Cardinals' Kim Kwang-hyun back pitching at home park while recovering from kidney ailment

The St. Louis Cardinals' South Korean pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun is back throwing in his home stadium as he recovers from a kidney ailment that left him hospitalized over the weekend in Chicago. St. Louis manager Mike Shildt said Tuesday (US local time) that Kim has thrown at Busch Stadium in St. Louis over the past two days and that the left-handed pitcher will meet with the medical staff in the coming days to see how far he has come along. The club is hoping Kim will be able to throw a bullpen s

Sept. 9, 2020

Rangers' Choo Shin-soo leaves game with sprained wrist

A trying season has taken a turn for the worse for Choo Shin-soo. The South Korean designated hitter for the Texas Rangers sprained his right wrist in a slide during the fourth inning of an -4 loss to the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park in Seattle on Monday (local time). Choo suffered the injury sliding into home plate, as he tried to score from first on Joey Gallo's double. He was safe at the plate as he got around catcher Luis Torrens' tag, but jammed his right hand into the ground on the

Sept. 8, 2020

Blue Jays' Ryu Hyun-jin touched for 3 home runs vs. Yankees

Once again, Ryu Hyun-jin couldn't solve the New York Yankees. The South Korean starter for the Toronto Blue Jays was roughed up for three home runs against the Bronx Bombers at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, on Monday (local time), and was pulled after five innings with the Blue Jays trailing 5-2. Ryu was charged with five earned runs in five innings. Three of the six hits he gave up went over the fence, including back-to-back jacks by Luke Voit and Aaron Hicks in the top of the first. He

Sept. 8, 2020

Cardinals' Kim Kwang-hyun back in St. Louis, doing better after bout of kidney ailment

The St. Louis Cardinals' South Korean pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun is back in the club's home city after a bout with a kidney ailment had him hospitalized in Chicago over the weekend. Cardinals' manager Mike Shildt told reporters on Sunday (local time) that Kim is tired but feeling better. Kim will be re-evaluated on Monday. Kim suffered abdominal pain Friday morning while in Chicago with the rest of the team for a road trip and was taken to the emergency room at a local hospital, where he was diag

Sept. 7, 2020

KBO manager falls ill at stadium for 2nd time this season

SK Wyverns' manager Youm Kyoung-youb has fallen ill at a ballpark for the second time this season, just five days after returning from more than two months on the sidelines. Youm was taken to the emergency room at Chung-Ang University Hospital in Seoul on Sunday before a Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular season game against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium. The Wyverns said Youm had not been feeling well since the morning. He still came to the ballpark late in the morning fo

Sept. 6, 2020

Cardinals' Kim Kwang-hyun enjoying string of luck in rookie MLB season

What is it they say about luck? That you have to be good to be lucky and lucky to be good? Kim Kwang-hyun, the South Korean rookie starter for the St. Louis Cardinals, has been riding the wave of some good fortune this season, as he has put together some impressive numbers. His basic statistics are outstanding. He's 2-0 in five games, including four starts, with a 0.83 ERA in 21 2/3 innings. It's the lowest in Major League Baseball (MLB) among pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched. As a s

Sept. 4, 2020

ERA for Blue Jays' Ryu Hyun-jin lowered following scoring change

Toronto Blue Jays' Ryu Hyun-jin has a sub-3.00 ERA after all. Following an official Major League Baseball (MLB) scoring change Saturday (US local time), Ryu's ERA for the season was lowered from 3.16 to 2.92. The South Korean left-hander was initially charged with two earned runs in six innings against the Baltimore Orioles at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, on Friday. Both runs were scored in the top of the sixth inning when third baseman Travis Shaw, after fielding a grounder by Ryan Mou

Aug. 30, 2020

KBO's NC Dinos drop recent draft pick over abuse history

  The South Korean baseball club NC Dinos announced Thursday they will not sign their recent draft pick due to his history of abuse against a middle school teammate. The Dinos selected Gimhae High School pitcher Kim Yoo-seong with their territorial pick in Monday's Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) draft. In the days leading up to the draft and soon after Kim's selection, charges of physical and verbal abuse by Kim against a junior teammate on his middle school team surfaced in cyberspace.

Aug. 27, 2020

Cardinals' Kim Kwang-hyun determined to eat up more innings in 3rd MLB start

For his third major league start, St. Louis Cardinals' left-hander Kim Kwang-hyun will look to pitch as many innings as he can, using as few pitches as he can. The South Korean pitcher will take the mound in the first game of a doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Thursday (local time). In a Zoom call with local media on the eve of his start, Kim said he's been told by his coaching staff that he should throw around 100 pitches. He made 57 pitches in his

Aug. 27, 2020

KBO to mandate masks in dugouts during games, fine spitters

In response to a recent nationwide spike in new coronavirus cases, the South Korean baseball league announced Tuesday it will mandate face coverings in dugouts during games, with fines to be levied on multiple offenders. Effective immediately with Tuesday's games in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), players and coaches must wear masks while in their dugouts. Relief pitchers warming up in the bullpen and their bullpen catchers will be exempt from the rule. Seoul and a few other municipali

Aug. 25, 2020

Clinging to KBO's top spot, NC Dinos set for 6-game homestand against bottom feeders

With their lead at the top of the South Korean baseball standings cut to one game, the NC Dinos will try to bounce back during a six-game homestand this week. Prior to their makeup game against the KT Wiz later Monday, the Dinos were nursing a one-game lead over the Kiwoom Heroes for first place in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). The Dinos are just 6-10 this month, allowing the Heroes (13-7 in August) to all but erase the six-game gap at the end of July. Even the fourth-place Doosan

Aug. 24, 2020

With ballparks closed again during pandemic, KBO's focus shifts to completing full season

As all ballparks across the nation closed again because of a recent surge in coronavirus cases, the goal now for the South Korean baseball league is to complete the season without disruption, a senior official said Thursday. Ryu Dae-hwan, secretary general of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), also acknowledged that a "Plan B" is in place whereby the 144-game regular season will be shortened in case of an outbreak in the league. The season opened May 5, instead of March 28 as or

Aug. 20, 2020

Amid coronavirus surge, 3 more KBO clubs to play home games without fans

In response to a nationwide spike in coronavirus cases, three more baseball clubs announced Tuesday they'll join six others in playing home games without fans. On Tuesday alone, the Hanwha Eagles, the NC Dinos and the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization said they'll play upcoming home games behind closed doors. The Eagles are based in Daejeon, 160 kilometers south of Seoul, while the Dinos are in Changwon and the Lions are in Daegu, 450 kilometers and 300 kilometers southeast of

Aug. 18, 2020

KBO club closes stadium to fans as precaution

The South Korean baseball club SK Wyverns announced Sunday they will temporarily close their home stadium to fans as a precautionary measure during the coronavirus pandemic, following the action taken by their neighboring clubs currently under strict social distancing guidelines. The Wyverns, a Korea Baseball Organization club based in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, said they will not admit any fans to their upcoming, six-game homestand at SK Happy Dream Park, from Tuesday to next Sunday

Aug. 16, 2020

Veteran KBO slugger hits milestone home run

Kiwoom Heroes' slugger Park Byung-ho blasted a milestone home run on Tuesday, becoming only the second player in South Korean baseball history with seven straight 20-homer seasons. Park smacked a two-run homer off Warwick Saupold of the Hanwha Eagles in a Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular season game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. The opposite field shot at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul was Park's 20th of the season. With that, Park joined the retired slugger Lee Seung-yuop as the only pla

Aug. 11, 2020

COVID-19 patient found to have attended KBO game; season to continue

A person who recently tested positive for the novel coronavirus was found on Tuesday to have attended a baseball game in Seoul, with the league office saying it has cooperated with health authorities in follow-up studies and the season will continue as scheduled. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said the fan went to a game between the Samsung Lions and the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul last Tuesday. The person showed fever two days later and tested positive for COVID-19

Aug. 11, 2020

Doosan Bears infielder Hur Kyoung-min voted KBO's top player for July

Doosan Bears infielder Hur Kyoung-min has been voted the best player in the South Korean professional baseball league for July, the sport's governing body said Sunday. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Hur was named the Player of the Month for July, following voting from fans and the media. It is his first monthly MVP award since he joined the Doosan Bears in the KBO League in 2009. The infielder, who plays both as a third baseman and shortstop, batted .494/.538/.554 in July, with

Aug. 9, 2020

Blue Jays' Ryu Hyun-jin vows to perform well in next game

Toronto Blue Jays' starter Ryu Hyun-jin said Wednesday that he has refreshed his mind to get ready to make a turnaround from his worse-than-expected previous outings. "I performed poorly in the last games," the left-hander with his new short, neat haircut said in a video interview. "I had my hair cut to get myself up for the next match." He will start the game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia, on Wednesday (US time). It is Ryu's third outing of

Aug. 5, 2020

'Robot umpire' system makes official debut in KBO minor league game

So-called robot umpires officially debuted in a Korea Baseball Organization minor league match Tuesday as the sports organization is preparing to use the system for the entire 2021 season. The automated ball-strike system, simply known as robot umpires, was used for the first time, in a Futures League game between the Hanwha Eagles and LG Twins at LG Champions Park in Icheon, southeast of Seoul. The debut came after the radar and camera-based ball-tracing system was installed at the baseball

Aug. 4, 2020

Choo Shin-soo homers to help Rangers beat San Francisco

Texas Rangers' veteran outfielder Choo Shin-soo belted his second home run of the season. Choo smacked a two-run homer off the Giant's starter Jeff Samardzija over the right field wall into McCovey Cove in the top of the fifth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco. The Rangers beat the Giants 9-5. It is his second home run this season after hitting an opposite field homer on the game's first pitch Friday against the Giants. Batting leadoff, Choo struck out and grounded out in his first two

Aug. 3, 2020