Liga do Fogão (2019)

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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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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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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sebelumnya, udah sering banget ripiyu berseliweran yang bilang kalau drama ini seru. ternyata emang seseru itu! aslik.

berbeda dengan racket boys (iya, w nonton racket boys duluan ehe), yang lebih menunjukkan pov dari para pemain, hot stove league lebih menunjukkan bagaimana manajemen sebuah klub olahraga profesional bekerja. dan siapa sangka, ternyata kisah yang disajikan bisa sangat menarik. bener-bener bikin yang nonton tuh engga mau berhenti nonton, karena pacenya yang cepet tapi pas karena penulisan yang apik--pinter bikin penonton penasaran.

masalah acting, jangan ditanya lagi. drama ini punya empat pemain utama yang diperankan oleh aktor/aktris tersohor (w sendiri naksir berat sama kemampuan actingnya Oh Jung Se). ditambah pemeran pendukung yang wajahnya sudah pasti engga asing buat para penggemar drama korea. di episode terakhir juga penonton dikejutkan dengan kehadiran sosok Lee Je Hoon sebagai guest role yang tampannya engga pernah ilang.

tapi endingnya--oke sih, tapi KUMAHA ATUH IH KEPO ABIS SAMA KELANJUTAN LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP PAK BAEK SAMA PAK KWON.

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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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