S. Korea undone by lack of firepower

TOKYO -- After his squad lost to Japan in the championship final of the Premier12 baseball tournament, South Korean manager Kim Kyung-moon said it was all his fault that the team came up short.Kim, long known for being fiercely loyal to his players, isn't one to throw his players under the bus. But he came as close to doing so as he ever had Sunday, when he acknowledged that the heart of his order never quite got it going."Our sluggers never came around, and that just goes to show you baseb

Nov. 18, 2019

S. Korea falls to Japan to finish in 2nd place in Premier12 baseball

TOKYO -- South Korea finished runner-up to Japan at the Premier12 baseball tournament on Sunday, losing 5-3 in its bid for a second straight championship.South Korea blew a 3-0 first-inning lead, with Japanese leadoff man Tetsuto Yamada cracking a go-ahead three-run shot in the bottom of the second at Tokyo Dome.This was the second edition of the signature tournament by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. South Korea won the inaugural title in 2015. Despite losing in the championship fina

Nov. 17, 2019

Championship final to pit aces from S. Korea, Japan

It will be one ace against another when South Korea takes on Japan for the championship of thePremier12 baseball tournament in Tokyo on Sunday night.Left-hander Yang Hyeon-jong will start the game at Tokyo Dome, with the first pitch at 7 p.m. He'll be countered by right-hander Shun Yamaguchi. Yang has been the leader of the South Korean staff at the World Baseball Softball Confederation tournament, going 2-0 with a 0.77 ERA in a team-high 11 2/3 innings.Yang opened South Korea's Premier12 tourna

Nov. 17, 2019

S. Korea shakes up batting order for crucial match vs. Mexico

TOKYO -- South Korea will send out a new-looking batting lineup in an important Olympic qualifying game against Mexico later Friday in Tokyo.South Korean manager Kim Kyung-moon announced changes ahead of the Super Round game at the World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo.The Premier12 is also an Olympic qualifying tournament for Asian/Oceanian and American countries. South Korea can clinch its spot in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with a win over Mexico. A loss would fur

Nov. 15, 2019

S. Korean Ryu Hyun-jin ties for 2nd in NL Cy Young voting

South Korean left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin has finished tied for second place in the 2019 National League Cy Young Award voting, while also becoming the first Asian to earn a first-place vote for the top pitching prize.In the voting result announced Wednesday evening (US Eastern Time), Ryu, who led all of baseball with a 2.32 ERA for the Los Angeles Dodgers this year, earned one first-place vote, six second-place votes and eight third-place votes for a total of 72 points. It tied him with Max Scherze

Nov. 14, 2019

S. Korean bats stymied by Chinese Taipei

CHIBA -- This looked like a completely different South Korean team, and not in a good way.South Korea was shut out 7-0 by Chinese Taipei in the Super Round at the World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 on Tuesday in Chiba, east of Tokyo. The loss at ZOZO Marine Stadium was South Korea's first in the tournament and snapped the team's winning streak at four. The exact same starting lineup that produced a home run and four doubles in a 5-1 win against the United States on Monday went silen

Nov. 13, 2019

S. Korea beats US to open Super Round

TOKYO (Yonhap) -- South Korea defeated the United States 5-1 at an Olympic baseball qualifying tournament in Japan on Monday to inch closer to a spot in the 2020 Summer Games.Designated hitter Kim Jae-hwan launched a three-run home run in the first for South Korea, who added a couple of insurance runs in the seventh to claim its opening game of the Super Round at the World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 at Tokyo Dome in the Japanese capital. South Korean starter Yang Hyeon-jong wiggle

Nov. 12, 2019

S. Korea to face US to begin Super Round in rematch of inaugural final

TOKYO -- South Korea's quest for a spot in the 2020 Olympic baseball tournament will begin in earnest here on Monday against a familiar foe.South Korea will face the United States at Tokyo Dome at 7 p.m. Monday to begin the Super Round at the World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12. It'll be a rematch of the inaugural Premier12 final from 2015. The Premier12 is also an Olympic qualifying tournament for the Americas and Asia/Oceania. The top dozen teams on the WBSC rankings were divi

Nov. 10, 2019

S. Korea progresses to next round after Australia beats Canada

South Korea advanced to the second stage of the ongoing Olympic baseball qualifying tournament Friday, even before playing its final group game.Australia defeated Canada 3-1 in the teams' final Group C game of the Premier12 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, with cleanup Logan Wade delivering a tie-breaking, two-run triple in the bottom of the eighth.This result left Australia and Canada with the identical record of 1-2, and it also meant South Korea (2-0) will finish among the top two in the group,

Nov. 8, 2019

S. Korea beats Australia 5-0 to open Group C action

South Korea shut down Australia 5-0 to start its Olympic baseball qualifying tournament at home on Wednesday, holding the opponents to just one single while getting some timely hitting at the plate.Starter Yang Hyeon-jong struck out 10 in six dominant innings of one-hit ball, and the bottom third of the South Korean lineup drove in three runs in South Korea's opening game at the Premier12 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. The Premier12 is also the qualifying tournament for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics fo

Nov. 7, 2019

S. Korean captain feeling heat not to repeat disaster at home

Kim Hyun-soo wasn't on the team at the time, but he clearly remembers how South Korea faltered in the group stage of the 2017 World Baseball Classic on home soil, unable to get past the opening phase despite playing all three games in Seoul.More than two years later, South Korea is back at the scene, Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, with even more at stake. The dome will host all Group C games for the Premier12, an international tournament doubling as the Olympic qualifying tournament for the Americas

Nov. 5, 2019

S. Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin nominated for National League Cy Young Award

South Korean left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin has been nominated for the 2019 National League Cy Young Award.Ryu, who led all of baseball with a 2.32 ERA for the Los Angeles Dodgers this year, was announced as one of three finalists for the NL's top pitching prize by the Baseball Writers' Association of American on Monday (US Eastern Time).Ryu, who's now a free agent, is the first South Korean pitcher to be shortlisted for the Cy Young in either league.BBWAA members already cast their ballots at the end

Nov. 5, 2019

S. Korea beats military club in tuneup for Olympic baseball qualifiers

The South Korean national baseball team eked out a 5-1 win over the military club Sangmu on Tuesday in a tuneup game for the upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament. Starter Park Jong-hoo tossed three shutout innings and slugger Choi Jeong had two of the team's seven hits at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, where pitchers generally looked sharper than hitters.Managed by Kim Kyung-moon, South Korea is gearing up for the Premier12 tournament, which begins next week as the Olympic qualification event. Sou

Oct. 29, 2019

Doosan Bears claw their way up to claim improbable Korean Series title

Back on Aug. 15, the Doosan Bears were nine games back in third place in the Korea Baseball Organization standings, far enough behind the league-leading SK Wyverns with 33 games remaining that the Bears weren't regarded as a serious threat to the Wyverns' bid for the regular season crown.But the Bears toppled the Wyverns for first place on the final day of the regular season on Oct. 1. And some three weeks later on Saturday, the Bears celebrated the 2019 Korean Series title, the franchise's sixt

Oct. 27, 2019

Dodgers' Ryu Hyun-jin misses out on awards voted by peers

Los Angeles Dodgers' South Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin has come up short of winning a pair of awards voted by fellow players.The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) announced Thursday (US Eastern Time) that Ryu finished second in the National League (NL) Outstanding Pitcher category, behind Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets, as part of MLBPA's Players Choice Awards. Ryu finished third in the NL Comeback Player category, trailing Josh Donaldson of the Atlanta Braves and Sonny Gray o

Oct. 25, 2019

Infielder apologizes for controversial trash talk during Korean Series game

Kiwoom Heroes infielder Song Sung-mun has apologized for crossing the line with expletive-laden trash talk directed at opposing players from the Doosan Bears during Game 1 of the Korean Series from Tuesday.In a video clip posted on a portal site and since taken down, Song, 23, was heard wishing injury on Doosan players, saying things like, "He just blew out his elbow!" and "He's going to have surgery on his hamstring today and he'll be out for two years!"The video went viral

Oct. 23, 2019

Heroes sweep defending champions, reach 1st Korean Series in 5 years

The Kiwoom Heroes will be playing for the South Korean professional baseball championship for the first time in five years. The Heroes routed the defending champions SK Wyverns 10-1 at home on Thursday to complete the three-game sweep in the second round Korea Baseball Organization playoff series.The Heroes will go on to meet the Doosan Bears in the best-of-seven Korean Series, which begins next Tuesday at the Bears' home, Jamsil Stadium.The Bears, after finishing with the best regular season re

Oct. 18, 2019

Baseball rivals set for postseason rematch, one year after memorable battle

So they meet again.A year after trading blows in a playoff battle for the ages, the SK Wyverns and the Kiwoom Heroes will clash once again in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason starting Monday.The Wyverns will have the home field advantage in this best-of-five second round action. Game 1 is 6:30 p.m. Monday at SK Happy Dream Park in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul.The Wyverns, the 2018 Korean Series champions, earned a direct berth in the second round after finishing the regular sea

Oct. 13, 2019

Dodgers' Ryu Hyun-jin wins NLDS Game 3 behind offensive outburst

With more than a little help from his friends in the lineup, Los Angeles Dodgers' South Korean left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin picked up his third career postseason victory over the Washington Nationals on the road Sunday.Ryu was the winning pitcher in the Dodgers' 10-4, come-from-behind victory in Game 3 of the National League Division Series at Nationals Park in Washington. The Dodgers now lead the best-of-five series 2-1 and have a chance to close out the Nationals Monday night.Ryu gave up two earne

Oct. 7, 2019

Dodgers' Ryu Hyun-jin to start Game 3 in NLDS vs. Nationals

Los Angeles Dodgers' South Korean left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin will start Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the Washington Nationals.Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made the announcement Thursday, hours before the start of Game 1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.The Dodgers, which finished with the best record in the NL at 106-56, will have the home-field advantage until the World Series, if they go that far. Game 3 of this best-of-five series against the Nationals will be at Nation

Oct. 4, 2019