Slugger ruled out for 3 months with gruesome foot injury

SK Wyverns' slugger Han Dong-min has been ruled out for three months with a torn ligament in his left foot, a gruesome injury that has cut short his breakthrough Korea Baseball Organization season.Han suffered the injury when he stole second base against the NC Dinos at Incheon SK Happy Dream Park in Incheon on Tuesday. He slid feet first into the bag, and his left foot was bent awkwardly underneath.An initial MRI showed a torn ligament, and a second round of tests on Wednesday revealed the same

BaseballAug. 9, 2017

Chinese table tennis coach for Korea says women's team lacks ace

Zhong Jinyong, former Chinese national table tennis coach recently named to the South Korean women's coaching staff, said Wednesday he'll try to develop an ace for his new team.Zhong was appointed the South Korean women's national table tennis team coach last month by the Korea Table Tennis Association. He will coach the players through the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta alongside head coach An Jae-hyung.Zhong is the first Chinese to work with the South Korean women's team since 1998.Zhong said Sou

More SportsAug. 9, 2017

Doosan Bears roaring up KBO standings in 2nd half

Don't look now. Here come the Bears.After months of mediocre play, the Doosan Bears are on the prowl for their third straight Korea Baseball Organization title, as they continue to roar up the standings in the second half of the season.On Tuesday, they extended their winning streak to a season-high eight games with an 8-1 victory over the Hanwha Eagles at Jamsil Stadium in the nation's capital. The win pushed their second-half record to 16-2-1 (wins-losses-ties).The Bears, which entered last mon

BaseballAug. 9, 2017

Returning PGA golfer says military has made him stronger

Ahead of his discharge from the South Korean military, PGA Tour golfer Bae Sang-moon said Tuesday his time in the armed forces has made him stronger physically and mentally.The two-time PGA Tour winner will complete his mandatory service on Aug. 16. His agency, All That Sports, announced last week that Bae's first event will be the Shinhan Donghae Open on the Korean Tour starting on Sept. 14.In a statement released Tuesday by All That Sports, Bae said he is coming back to competitive golf a toug

GolfAug. 9, 2017

Taste of LPGA major victory has Park Sung-hyun hungry for more

INCHEON -- Now that she has enjoyed the sweet taste of an LPGA major victory, South Korean rookie sensation Park Sung-hyun wants more of the same.Park returned home for the first time on Tuesday since winning the U.S. Women's Open on July 16 at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. At 11-under 277, Park edged out South Korean amateur Choi Hye-jin by two strokes for her first LPGA title and also her first major championship.Park, who'd starred on the Korea LPGA Tour before moving to

GolfAug. 8, 2017

Korean sprinter Kim Kuk-young laments his worlds performance

South Korean sprinter Kim Kuk-young on Monday lamented his performance in the 100-meter semifinals at the ongoing world championships, saying he should have at least run faster than the two Asian competitors in the same heat.Kim became the first South Korean to ever reach the 100m semifinals at the International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships in London last Friday (local time) with a time of 10.25 seconds. He, however, finished last among eight runners in his semifinal

More SportsAug. 8, 2017

Pittsburgh Pirates planning for a future without Kang Jung-ho

Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said in an interview Sunday that the team is preparing for a possible future without troubled infielder Kang Jung-ho, who has spent the entirety of the 2017 season unable to enter the US after his visa was rescinded due to an off-season drunk driving incident.Huntington described Kang’s situation as “an unfortunate reality,” and renewed the team’s commitment to work with Kang and try to get him back on the field.But Huntington added, “We do need

BaseballAug. 7, 2017

Ryu Hyun-jin near-perfect in 7 scoreless, Dodgers win 4th straight

Ryu Hyun-jin continued stating his case for a rotation spot, spinning seven shutout innings in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 8-0 win over the New York Mets on Sunday. Ryu was nearly perfect in his seven innings of work, striking out eight Mets, including the first four batters he faced. He allowed only one hit, a third-inning Travis d’Arnaud single, and did not issue a walk. He won his first decision since June 17, bringing him to 4-6, while lowering his earned run average to 3.53. Los Angeles Dodger

BaseballAug. 7, 2017

NC Dinos turn game-ending triple play, fifth in KBO history

The NC Dinos won 4-1 against the Samsung Lions on Sunday in a game that was unremarkable except for one aspect – it ended with a triple play. The occurrence of a single triple play is rare enough; only 68 triple plays have been turned in the Korean Baseball Organization’s 37-year existence. But a game-ending triple play is even rarer; Sunday’s game was only the fifth such occurrence.A triple play most commonly occurs in one of two circumstances: either a sharp ground ball hit to the third basema

BaseballAug. 7, 2017

Nexen’s Choice hits first KBO homer, but Lotte wins 5-4 in 10

Nexen Heroes right fielder Michael Choice hit a game-tying two-run home run in the eighth inning of Nexen’s Saturday game against the Lotte Giants, but Nexen ultimately fell in extra innings, 5-4. The home run was Choice’s first since joining the Korean Baseball Organization in late July.In addition to his home run, Choice singled twice to go 3-for-5, his second multi-hit game in the KBO. Including the results of Sunday’s game, Choice has appeared in 8 games for Nexen, and is currently batting .

BaseballAug. 7, 2017

The Kia Tigers‘ bizarre weekend struggles

The Kia Tigers are doing a lot of things right. At 65-35-1, they are in first place in the Korean Baseball Organization, with a comfortable five-and-a-half game lead over second-place NC Dinos. As a team, they are cumulatively hitting .305/.375/.480, and are first or second among teams in the KBO in virtually every offensive category. Statistics retrieved from STATIZ.But the emphasis on offensive firepower has not come at the expense of pitching. While Kia’s hurlers are not dominating the league

BaseballAug. 7, 2017

Ex-MLB pitcher out for season in Korea with hand injury

Ex-big league pitcher Anthony Ranaudo has been ruled out for the rest of the South Korean season with a hand injury, his team said Saturday.The Samsung Lions in the Korea Baseball Organization said the American right-hander underwent surgery to repair a broken right hand in New York on Thursday.Ranaudo took a batted ball to his right hand against the NC Dinos on July 27, and was diagnosed with a broken bone in the pitching hand. He left for the United States last Sunday. In this file photo taken

BaseballAug. 7, 2017

Korean golfer exorcises demons to win 1st LPGA major

With her first LPGA major title at the Ricoh Women's British Open, South Korean golfer Kim In-kyung successfully exorcised the demons that had nagged at her for years.Until her two-shot victory at Kingsbarns Golf Links in Fife, Scotland, on Sunday (local time), Kim's career had largely been defined by the one stunning moment of failure, rather than her six LPGA victories. In this Associated Press photo, Kim In-kyung of South Korea celebrates with the champion's trophy after winning the Ricoh Wom

GolfAug. 7, 2017

[Newsmaker] Korean Kim In-kyung wins Ricoh Women's British Open

South Korean Kim In-kyung has captured her first LPGA major title in Scotland.Kim held off Jodi Ewart Shadoff of England to win the Ricoh Women's British Open by two strokes at Fife, Scotland, on Sunday, after carding a one-under 71 at the par-72 Kingsbarns Golf Links. Kim finished at 18-under 270, one shy of the tournament record in relation to par.Kim, world No. 21, now has seven career LPGA victories and is the first three-time winner on the tour this year. The 29-year-old is the fifth South

GolfAug. 7, 2017

Korean Kim In-kyung on verge of 1st LPGA major

South Korean Kim In-kyung is on the verge of capturing her first LPGA major in Scotland.Kim opened a six-stroke lead at the Ricoh Women's British Open at Fife, Scotland, on Saturday (local time), after a third round of six-under 66 at Kingsbarns Golf Links.The bogey-free round puts Kim in the driver's seat for her maiden LPGA major. Moriya Jutanugarn of Thailand and Georgia Hall of England are tied for second at 11-under, followed by former British Open champ from South Korea, Park In-bee, at 10

GolfAug. 6, 2017

Korean sprinter Kim Kuk-young crashes out of 100m semis at worlds

South Korean sprinter Kim Kuk-young has crashed out of the men's 100-meter semifinals at the ongoing world championships.Kim finished 23 among 24 semifinalists with a time of 10.40 seconds at the International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships in London on Saturday (local time). Only the top eight made it to the final. It was Kim's worst 100m time of the season.Kim was the first South Korean to ever reach the world championships semifinals in the 100m. On Friday, he clocke

More SportsAug. 6, 2017

Young hurler shrugs off workload concerns

Perhaps the only person not concerned about the workload for Lotte Giants starter Park Se-woong may be Park himself.There has been much handwringing around the Korea Baseball Organization about the number of pitches for the 21-year-old right-hander. In his third season, and second as a full-time starter, Park has thrown 124 2/3 innings in 20 starts, well on pace to surpass his career high of 139 innings from 27 starts in 2016.It's not just the number of innings. Park has thrown 100 or more pitch

BaseballAug. 4, 2017

PGA Tour winner Bae Sang-moon to return in Sept. after military discharge

Two-time PGA Tour winner Bae Sang-moon will return to action next month following his impending military discharge, his agency said Friday.All That Sports said Bae will play at the Shinhan Donghae Open on the Korean Tour starting on Sept. 14 at Bear's Best Cheongna Golf Club in Incheon, just west of Seoul.Bae, 31, will complete his mandatory military service on Aug. 16.Bae began his military duty in November 2015 amid much controversy. Earlier that year, Bae lost a legal battle against the local

GolfAug. 4, 2017

Bernadina becomes 3rd foreign player to hit for cycle in KBO

In the Kia Tigers’ 9-3 victory over the KT Wiz on Thursday night, Kia center fielder Roger Bernadina became just the third foreign player in Korean Baseball Organization history to hit for the cycle. Kia Tigers center fielder watches his home run leave the yard in a game against the KT Wiz on August 3, 2017. (Yonhap)Bernadina got the most difficult of the four hits out of the way in the first inning, lining a ball just past KT first baseman Yoon Suk-min into the right field corner for an RBI tri

BaseballAug. 4, 2017

Giants' Hwang Jae-gyun goes back to minors

It's back to the minor leagues again for San Francisco Giants third baseman Hwang Jae-gyun.The Giants demoted the slumping South Korean to Triple-A Sacramento for the second time this season on Wednesday (local time), and designated another third baseman, Conor Gillaspie, for assignment.They called up prospect Ryder Jones, who can play third base and outfield, from Sacramento while activating outfielder Jarrett Parker from the disabled list.Hwang was called up to the majors for the second time l

BaseballAug. 4, 2017