Hot Stove League (2019)

best sports kdrama so far

idk why i'm late t watch naurrr I thought i wouldn't like this drama but i'm WRONG..no wonder this drama won at baeksang award!!! i love how this drama isn't too focused on the sports but rather have many aspects such as friendship and teamwork between the Dream's player and also staffs. we can also see how realistic it is when it comes to a hardship and problems that occured in the baseball team. plus i just love how savage Mr. Baek are to everyone that dislike him lol

i absolutely love the script. it gaves a lot of lesson and advices. the character?? TOTALLY LOVE IT!! there were some funny scene that made the story more interesting. the acting are realistic and wasn't forced which is another reason to finish the drama. i can say that hot stove league neither a drama that too heavy or too light which is likeable.

i love the friendship between Mrs. Lee and Mr. Baek.. how she always believe in what he did and i think that's beautiful TT PLUS THE MAIN OST IS SOOOOOOO GOOD!!!! I JUST LOVE THE LAST SCENE WHERE DREAM'S TEAM WALKING OUT AND THEN THE OST PLAYED IT SUITED THE SCENE SO WELL BUT ITS ALSO SAD I WANNA CRY ;( AHHHH I MISS THIS TEAM ALREADY WE WANT S2

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Never been in baseball

Many of people said that it was really good kdrama, i did not interest at all until i found out that nam goong min was one of the actor. i tried to watch first eps but just have 6/10 of it. then after eps 2 and where the conflict started is so good. I don't have knowledge at all about baseball, strategic or etc. But once i see this. i feel that i'm the part if drama that think how to maintain the club to have good step. If you seeking simple drama, this not for you. This quite complex but the chemistry is good between the role. (even there no romance in it more like family). But the story is so realistic even for the support role it has they job to have this k drama so good.

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As a non sport lover, I truly enjoyed this drama to the point that I marathoned it till 4 A.M.

Brilliant writing and acting. I love how every episode just makes me go wow and I couldn't help myself in clicking next.

Baek Seung Soo and his brother relationships really made me tear up. I feel pity for all the burdens he must have felt. Glad that finally they cleared up all of those misunderstandings.

The character developments of all the baseball players were so satisfying to follow too. This drama made me know that there's this kind of management behind sports club.

Totally deserve the award of 2020's Baeksang. Cmiiw

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More a sport-managing drama than a sports drama

And another drama that is hard to rate. I just finished it and I still feel conflicted. Nevertheless, I’m going to try to organize my thoughts and feelings about this drama.

What I liked:
- A packed storyline and natural feeling plot progression
- The Baseball scenes. I knew nothing about baseball. And honestly, I still don’t really do. But this drama evoked my interest in it and I might check it out more often. Before watching this drama, I had no thoughts whatsoever about baseball. Maybe only that it’s dull. Now I don’t think like that anymore. I actually appreciate the sport more and think it’s interesting. I do like sport dramas because they show passionate characters that push themselves to be better. I do like to see some rivalry and competitiveness. Sport dramas often have determined characters who you start to root for and it’s always satisfying to see them get better. I don’t really play sports but it’s something I respect and do love to see in dramas. Be it ssireum (Like flowers in sand), fencing (twenty-five twenty-one), Love all Play (Badminton) etc… You can find this passion in Hot Stove league as well. But it’s just that they focus on the characters behind the players and not the players themselves.
- No romance. I do love romance. And I do love romance as a side plot as well. But it’s a good move that there was no romance in this specific drama. The characters had no romantic chemistry at all. More like colleague chemistry
- The actors!!! If I correctly remember Namkoong Min even won important awards for this show and it’s more than deserved. This man can act. I liked him before but after My Dearest he became one of my favorite actors. It was nice to see him in an introverted and reserved role this time. The other actors and actresses did a very good job as well. I really like Park Eun Bin. I especially liked her in Do you like Brahms? And in Age of Youth. Of course, I’ve seen her in Extraordinary attorney woo as well. She was outstanding. But after Castaway diva, a drama that wasn’t my taste --- Wait I just realized that Park Eun Bin and Chae Jong Hyeop reunited in Castaway diva after being in Hot stove league together, now it feels a bit weird --- anyway Castaway diva wasn’t my taste and could unsee Woo Young Woo in her new role. That’s why it was nice to see her in a different role again.

What I wished for:
I normally write “what I disliked” but this time it’s a bit different. This drama is good. I’m going to give it a 8/10 which is in my rating system a “Great”. Following point are crucial as to why I can’t give it a higher score. A 9/9.5/10 rating would automatically belong into the “my favorites” category. The acting, the quality and writing of this drama is the reason why I can’t give a lower score than 8 but the next points are the reasons why it’s higher:
- Not enough baseball. I expected more baseball. Now I know what a stove league is and that it’s always off-season. But in my opinion this drama would have benefitted from more baseball scenes.
- I know that they fleshed out the characters. But I still couldn’t really connect to them that much. I did like the players and would have liked to see more from them. The ML was intriguing but seemed a bit unapproachable. But that seemed intentionally. That, what we could see of his private life was very heartwarming. It’s just that I don’t really connect to any of the side characters.
- The villain and disbandment parts were not very intriguing.

I don’t feel strongly about this drama, nevertheless because of the quality of acting and writing I think it deserves and 8/10 in my rating system. And it’s refreshing to see a slower drama without romance receiving a 8.7 rating.

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AN UNDERRATED GEM, A MASTERPIECE.

I went into this without expecting that I'll finish the show in just one day, literally. I absolutely know nothing about baseball and I'm def not into sports. But not even once I was confused about the story because of my lack of knowledge about the sport. So if that is what's keeping you from watching this show, then rest assured bcs it's far more than just baseball.

But this drama, wow. Solid writing from the first episode up until the last. Great storyline and brilliant acting. I believe there were no unnecessary scenes or fillers in the story. Each episode is like a piece of a puzzle that needs to be there in order to complete the whole puzzle.

This show is not your typical heartwarming sports drama/film where you see the worst team winning miraculously because of just one person. It's so much more. This show isn't actually about the sport (baseball), it's about the people. The people behind the sport, the management. It's a political and power-struggle drama. It is both a character and plot-driven show. It gives a deeper understanding of what goes on behind the scenes of a professional sports team. There is hardly any on-field action throughout the whole show which I was first worried about.

The cast did an amazing job of bringing the characters to life. Not just the main leads but all of the cast. They all have significance to the story and are well incorporated into the main plot. One thing I also enjoyed is the main villain's character. They had their fair share of character development. Which makes me love a character I hate at the beginning by the end of the show.

It was not a fast nor a slow-paced drama, it just flows naturally. without any boring scenes or episodes.

I honestly could watch another season of this show focusing on Mr. Baek and his next team. Though I'm attached ofc with the Dreams team but i can't help but be curious.

Now I understand why it won the 56th Baeksang Best Drama Awards 2020 for a reason, definitely deserved. It was not underrated in S.Korea but internationally it is and i wish many people would also watch it.

Overall, it was a great drama. An underrated masterpiece. I enjoyed every episode of it. It's been a while since I really fell inlove with a show. That's how much i love this show.

DREAMS! DREAMS! DREAMS!

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Love the Dreams

I have seen similar sports movies in India and Hollywood. But the acting in this takes the cream of the rest.

1st of Oh Jung Se what a versatile actor. I saw Ok not to be ok 1st and I thought wow what dedication to the role of Moong Tae obviously it is not easy to perform that role. Then I saw him here and he made me hate his character. Now that is acting just briliant. Looking forward to seeing more of hi is work

Nam haha I got hooked to the series because of his 1st episode what cool headedness. His dialogue delivery was just briliant everything felt like a punch line. The director used him briliant

Nam and Oh Jung complimented each other perfectly. It was like 2 sides of the same coin.

Park Eun was the filter between these 2 strong deliveries she was dedicated to the role and did a complete justice to her role. I have not seen any of her other works but definitely check.

All in all an excellent watch don't miss it out

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It is rare to have such a good storyline in dramas. The theme is sport, but the focus is made on how to deal with both the buisness/economical side of the team and the human side.
It' a very smart drama, the plot has enough consistency to be interesting, and the twists are very well thought but explained clearly and simply enough to keep the viewer in the loop.
You dont need to even remotly like or know about baseball to like this drama, because the point is not how players throw a ball but how to keep a team together.
It wasn't too slow and even though the story could have gotten repetitive, it didn't.
The acting was absolutely amazing, i also particulary like the leads who are, in evey drama i've seen them in, talented and versatile.
I loved how the "bad guy" wasn't the embodiement of evil like usual, but more a career-driven buisnessman with a childhood trauma which screwed up his sense of priorities and who had to think about money first 'cause that was his job.
A very human, entertaining and well played drama !

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Fast-paced political drama

I started watching Hot Stove League just last week from my friend's recommendation, largely because it just won Baeksang award of Best Drama in 2020. I was extremely impressed with My Mister, which won the very same award last year.
And I'm not disappointed! I went through all 16 episodes in just four days!

This is not a romantic comedy that follows standard K-Drama patterns, it is a fast-paced political struggles with convincing plots and people interactions. There were some characters' decisions that, at first, I didn't think they made sense, but was OK once their true intention revealed.

I particularly love Oh Jung Se acting. He could express his internal conflicts through his eyes and voice. I was also impressed with his acting in "It's OK to Not Be OK."

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Great Story, Acting, and Refreshing

I believe this drama deserves a higher rating on MDL, every episode left me wanting to watch more. Note that there is no romance in this drama; I found that quite refreshing. The story was really well done, there were a lot of twists and turns. There were no characters that were frustrating, except for the antagonist, but in kdramas what antagonist isn't frustrating? There wasn't any unnecessary dragging, everything was pretty realistic to me, a person who knows absolotely nothing about baseball. Overall, I gave this drama a 10, but the rewatch score being low. I don't think this is a show you can rewatch. It isn't a light-hearted show that one usually would watch.

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Top tier sports-politics

99.9% politics, 0.1% gameplay. I expected a sports, gameplay driven drama but it's mostly political. This may sound discouraging but it's actually the strongest part of the show. It's engaging, very well written masterpiece.

You will feel like part of the stove league post season improvement throughout the show. Every episode tackles all the problems (the reasons they keep losing every year) and important part that leads to the overall improvement of the team, not just the baseball team but most especially the internal people that make up the whole dream team. It's something that you will cherish as you near the end.

It's so refreshing to see a show that let us see what happens internally in a sports team. What can I say? it's certainly chaotic!

Nam Goongmin is an excellent actor. His role as the General Manager was very convincing. Everyone did their part harmoniously.

This is an excellently well-written drama that even for people who don't usually like sports (like me) will surely enjoy.

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