Hot Stove League proves that sports dramas can work!
Just like my headline, Hot Stove League really proves that sports dramas can work when done like this! Hot Stove League made me like baseball, a sport that I never liked until now! A really good story and sub-stories mixed in with a really good cast that seemed to have perfect chemistry with one another right from the start in the first episode until the last second. Hour long episodes rarely feel like 30 minute episodes and the story make it such perfect material. A few members of the cast, actually perhaps the majority, I had not been familiar with but now I need to watch more dramas with these actors/actresses in! Well done, Hot Stove League! Bravo! Lets go Dreams! Go Dreams Go! Go Dreams! Dreams Go!Was this review helpful to you?
my favorite thing was the fact that nor blatant villianziation occurred neither blatant redemption. it was not about redeeming the characters when it came to antagonists, everything had such a humane resolution by the end it makes u fall in love with the writing and the characters. i just LOVE good writing, personally it took me a good deal of months to finish it bc i kindaa got bored but it defo was not bc of the writing it was probably my own brain. by the end i defo cried a lil bit here and there, ah the writing was so good. i also reaaallyyy loved the logical resolution to the problems encountered by Baek Seung Soo. it's always impressive when a melodrama genre deals with its plot points with logic rather than depending on some bullshit.
so yeah. i am impressed. i love. i recommend. ^_^
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I regret not watching hot stove league any sooner
All in all, it was sooo good~~~ I watch it with high expectations as it garnered the best tv drama on baeksang but wow hot stove league exceeded my expectations. From the plot, the flow, acting, and the storytelling style, 10/10! I wouldn't ask for more. If I were asked to recommend a drama, this would be on the top of my list. No doubt they won a lot of awards at baeksang; from best tv drama to lead actor, to director, and tv script!I know nothing about baseball but, it does not hinder the comfortable watch. Yes, it is not mainly baseball-centered drama, instead, it was all about the people, business, politics, workplace, power-struggle, building a real team, underdogs climbing to the top drama. Hot stove league is off to the top-tier scripts in the drama world, and it was carried earnestly with the amazing casting and acting on it! It was quite draggy but I'm not complaining about it. Yes, I'm not. Because the flow was so fantastic. The dragging was turned into a very enjoyable watch.
I'm asking myself where I have been because I am missing out a lot about this gem here. I would have enjoyed watching this while it was ongoing... Overall Great Story! Great Acting! Great delivery! One of the Greatest, at least for me~
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love this drama! might be the best kdrama i've seen yet!
I binged this whole show in about 4 days cause it was just so good! My little brother is a baseball player, so I decided to watch it bc it looked pretty interesting. This show is heartfelt and hits on all of the right notes for me. I'm only taking off 0.5 points because there are some scenes where I felt so annoyed at certain things, but overall, the story, the acting, and the character development from ML/FL/every important character was just so on point!btw, I noticed at the end that there wasn't really a romantic component, and I think I was more than happy to not have that be a thing lol!
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You don't need to like baseball to enjoy this drama
Although I'd read the synopsis, I wasn't sure exactly what to expect and not being a fan of any sport (except figure skating on occasion), I wondered if I'd get into it. However, being a Namgoong Min fan, I decided to give it a try.Much of the story centred around the statistics, strategies and personalities within the game, so I was surprised when it nevertheless kept both my attention and interest.
That was due entirely to the excellent cast who all portrayed the many characters in this drama, so well.
Namgoong Min as the hyper intelligent, unflappable, no nonsense new Manager, whose appointment shocked everyone at team Dreams.
Never having been a player, many looked down on him and thought he'd be a pushover ~ he was anything but. I loved his lazy way of talking and poker face.
Park Eun-bin as the only female to be appointed as any team's Operations Manager, was perfect. She balanced being feisty and just the right level of tough (as a female in a male dominated environment), whilst retaining an even temperament. Too often women in important positions are portrayed as hard, cold, bitchy and lacking emotion. She was none of those things and that was honestly a breath of fresh of air.
So many other actors' portrayals of their characters made an impression on me as well. Too many to list!
There are so many stories intertwined into the main one, which is the club striving to turn their dismal record of losses around, and giving them a fighting chance of actually winning the league.
We also get corporate politics, with the conglomerate that owns the club (helmed by an old and manipulative Chairman), having a hidden agenda. There's in-fighting within both the club's staff and players. Jealousies, arrogance, misunderstandings and struggles with both fitness and confidence.
Then there are the personal problems many characters contend with, which are revealed as the drama plays out. Some are quite tragic and shed a new light on what drives some of them.
All in all, there is a lot of story that is so well wrapped up in 16 episodes.
Whilst I will admit that some of the scenes involving the strategies and stats of the game and its players, went over my head, that didn't spoil my overall enjoyment and surprise at how good this drama was. Even the ending was well thought out and realistic.
An intelligent and fulfilling watch for sure!
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Not a sports drama
I put off watching this show for 2 years until the Christmas break because I'm not interested in sports. However, as other reviewers have stated, you don't need to understand baseball or even like it in order to watch this. In fact, for a baseball show, there's surprisingly few scenes of baseball matches. This show runs along the vein of strategy-based shows where the protagonists use their brains to plot and thwart the plans of villains. It's reminiscent of shows such as Dae Jung Geum, Dong Yi, and Tree with Deep Roots (notice how I'm giving sageuk examples, simply because such shows haven't been written with modern Korea as a backdrop.) which are very machiavellian and leave you marvelling at how they put down the jigsaw pieces and everything falls into place when you least expect it. This show won't leave you warm and fuzzy (e.g., Hospital Playlist, Prison Playbook) but will leave you feeling satisfied. The acting is top rate, even from the relatively young actors. Don't put it off any further, give it a watch!Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Home run
I'm someone who picked up the drama and dropped it around the first episode, picked it up a few months later, dropped it around episode 5, and then picked it up two days ago, and now can't stop thinking about it. I'm the type that binges a drama. Yet while watching this, I had to pause because I kept on getting chills. After each episode, I had to take a break to appreciate how unique each episode was. While describing a series, I use interesting, thrilling, funny, etc.; however, I think the closest word that comes to mind when I think of this drama is "memorable."I'm not into baseball. I couldn't care less about it. However, this drama overcomes the sport. More than the sport. The drama centers around the people who work in the industry. It chose to focus on the athletes, the teams supporting the industry, and the bonds formed and broken. Most importantly, it delivered valuable messages. In each episode, I learned something new, my perspectives changed, and the drama did all this while showing heart-wrenching, exciting and intriguing stories.
I'm not going to talk about the acting—the music, or what I disliked. I mean, I'm three years too late. There are more than 50 reviews that have done it. The drama has won baeksangs which shows how much this drama is liked. I think I'm just writing this so I can come back years later and read it to remind myself how much I love this drama. (MDL has become a precious diary that holds my thoughts, haha)
I loved everything, from the slow start to the actors, to the onscreen chemistry, to the plot to the ending. I loved the antagonist (as much as I hated him), the male and female lead, the secondary characters, the athletes, and the banter. I loved the small deadpan comedy moments, and I loved the connections that they portrayed. The script was a masterpiece, and the actors delivered a fantastic performance. The pace was perfect, and it wonderfully wrapped up towards the end.
It's a show for people who love baseball, for people who don't know a thing about it, for people looking for a satisfying and exciting sports drama, for people who want a slice-of-life drama, and for people who are looking for motivation. It's a show that will leave you feeling like you made the right choice. It's a show that you can trust to dedicate your time to.
"While trying to protect the things precious to you, do not stop others from trying to protect you. It's okay to stop and relax if it's too tiring, but if you cannot realize your worth, no one will either."
I will remember this drama fondly for as long as I can, and I hope more people will discover this gem when they need it the most.
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The most iconic sports drama ever written
"We lost because we didn't have enough money? I didn't go to college as I didn't have tutors. I lost because I was sick. Everyone can't be in same environment. They are fighting with what they have. If we make excuses, we'll lose in same way again." -- Baek Seung SooThis above paragraph is microcosm of this drama. With a sorta plain story writer, director and actors created a masterpiece. Hot Stove League excels in execution specifically in the parts of strategy.
Even though Dreams (the team for which Baek Seung Soo is GM) played only single baseball match, still you could imagine how well they will play in real game with all the soft improvements they have made in their thinking and planning.
Please go ahead and try it. You won't be dissappointed.
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This review may contain spoilers
A must watch with a brilliant story and first-class acting by all the characters
There are so many things to love in this show.1. It's an almost perfect watch. A well-written story with great acting from the actors. I did not feel disconnected with any of the characters which goes to show that all of them did a great job.
2. The story in itself is pretty good. For someone who does not know baseball other than the fact that Moneyball was an amazing movie, I did not feel lost even once. Yes, there were terms thrown here and there like ERA (or something) but you don't need to understand them to understand the story. I love that I did not have to learn about the sport to enjoy the drama. It was a perfect depiction of sports management, and I loved it.
3. It is one of my favourite genres: politics (internal politics) and business. I loved watching how they did not bring in fancy tropes, try to unnecessarily bring in some romance or just try to throw off the show using some cliche drama. The focus was clear since the first episode: the show was about a sports team that will be disbanded and how will we prevent that. While sticking to their concept and plot, they depicted various beautiful stories through the different characters and it was a very pleasant and easy watch.
4. I actually enjoyed watching the individual stories of most of these people. This show has made me laugh, cry and be in awe - all at the same time. There was no over-the-top reliance on any one character and equal importance was given to all of them to depict how a team works together and what goes on behind the scenes. It was fun watching that.
While all of this was good, I have two problems with the show which made me deduct some points from the rating:
1. I do not like the demonisation of Kyung Min. If it was my team that was causing me only losses and had such grave mismanagement for multiple years, I would pull out my investment as well. I'm running a business, not a charity. If he was unable to sell the team, he is TOTALLY justified in disbanding the team. His only fault was that he was so muddled up in his own prejudice that he employed the wrong means of achieving his goals. So, this entire comments section seems pretty harsh and unrealistic to me where he is being vilified.
2. Towards the end, it got caught up in so much politics that I did not enjoy the last two episodes much. In fact the end was so underwhelming that I was wondering if it had been conceptualised by the same person who wrote the other 14 episodes. I was also thinking about how childish it seems.
It is a brilliant watch and I believe it is quite underrated looking at its rating here. It is a fresh break from usual rom-com kdramas and is very well acted and narrated. Loved almost every second of watching this one!
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veeeeerrrrrrrrrryyyyy gooooooooodddd
Besttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt 최고 ...............ㄹㄹㅎ호ㅓㅓㅓㅓ나ㅏㅈㅎㅇ자내ㅐ애쥬자ㅣ태ㅐ너저카ㅐㄴ지ㅣㄴ튜ㅠ내재내ㅑ어너ㅠ켜냐챠대너탸댜져앶조탸댜ㅑ쟈ㅑ여뎌ㅕ저냐ㅑㅕㄴ져ㅓ전ㅠ노너노토노ㅗ노ㅗㅌ노ㅗ도ㅗ노ㅗ오ㅗ오노ㅗㄴ노ㅗ노ㅗ야냐냐ㅓㄴ어ㅓ오너ㅗ노너노Was this review helpful to you?
Interesting and Inspirational sports- business drama
I had no interest in watching this initially thinking it was fully about sports and I am kind of that lazy person who is not really fan of any sports and has no idea about how Baseball works. Lol But I read some article about it recently and thought to give it a try now (Feb 2024) and I was pleasantly surprised because I really enjoyed it.STORY:
It is basically an inspiring story about how a sports club which owns a Baseball team is going through bad times and how a new strict manager turns their luck around. He changes the whole system, weeds out corruption, etc etc. Even though it is kind of predictable, the story of how these things are achieved is the highlight of the drama.
Acting is stellar and has many heart warming scenes. I was happy that there was no romantic feelings b/w the leads and it was only a strictly business relationship b/w them as I kinda shipped the 2nd ml with Fl. :)
Overall a good pick me up drama !
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Took me by surprise.
It is my first drama with the main lead as Namkoong Min and he nailed it. The acting is superb, at best. I personally like his character. How he deals with everybody and his negotiation skills hooked me till the last episode.The drama is promising to watch with the theme of 'How to manage a professional baseball team which is lagging in every aspect'. YES, you will get disappointed because there are no hard-core baseball matches to watch. The story is deeply focused on the management side. If you are interested in this you can go for it.
you can watch this free on youtube as well on the SBS channel.
Well, I am not disappointed but yeah it does take me by surprise.
NO, rewatch from my side but I will explore more K dramas by Namkoong Min.
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