The Montgomery Biscuits, a Double A minor-league team under the U.S. Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Devil Rays, for the second straight year has had players wear uniforms inscribed with the word "kimchi" in Hangeul.
The squad's players on April 29 played a game wearing an orange uniform with "kimchi" written in the front.
The front of the uniform had "Montgomery" written in English and "kimchi" in big Hangeul letters. The back had a player's number along with an image of a cabbage seasoned with red pepper.
The team is based in Montgomery, the state capital of Alabama. Since Hyundai Motor in 2005 completed construction of its first factory in the U.S., auto component makers have also entered the region and drawn a larger number of ethnic Koreans.
The Biscuits lost, 9-4, to the Mississippi Braves.
In July 2020, when the team first wore such uniforms in a game, the Biscuits beat the Biloxi Shuckers, 9-8.
Montgomery will wear the uniform again in a game on July 8.
The players wearing the uniform in a game is part of "Korean Heritage Night," an event jointly hosted by the team and the non-profit organization Alabama Korea Education and Economic Partner.
The Biscuits said the uniforms will be sold off at an auction after the games and the proceeds will go to the non-profit group.
On its website, Montgomery said the uniforms are a good opportunity for people to access a new food culture and that kimchi is an indispensable food in Korea just as biscuits are in the southern U.S.
Biscuits General Manager Michael Murphy on May 1 said that given the success of Korean Heritage Night last year, the team will keep promoting Korean culture this year.
