KDrama Review: Hot Stove League (2019)

Hot Stove League is a sports-themed KDrama delving into the business side of running a baseball team. It’s not your typical sports drama focusing on teamwork and winning games. Instead, it gives you a behind-the-scenes peek into how general managers juggle the challenges to keep the team going.

The Plot

Baek Seung-Soo (Namkoong Min) steps into his role as the new general manager of the struggling baseball team Dreams that have been at the bottom of the league for four consecutive seasons.

Seung-soo has no experience managing a baseball team, but he has a track record of managing championship-winning sports teams.

Jae-hee (Park Eun-bin), Dream’s operations manager, helped Seung-Soo transform the team’s culture and turn them into champions.

The catch?

Every team Seung-Soo managed before folded after winning.

Scope

This KDrama breaks the mold of typical sports movies. It gives you a panoramic view of what happens in the office space.

You’re not just following the day in the life of a general manager, but the series also explores the roles of operations manager, scouting team, PR, and marketing.

You also get a glimpse of how digital and traditional media play a role in promoting sports.

But that’s not all.

The show also sheds light on the intricate processes of trading and player drafts during the hot stove league.

Storytelling Style

Hot Stove League hits the ball out of the park in its storytelling style. Remember how I mentioned my concerns about character development and relationship-building in my post about Queen’s Gambit? Well, this series nails it all perfectly.

Now, comparing it to another series, Moving. I had to bail around episode eight because it felt painfully slow. One major issue was the lack of significant and surprising events in each episode as the characters were introduced.

It’s a stark contrast to Diary of a Prosecutor, in which Hot Stove League’s storytelling style follows suit. While the characters are introduced in each episode, it’s sprinkled with everyday drama, which is relatable on a personal level.

It’s commendable how the writer introduces an influx of characters. It’s like throwing a wrench into the works.

Story Development

Hot Stove League’s general manager faces an uphill battle from episodes one to eight. He worked hard with his team to sort out these issues, aiming to start off on a positive note before they move forward.

A big part of this is the general manager’s unbiased nature. He looks at things from different perspectives — a typical characteristic of a leader.

After setting everything in place in the previous episodes, episodes nine to 11 show the result of the general manager’s efforts. You can see relationships blossoming, bonds forming, and genuine compassion between the characters.

When you think you’ve seen it all after they build those connections, all hell breaks loose from episode 12 onwards. Players face scandals, betrayals, and pressure from higher-ups to break up the team.

What to Expect

Unlike typical K-Dramas, the writer keeps the players off the field most of the time. There’s a subtle connection between politics and business, and it’s just enough to add depth to the story.

Interestingly, it didn’t pull my heartstrings like Diary of a Prosecutor did.

One thing that hit home for me is the decision-making skills of the general manager. In real life, the decisions leaders make might seem like a shot in the dark, but later, it all comes together. This theme is evident in this series.

Rating: 8.5/10