I had heard a lot of good things about this one. It's true — you don't have to know anything about baseball to enjoy it. In fact, there's probably about ten minutes of baseball actually being played.

It's more about the relationships between coworkers and family, about the tension of corporate politics, about your balancing your dreams and being realistic, and about the characters who have to work together to actually put the teams together despite lack of support, funding, and everything else. In that sense, Hot Stove League really is an underdog story. This is one of those dramas where it's a string of mini arcs, one after the other, but it always feels very cohesive. The core group really grows on you, too.

I think the male lead is also one of the most interesting personalities I've seen in a kdrama. He's a little awkward and aloof but it makes for really interesting ways to resolve situations and really unusual character dynamics. Min Namkoong plays the character really well, from the subtle micro-expressions to the really heavy emotional scenes.

There are some plots that are a little jumpy here and there, and I also wish we had more closure for different characters in the last episode. There are so many arcs that I just wish got a little "epilogue" moment, even if we just montaged through it. Overall, though, this show was really worth the watch.