Liga do Fogão (2019)

An engaging plot (twist) driven drama

Plot twists and cliffhangers are front and center of Hot Stove League (Stove League). Sherlock-esque, the Main Lead (Baek Seung Soo) solves each turn, mostly on his own, with the big reveal happening after the resolution. Just through pure storytelling, the drama delivers quite an emotional punch, which is surprising given its subdued character development. Do not let Stove League go under your radar with its compelling and heartwarming message.

Story:
The realism and relatability of the niche topic of off-season baseball highlights the main strength of Stove League. No challenge seems ridiculous, though some resolutions are a tiny bit far fetched. There is a real feeling of distress with each downturn and a huge sigh of relief with each problem solved. It makes the drama easy to look forward to on a weekly basis.

The only drawback is that so much time is spent on presenting and solving each issue, which leaves little time for other types of character development. Sherlock is Sherlock in each mystery, and Baek Seung Soo remains true to his style throughout the show. The lack of character growth is worse for the female lead, Lee Se Young, who mostly gets dragged through BSS’s antics. Luckily, the “main” side character of each plot arc gets significant development in comparison. This is doubly true for the antagonist, Kwon Kyung Min.

Acting:
Tight storytelling makes it easier for the actors to play their role while weak character developments hurts their ability to shine. Baek Seung Soo’s past frequently appears on screen, and the actor Nam Goong-Min admirably plays his past-self well in contrast to his present character. Unfortunately, Park Eun-Bin’s character does not get enough opportunities to perform. Even supporting characters get more character development as their arcs are completed over the course of 1-3 episodes. In that sense, the supporting cast did a great job of acting given their window to shine. Oh Jung-Se especially left a good impression by the conclusion of the drama.

Music:
At first, the music of Stove League seems bland, but it grows on viewers with each re-listen. The musical cast leans more on Korean rock than kpop or kballad. The change is refreshing. It somehow blends effortlessly with the plot and premise of the Stove League, akin to the fight songs or victory songs of real-life sports teams.

Rewatch Value:
Stove League, as mentioned, is a solid watch, especially as it aired, but it does lose much of its shine when the outcomes are known. On the other hand, the feel good nature of the overall message cannot be overstated. So, I will recommend another hardworking drama, Chief Kim, which shares the same male lead and a similar character vibe (i.e. talented and misunderstood) as I fondly remember Hot Stove League.

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Namkoong Min finally won his Daesang with this drama!!!

"You’ve already dreamed of so many things and are fighting to protect them. It just so happened that I became one dream that fell off. Please don’t lose the others trying to pick me back up. You won’t be able to protect all of your dreams. You can’t break down like this every time. Thank you for letting me have my own dreams even for a little while."

This drama goes in my list of life dramas one must watch. I was expecting a sports drama so I was apprehensive when I started watching it but it's actually about the management of a baseball team. I thought it would be boring and that I will eventually drop it but the script is well written which kept me hooked. The story is gripping and heartwarming and uplifting and there were a lot of times I found myself crying (crying is cathartic for me lol). On top of the script, the cast are all great at acting... there were no acting holes. I highly recommend this drama!

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lovin this drama a little bit too much :)

i love this drama a lot and probably one of my favs so far. idk lots bout baseball, but the storyline keeps me going, curious and want more. why? cause it's not entirely about the sport and its mechanism. it depicts the people behind it, the story of the athletes and their concerns. i love each characters so much, they are amazing especially the male lead. the way I understand him (and all characters), their decisions and actions is just woww lahv even the character that I hate at first, i understand them a lot later on. and the way they work hard makes me want to work hard as well. I cried a lot, unexpectedly. most of them are proud and happy tears, kinda taste of victory :') i love this drama so much and enjoyed every bit of it. do watch it!!

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A bit farfetched in places, Namkoong Min saves the day

The Hot Stove is a K Drama about the offseason of the fictional Dreams baseball team, the worst team in the league. Baek Seong-Soo, a sport executive who never played baseball, is brought in as the team's general manager after another failed season. However, Kwong Kyeong-min (Oh Jung-se`), the team's president brought Baek in with the purpose of shutting down the Dreams because it is unprofitable for the Jaesong group.

The story: One of the nice things about the show is it explains some of the jargon associated with baseball which helps non-baseball fans understand what's going on. What I found far-fetched was that the star player Lim Dong-gyu hired thugs to beat up Baek and also vandalised his car when Lim heard he was being traded. I realise you need dramatic licence in shows, but this made no sense. Baek's family subplot was a bit disjointed and appeared to have been thrown in for dramatic sake. It is not clear until we learn of his baby's death that the woman was his wife. there is not explanation about why Baek's wife left him. Was it because of the death of their child? Was it because he was a workaholic? That isn't clear. It's unclear how his brother became paralysed from sliding into third base. At times it appeared that there were too many characters and the writers would lose sight of some and then bring them back randomly. Two glaring examples were Gil Chang Joo/Robert Gil and Go Se-hyeok the chief scout who got fired. Chang's character was central in the middle episodes but got relegated without much explanation. After Go tried to get his revenge, he was written out without fanfare considering he was a significant enough antagonist in the storyline.

Overall: As a baseball fan, I enjoyed the show. It was interesting to see how the team used traditional recruitment methods with more modern sabremetic methods. Namkoong Min continues to excel as an actor. The way in which he plays Baek was very nuanced and deliberate.

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Perseverance is the secret of all triumphs. Nam as usual overwhelmed with his perseverance but mainly with his ability to see and understand that nothing replaces one’s persistence. One can be talented, a genius, educated, even rich but none of that matters without believing. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

And we saw time and time again Nam stay persistent and determined not only to make the Dreams into a winning team but one that valued the person standing next to them as there is no “I” in “team”. I struggled to understand PF's analogy in not taking Nam on as the general manager (if you haven't watched this drama you will understand what I mean once you do) but took it for what it was – a negotiating compromise to a winning situation – a happy home for the Dreams. It was good to see the CEO despite their (his and Nam's) differences finally have the courage to stand up to his uncle and realize he is nothing without his ideals and in the process gained a friend. Love that the episode was light and fun mingled with a bit of sadness but goodbyes are always sad.

I loved this show, the writer, director, cast, Kang Du Ki (my hero) and Nam, always Nam for showing us week in and week out that patience and insistence have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish. That’s what dreams are made of, persistence and determination. With that in mind, I resolve to keep my dream of a season 2 alive, the ending surely left it open to interpretation.

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Os Bastidores de Um Time Profissional Que Você Não Pode Perder!

Apesar de não praticar nenhum esporte e não entender nada da maioria deles eu sempre tive uma quedinha por filmes de esportes desde criança. Gosto da disciplina e força de vontade que os esportes exigem, principalmente nos esportes coletivos como basquete, futebol, rugby, beisebol...

Talvez este drama possa não agradar ao público mais jovem mas se você gosta de um drama maduro, com um enredo envolvente, personagens interessantes e um ritmo consistente Stove League NÃO pode passar despercebido do seu radar, você precisa incluí-lo em sua lista e se deliciar com esta pérola de K-drama.

O que torna este drama tão peculiar é o seu foco, o ponto central não são os treinos e o jogo em si. A base de tudo aqui é a parte administrativa por trás do time, as questões políticas, aquele mecanismo escondido que poucas pessoas se ligam que existe. Afinal, por se tratar de um time profissional de beisebol isto também é um negócio. Achei genial este enfoque.
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Stove League conseguiu manter meu nível de interesse do começo ao fim sem me cansar, o enredo se desenrola de forma empolgante e os episódios são muito envolventes.

Sem fazer esforço para me conectar com a história eu já me encontrava ansiosa pelo próximo episódio e muito curiosa para saber qual seria o próximo passo deste novo gerente muito charmoso - que agora tem um espaço em meu coração. A maneira como ele trabalha é extraordinária, dedicado, inteligente e com um objetivo claro em alcançar suas metas foi super fácil gostar de seu personagem.
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Interessante como todos os personagens foram importantes para a trama, não teve nenhum personagem que estava ali só para preencher um espaço vazio, todos contribuíram para que a história se desenvolvesse bem. As atuações foram ótimas e a fotografia agradável de assistir.

Resumindo:
Não sei quanto a vocês, mas eu sinto saudades de alguns dramas...sinto saudade de acompanhar o desenvolvimento da história, o desenrolar dos relacionamentos e também de alguns personagens. Este K-drama com toda certeza é um desses, já me encontro com saudades desta equipe e do gerente encantador. Super apoio uma possível segunda temporada!

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Esse foi um drama que estava ansiosa para assistir desde li a sinopse e vi as primeiras notícias sobre ele aqui na VD, mas como estava vendo uma quantidade imensa de dramas ao mesmo tempo em Dezembro, preferi deixar para ele para depois e acho que foi uma ótima escolha de timing, porque ele me salvou de uma imensa maré de azar.

Alguém deve ter me visto comentar por ai, que Janeiro foi um mês muito complicado na minha vida doramática. Parecia que nunca ia conseguir encontrar um drama que me agradasse para assistir, e olha que tentei muitos que estavam na minha listinha, mas infelizmente não conseguia "sobreviver" aos primeiros episódios deles por nº motivos.

No entanto, quando estava prestes a desistir dessa complicada procura, Stove League apareceu mais uma vez na minha frente e devo dizer que foi uma grata surpresa.

Me apaixonei desde o primeiro episódio e quando me dei conta, já tinha assistido todos os episódios lançados até aquele momento e entrei naquele clubinho dos que esperam ansiosamente a legenda sair.

Portanto, vou terminar essa introdução agradecendo imensamente por esse drama existir kkk.

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UMA CONVERSA SOBRE O DESENROLAR


Um drama já começa bem pra mim quando: além de achar a história muito interessante e os personagens muito legais, mal consigo esperar para ver o que irá acontecer a seguir.

Por isso, em termos de ritmo essa história se manteve muito boa durante todos os episódios, sem cair na mesmice ou reduzir meu interesse no meio do caminho.

E olha que isso tem se tornado cada vez mais raro de acontecer comigo, já perdi as contas que quantos dramas começaram bem e depois acabaram perdendo o sentido, reduzindo assim o meu interesse de continuar drasticamente, embora o abandono ainda seja raro no meu vocabulário.

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A TEMÁTICA


A temática de esportes sempre foi uma das minhas queridinhas, mas embora eu já tenha assistido muitos filmes desse gênero, não encontrei muitos dramas que tivessem esse foco específico, o que é uma pena!

Tem algo nos esportes que me cativa, talvez seja essa mensagem de superação pessoal que eles conseguem transmitir, algo que você alcança não só com talento, mas com muito esforço e dedicação contínuos.

E embora esse drama não tenha nos entregado muitas cenas do time de basebol jogando, conseguiu passar muito bem essa mensagem, através de todo o esforço que a equipe técnica teve para conseguir melhorar o time e resgatar sua péssima reputação com os fãs.

Esse era o principal foco do drama, e foi sem dúvidas muito interessante ver as coisas que acontecem "por trás das câmeras" em um time de basebol, os detalhes técnicos e como toda a equipe se esforçava para transformar o Dreams em algo melhor.

Sobre o enredo e o roteiro preciso dizer que a história foi muito bem contada, não existiram eventos sem sentido ou jogados por ai, e nada foi deixado de lado sem explicação. Os personagens em geral foram muito bem desenvolvidos e ganharam o destaque que mereciam. Tive a sensação de que mesmo os personagens de apoio tinham um motivo de estar ali.

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AQUELES QUE ME ENCANTARAM

Antes de falar do protagonista, quero falar sobre esses dois maravilhosos personagens que me encantaram: a Lee Se-Yeong e o Han Jae-Hu.

A personagem: Lee Se-Yeong é a líder de equipe de operações do Dreams, ela é a primeira mulher a liderar uma equipe de operações de beisebol profissional.

Ela é exatamente o tipo de personagem feminina que mais gosto de ver, isto é, uma mulher com uma personalidade muito forte e determinada que demostra a todo momento como ama sua profissão.

Gostei muito de ver como ela sabia lidar muito bem: com o temperamento frio do protagonista, com jogadores e o restante da equipe também.

Já o Han Jae-Hu é aquele menino fofíssimo que te faz amar desde o primeiro momento. Tem toda uma controvérsia por trás de sua contratação para a equipe de operações do time, por causa daquela velha história de conexões, mas o mais interessante de tudo isso é ver que ele soube contornar muito bem o preconceito inicial que a equipe tinha sobre ele.

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A ESTRELA DESSA FESTA

Preciso dizer que as atuações dos atores nesse drama estavam muito boas, não tenho do que reclamar. É "chover no molhado" dizer que o Namgung Min atuou muito bem em Stove League!

Afinal, esse monumento de homem sempre consegue a proeza de me fazer gostar de sua atuação e ficar cada vez mais apaixonada por ele mesmo que eu não goste do dorama em si. Por isso mesmo que ele está lá naquele meu rol de oppas que tem um lugar especial no meu coração de fã.

Voltando ao assunto, o protagonista Baek Seung-Soo foi um show a parte nesse Kdrama, eu amava seu jeito meio cínico e antissocial no trabalho, sua personalidade responsável e ao mesmo tempo super protetora com as pessoas que ele gosta, sua garra e determinação para transformar o time em algo melhor, e como ele mesmo diz: "faço o que for preciso, mas nunca venderei minha alma".

Além de ter toda uma filosofia sobre: "não trabalho com humanistas".

É sempre muito bom ver alguém com coragem o suficiente para pegar um time que está na lanterna do campeonato com o objetivo de transformá-lo em um time campeão e é justamente essa a proposta inicial do nosso querido protagonista.

Logo nos primeiros episódios, já conseguimos ver como ele demostra sua competência para com o Dreams, mesmo que não o basebol esteja fora de sua zona de conforto. Isso mesmo, ele foi contratado como gerente geral de um time de basebol, mesmo sem saber de todos os intermináveis detalhes técnicos sobre o esporte.

Mas, ficou evidente que sem dúvidas ele tinha muita experiência com o cargo de gerente-geral, pois que todos os times que pegou para gerenciar se tornaram campeões.

Seu currículo era muito diversificado, já que antes de trabalhar com basebol ele gerenciou esportes totalmente diferentes como: handebol, hoquei no gelo, luta profissional coreana.

E é nesse ponto que eu gostaria de chegar: fiquei muito curiosa e intrigada sobre o passado do protagonista, já que desde a sua apresentação, sabemos que ele conseguiu transformar times fracassados em campeões em pouco tempo.

No entanto, por algum motivo que desconhecemos, logo depois todas as equipes que ele trabalhou eram dissolvidas, mas não vou contar o motivo para não soltar spoilers aqui.

A postura inicial dele foi totalmente diferente do que as pessoas esperavam. Ele já chegou fazendo todo tipo de mudança no time, trocando jogadores, expondo pessoas corruptas e demitindo funcionários incompetentes.

Além disso, preciso dizer que todos os embates que ele tinha com a equipe e com Kwon Kyung-Min, me deixavam estranhamente animada e empolgada e por quê?

A razão desse sentimento é que não eram discussões sem motivo, ele se mostrava sempre tão inteligente e nunca modificava nada sem uma razão específica.

Se eu pudesse resumir tudo isso em uma frase certamente diria que: Era como se ele estivesse jogando uma partida de xadrez, onde cada alteração no sistema do Dreams era o movimento de uma peça específica.

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O INIMIGO AO SEU LADO

Vou aproveitar que citei o diretor executivo do Dreams ,Kwon Kyung-Min, no tópico anterior para falar sobre ele aqui.

Tenho que dizer que ele era aquele tipo de personagem que me fazia sentir uma vontade incontrolável de bater nele.

Demorei um bom tempo para conseguir entender o que estava por trás das ações desse indivíduo, já que embora ele tenha contratado o Baek Seung-Soo para tornar o Dreams um time campeão todas as suas atitudes sempre iam na contramão disso.

A medida que a história avançava, comecei a pensar que ele era como: "um inimigo que morava ao lado", já que parecia que ele nunca gostou de basebol e que seu único objetivo de vida era: implodir o time, até que não restasse mais nada kkk?

É evidente que no final da história descobri o porquê de tudo isso e naquele momento percebi que na verdade, ele não passava de um pobre coitado que se sentia acoado e vulnerável diante de seu rico e inescrupuloso avó: Chairman Kwon Il-Do. Mas vocês descobrirão tudo isso assistindo, não vou me aprofundar nesse ponto...

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FINALIZAÇÃO
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Para finalizar preciso dizer que gostei muito do final da história e que esse foi um drama que me deu uma imensa dor no coração por ter terminado, é um daqueles dramas para ser apreciado e por isso mereceu toda a panfletagem que fiz nessa resenha.E ai ta esperando o que para ver essa maravilha de Kdrama? Assiste lá, depois volta aqui para me contar como foi sua experiência doramática.

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"Hot Stove League: A Home Run of Behind-the-Scenes Drama and Compelling Characters"

I've got to say, it was pretty awesome. It's not your typical K-drama with romance and all that stuff. This one's all about baseball, but don't worry if you're not a sports fan - I'm not either, and I still loved it!
What I really liked about "Hot Stove League" is how it shows all the behind-the-scenes drama and politics in professional sports. It's not just about what happens on the field - there's so much going on with player trades, budget issues, and team dynamics. It was eye-opening to see how much work goes into running a sports team.
I think what really hooked me was how the show manages to make things like budget meetings and contract negotiations actually exciting. There's always some kind of challenge or problem to solve, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering how they're going to fix it. I wished to see more actual games..

The cast is great too. Namkoong Min plays Seung-soo, and he's just perfect as this stoic, strategic guy who's always three steps ahead of everyone else. And Park Eun-bin as the operations manager? She's fantastic! Their chemistry is spot-on, but in a professional way - no forced romance here.
one of the best things about "Hot Stove League" is how well every character is developed. It's not just about the main leads; even the supporting characters have their moments to shine. Each person in the Dreams organization, from the players to the staff, feels like a real individual with their own story and motivations. The show does a great job of making you care about all of them
And speaking of characters, let me rave about Namkoong Min for a second. His portrayal of Baek Seung-soo is just incredible. Seung-soo is this complex character - he's brilliant and determined, but also kind of prickly and hard to read at first. Namkoong Min nails it perfectly. He's got this subtle way of showing Seung-soo's emotions without saying much, just through his expressions and body language .You know how some people have a great poker face? Well, Seung-soo takes it to a whole new level. Namkoong Min gives him this almost comically stoic expression that's somehow both hilarious and completely in character. It's like he's perfected the art of the blank stare.

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What a ride

Rating this gave me a hard time. That's probably because I didn't see as many baseball scenes in this drama as I'd wished for. I do get that it's more about the people's growth and how things might work in that industry. But seeing some more games to let me root for the players I've grown to like so much would have been nice.

Nonetheless, it was still a great drama with an awesome cast and plot. You can somewhat guess, where the story is going after watching the first episodes. A sports team, that loses all the time. Of course there must be some heavy problems, right? Baek Seung Soo (NGM) starts to root out the foul branches one by one. He persuades you that it can really work and you start to cheer for the team to get up again. But well, it's a drama afterall, so don't fool yourself. There are the higher ups who don't want him to succeed, no matter what. And so additional obstacles are spread just when you think everything runs fine.

Nam Goong Min is without doubt a terrifying actor. I always prefer the silent roles because they show the actors' real capability. Baek Seung Soo (NGM) was one kind of a silent character. He seems apathetic, not caring much but still determined to achieve his goal. By no means is he cold though. He has that little brother he's living with who is tied to a wheelchair, and you can see that Baek Seung Soo does care for his family. He's also smart, perceptive and cunning. I've only seen a few other characters who were as calculative as him and I'm happy that the writing and NGM's acting convinced me of these traits through and through. For example, whenever his character came up with his next move, he was of course faced with anger and a strong headwind. But he fought his battles with calmness and evidence based reasoning.

He takes most blows without complaint, instead he works on other ways to still get the results he needs. But when he's really, really pissed (or cornered or just overwhelmed), his nonchalant demeanor breaks for like two seconds and you discover his well hidden emotions. It might be glimpses, but NGM gives them a deep impact. It almost scares you how much he can bottle up and then release.

In the early episodes it seems as if he's just doing a job. Well, that might be true. But as time goes by, he realizes that there are other people, who are as determined as he is, and in a subtle way, he unintentionally creates bonds without knowing it. I kinda suspected from the beginning how his character would be wrapped up work-wise. Even though I might not have suspected anything at all about his growth as a person, something was expected nevertheless. Otherwise the drama would have failed its purpose.

The rest of the cast did good jobs themselves, they supported the leads very well. There was always enough back story to make their characters three-dimensional without giving too much side info. It was enough to either reassure you, so you can name your league of good people, or deceive you, to make surprising twists possible.

The alleged villain... Oh, well. You start from liking him to disliking to hating to... Let's say he's a difficult one. Of course, it gets explained why he's doing what he's doing. You just wish for him to break that damn cage, he's gotten himself into. He definitely grew as a person ultimately, but he still has a long road ahead.

What I found hard at times was to follow the technical jargon. I like baseball but I'm not an expert. While it makes sense for them to talk like that when they are surrounded by their people, it would have been nice if they had somehow made their evaluations more comprehensible. I want to cheer them on so badly, but how can I do that, when I only understand half of it.

The few baseball scenes were like honey. Even though there weren't that many, they did those really well and managed to show off a bit. I enjoyed them so much because they were a nice change of scenery (and I'm always in for a nice game).

Conclusion:
An overall powerful drama about a lone 'ranger', who stands tall, no matter what, who meets a defective baseball team that's in a real mess but opposes the unusual methods of their new general manager. Both sides surprise you in unexpected ways and will sweep you away with a new found team spirit.

So, don't miss out on this one ;)

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A CLASS ABOVE!!

I have recently gotten into watching sports dramas, and I have been enjoying them quite a bit, but this is by far the best one I've seen yet. This show dives deep into the politics and administration of sports and not only the sport itself, and it does so in a meticulous way. The character development and the plot in this show is insane!
This show is different compared to most of the K-dramas I have watched and this makes me appreciate K-drama even more. This show didn't rely on any unnecessary romantic plots and the usual K-drama clichés which can get somewhat tiring at times. This show rides solely on the story, the characters, the cast and acting, and the overall experience. This is a 100% recommended to everyone, sport fans, and not sport fans alike. This is a story anyone can understand without really having a good understanding of baseball.
(IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING ROMATIC AND CHEESY THIS ISN'T FOR YOU)

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