New natl. team baseball manager wants players to compete with 'pride'

Former All-Star pitcher Sun Dong-yol, named new South Korean national baseball manager Monday, said he wants young players to represent the country with more pride.The Korea Baseball Organization appointed Sun, 54, as the first full-time national team manager. He will hold the reins through the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, where baseball will make a return to the quadrennial competition after a 12-year absence.Sun will make his international managerial debut at the inaugural Asia Professional Bas

July 24, 2017

Lindblom’s return brings new confidence to red-hot Giants

Josh Lindblom has only just returned to Korean baseball, but his impact on the Lotte Giants, is already unmistakable. Lotte players, fresh off a sweep of the first-place Kia Tigers, have said that team confidence is riding high, attributing it to Lindblom’s return. Lindblom had played for Lotte the past two seasons, but had spent the first half of the 2017 season with the Indianapolis Indians, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Triple-A minor league team.At the end of the season’s first half, Lotte stood i

July 24, 2017

Korean first baseman outrighted to minors by Yankees

South Korean first baseman Choi Ji-man has been outrighted to the minor leagues by the New York Yankees.The Yankees announced the transaction on Sunday (local time) after designating the struggling player for assignment last Wednesday.That left a demotion to the minors or free agency a possibility. Choi cleared waivers -- meaning, no club picked him up after he was designated for assignment -- and accepted a move back to the minors rather than opting for free agency.The Yankees removed Choi from

July 24, 2017

Former star pitcher named full-time natl. baseball team manager

Former star pitcher Sun Dong-yol was named the first full-time national baseball team manager Monday.The Korea Baseball Organization made the announcement to ensure more continuity with the national team operations in a handful of upcoming international tournaments.The KBO added Sun, 54, will remain at the helm through the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.Previously, the KBO had named a new manager for each different competition. Managers of KBO clubs, often the reigning league champions, took on the role, b

July 24, 2017

Giants demote slumping Korean to minors

Slumping South Korean infielder Hwang Jae-gyun has been demoted to the minor leagues by the San Francisco Giants. (Yonhap)The Giants made the move on Saturday (local time), with Hwang having lost his playing time at third base since the return of Eduardo Nunez from the disabled list.The 29-year-old batted .167 with a home run and three RBIs in13 games since getting called up in late June. He homered in his major league debut on June 28 but got mired in a 6-for-36 slump in July.In Triple-A Sacram

July 23, 2017

Head of baseball replay center suspended for incorrect ruling

The head of South Korean baseball's replay center received a 10-day suspension Friday for an incorrect ruling on a home run.The Korea Baseball Organization said Kim Ho-in, director of the KBO's Video Review Center, will be suspended from his duty for 10 days, starting Friday.The decision was reached after the replay center blew a call in a game between the Lotte Giants and the Samsung Lions on Thursday at Munsu Stadium in Ulsan, some 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and robbed Lotte outfielder

July 21, 2017

Giants’ Hwang shows off versatility with first start at 1st

Hwang Jae-gyun made his first major league start at first base on Monday for the San Francisco Giants. Hwang is typically a third baseman, but was displaced from his starting role when veteran Eduardo Nunez returned from the disabled list after the All-Star Game break. But Hwang, who made several starts at first base this season for San Francisco’s Triple-A team, made his way back into the starting lineup when regular first baseman Brandon Belt was given the day off for the first game of a serie

July 21, 2017

KBO video review judges admit fault in overturned home run

The Korea Baseball Organization’s video review judges have admitted fault for a missed call, saying they misunderstood the rules and made an incorrect judgment. But Thursday night, in a game at Ulsan Stadium between the Lotte Giants and Samsung Lions, the video review judges made a considerable mistake. With Lotte trailing 4-1 in the third inning, Lotte right fielder Son Ah-seop hit a ball to deep left-center that hit the top of the fence and crowd safety railing before bouncing back into the ou

July 21, 2017

Choo reaches base 4 times, Rangers still fall to Orioles

Choo Shin-soo singled and walked three times, raising his on-base streak to six games, but could not save his team, the Texas Rangers, from falling to the Baltimore Orioles by a score of 9-7.The game was played Thursday night at the Orioles’ Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. Choo batted second and started in right field, going 1-for-2 with a run scored and two runs batted in, in addition to his 3 walks. Texas Rangers' right fielder Choo Shin-soo congratulated after homering in a game against

July 21, 2017

Jimenez leaves Twins, Korea with heavy heart

After playing for the LG Twins for two years, third baseman Luis Jimenez has bid a disappointed farewell to Korea.On Tuesday, the Twins decided to cut Jimenez, making room for them to sign former major leaguer James Loney. With that decision, Jimenez’s two years in Korea came to an abrupt, crashing end.Jimenez joined LG during the 2015 season. Manager Yang Sang-moon was an early fan of Jimenez, saying, “He hits well, he fields well, he’s a perfect third baseman,” and even went to Jimenez’s nativ

July 21, 2017

Appeals court upholds jail term on ex-baseball pitcher in illegal gambling scandal

DAEGU -- A local appeals court on Friday upheld a suspended jail term on a former South Korean baseball pitcher convicted for a role in launching a gambling website.The Daegu District Court rejected an appeal by An Ji-man of his eight-month sentence, suspended for two years, handed down in February.An, a former pitcher for the Samsung Lions in the Korea Baseball Organization, was indicted in September last year over allegations he gave 165 million won ($147,000) to his friend in February 2016 to

July 21, 2017

Nexen's Lee first rookie to be issued two-out intentional walk in 7 years

Yesterday, Nexen Heroes’ rookie center fielder Lee Jeong-hoo was intentionally walked in the 7th inning. This walk was significant for two reasons -- it was the first of Lee’s career, and it came with two outs.In baseball, issuing an opposing batter an intentional walk is a strategy that involves taking a little risk to avoid possible greater danger. Typically intentional walks are issued toward the end of games to create force-out situations. For example, they are commonly used in close games t

July 20, 2017

Giants concerned by slugger Choi’s recent struggles

After playing four seasons in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball with the Orix Buffaloes and Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, and one season in Major League Baseball with the Seattle Mariners, first baseman Lee Dae-ho signed a deal with the Lotte Giants to return to the Korean Baseball Organization for the 2017 season.For the Giants, the signing was a return of the prodigal son. Lee played his first 11 professional seasons, from 2001 to 2011, with the Giants, and is originally from the team’s Busan are

July 20, 2017

Choi Ji-man designated for assignment by New York Yankees

South Korean first baseman Choi Ji-man has been designated for assignment by the New York Yankees, with a demotion to the minors or free agency now a possibility.The Yankees made the move Wednesday (local time) after acquiring three players in a trade with the Chicago White Sox in exchange for four players.One of the new faces is Todd Frazier, a veteran slugger who can play both third base and first base, where Choi has played six games this year. The Yankees have removed Choi from the 40-man ro

July 20, 2017

Nexen Heroes sign ex-MLB outfielder Michael Choice

The Korean Baseball Organization’s Nexen Heroes announced yesterday that they have agreed terms with former major league outfielder Michael Choice. Michael Choice in a game with the Texas Rangers in 2014. (AFP)By KBO rules, teams are allowed three foreign players, one of whom must be a position player. Choice will take the foreign position player spot vacated by first baseman Danny Dorn, who was recently put on waivers by Nexen. Last year Dorn hit .295 with 16 homers and 70 RBIs for Nexen, but s

July 19, 2017

KBO midseason update: MVP and Rookie of Year standings

Using a statistic called WAR, KIA’s Choi Hyung-woo and Nexen’s Lee Jeong-hoo currently stand as runaway front-runners in the 2017 KBO MVP and Rookie of the Year races, respectively.WAR, or wins above replacement, is a statistic that attempts to compute player value, allowing for players across positions and time periods to be compared. Roughly-speaking, the average WAR for a starting position player or pitcher is around 2.In addition to WAR, Choi is currently at or near the top of the KBO leader

July 19, 2017

Orioles manager Showalter concerned about confidence level of outfielder Kim

Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter expressed recently that he is concerned about the confidence level of outfielder Kim Hyun-soo, who has seen both his playing time and performance drop this season.As of July 18, Kim, who is in his second season in the major leagues, was hitting .227/.299/.277, a huge dropoff from 2016 where he hit .302/.382/.420. Due to the crowded platoon situation in Baltimore’s outfield this season, he has also seen a decrease in playing time, making it harder to find

July 19, 2017

Unlikely friends 'find niche' with website, podcast on Korean baseball

Two unlikely friends, one from Ireland and the other from the United States, have teamed up to launch a website dedicated to -- of all things -- South Korean professional baseball.They even record a weekly podcast on the Korea Baseball Organization, discussing a wide range of topics related to the league with knowledge and expertise that would put casual Korean fans to shame. The two have also managed to interview former and current KBO players, and Andrew Farrell and Brian Richards say they're

July 19, 2017

Ex-MLB player James Loney expects to play 'at a high level' in Korea

Having signed with a South Korean club, former major league first baseman James Loney said Tuesday he expects a lot out of himself in the new league and the new country.The LG Twins in the Korea Baseball Organization announced their signing of Loney earlier in the day. The 33-year-old will make $350,000 the rest of the season.The first round pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2002 has 11 major league seasons under his belt, and his last big league season came with the New York Mets in 2016.This

July 18, 2017

Ex-big leaguer James Loney joins Korean club

Former major league first baseman James Loney has joined a South Korean club.The LG Twins in the Korea Baseball Organization announced Tuesday they've signed Loney to a $350,000 deal for the rest of the season. The 33-year-old first baseman with 11 big league seasons to his credit is replacing Luis Jimenez, a third baseman who was struggling in his third KBO season.Loney was selected 19th overall in the 2002 Major League Baseball draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played six and a half seasons

July 18, 2017