunity.

"The inclusion of a top-three ranked baseball nation in the ABL will give Australian players more opportunities to improve their game by competing against quality talent week in, week out," he said. "The spotlight will be on us when traditional northern hemisphere (baseball) powerhouses Korea, Japan and Taiwan are dormant in their winter months."

Vale says the team will be made up solely of South Korean players, and they'll all be based and play their home games in Australia.

Other sports in Australia incorporate offshore teams in their national leagues, including teams from New Zealand in the National Rugby League and soccer's A-League, but this is the first time an international team from Asia has been based in Australia.

Details on where the Winterball Korea team will be based are expected to be finalized within weeks.

The ABL has been a six-team league since 2010.