KBO to hold All-Star fan voting despite not playing midsummer game

The South Korean baseball league said Tuesday it will hold fan voting to select All-Stars despite not organizing the annual midsummer festivities. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said voting to select 12 All-Star players per side will run from Aug. 10 to Sept. 4 on the league's website and mobile app, and also the mobile app for Shinhan Bank, the main sponsor for the KBO this season. The All-Star Game had been scheduled for July 25 but was canceled for this year. The start of the regula

July 28, 2020

Look who's back: Fans return to KBO games during pandemic

Nearly three months after the start of the season, South Korean baseball teams finally welcomed fans into stadiums on Sunday. Three of the five stadiums opened their gates in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO): the Doosan Bears hosting the LG Twins at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul; the Kiwoom Heroes playing the Lotte Giants at home at Gocheok Sky Dome, also in the capital; and the KT Wiz bringing the NC Dinos to KT Wiz Park in Suwon, 45 kilometers south of Seoul. Two remaining games wer

July 26, 2020

Cardinals' Kim Kwang-hyun walks tightrope for 1st MLB save

He didn't have a regular season save in 13 years in South Korea. And after one day in his first Major League Baseball season, St. Louis Cardinals' South Korean closer Kim Kwang-hyun has a save. The left-hander walked the tightrope while giving up two runs in the ninth inning of a 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Friday, local time. This was the Cardinals' first game of the 60-game regular season. Kim, named the closer near the end of summer camp, came i

July 25, 2020

Blue Jays' Ryu Hyun-jin gets no-decision on Opening Day

Undone by a shaky fifth inning, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays came up an out shy of qualifying for a victory in his second straight Opening Day assignment. The South Korean left-hander was charged with three earned runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Friday, local time. He left with two outs in the fifth and the Jays leading 6-3 with a man at second base. Reliever Jordan Romano walked the first batter he faced but struck ou

July 25, 2020

KBO slugger's season-long slump an elephant in the room for manager

Kiwoom Heroes' manager Son Hyuk is one of the most articulate skippers in South Korean baseball, and he often speaks with refreshing candor during his pregame media sessions, acknowledging his shortcomings as the first-year bench boss even as the Heroes remain in title contention. It may often seem as though Son hasn't met a baseball subject he isn't keen to discuss, but there's one elephant in the room for him: the protracted slump of his cleanup hitter, Park Byung-ho. "I am trying not

July 22, 2020

Blue Jays name S. Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin Opening Day starter

The Toronto Blue Jays have made official what had been a foregone conclusion: Ryu Hyun-jin will start Opening Day. The Blue Jays announced Sunday (local time) that the South Korean left-hander will take the mound against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday, the first day of the truncated, 60-game season, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Ryu had been widely expected to start the original Opening Day in Toronto on March 28, before the coronavirus pandemic forced Major League Baseball (ML

July 20, 2020

KBO's emerging slugger surprised with own power surge

It wasn't supposed to come this early. No, when Kiwoom Heroes' outfielder Lee Jung-hoo got to work with his team trainers during the offseason, the idea was to put on muscle so he could start hitting with more power in about two to three years. The 2017 Rookie of the Year in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) had already been one of the league's premier contact hitters, boasting bat-to-ball skill that's almost unparalleled. Since his debut, Lee leads all KBO players in batting average (.34

July 15, 2020

Heavy workload taking toll on Kiwoom Heroes' bullpen

By many measures, the Kiwoom Heroes have had one of the best bullpens in South Korean baseball so far this season. But there's more to that story: Their bullpen has also been the most overworked, never more so than in July, and the heavy load appears to be taking its toll. The Heroes suffered a three-game sweep against the Kia Tigers over the weekend series that extended to Monday due to Sunday's rainout. It dropped the Heroes to 4-7 in July, tied for the second worst record of the month in t

July 14, 2020

KBO's top club looking to extend lead in midweek series vs. No. 2 team

The two best clubs in South Korean baseball so far this season will square off this week, with the first-place NC Dinos looking to put some distance between themselves and the second-seed Kiwoom Heroes. The Dinos will wrap up their six-game Seoul road trip with a three-game set against the Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome, beginning Tuesday. The Dinos lead the season series 4-2. Prior to Monday's slate, the Dinos had the best record in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) at 39-17-1 (wins-losses-t

July 13, 2020

Kiwoom Heroes take rubber match vs. Samsung Lions in KBO midweek series

The Kiwoom Heroes staged their second come-from-behind victory over the Samsung Lions on Thursday, prevailing 4-2 in the rubber match of their three-game midweek series at home. The Heroes took care of business with a three-run fifth at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, as they improved to 35-22 for the season. The Lions fell to 30-27. Kiwoom starter Eric Jokisch is now 8-2 after scattering eight hits -- tied for his season high -- across seven innings and allowing two earned runs. He has now thrown

July 9, 2020

KBO's batting average leader to miss 3 weeks with leg injuries

The batting average leader in South Korean baseball has been ruled out for up to three weeks with injuries to both legs. The Kia Tigers said their second baseman Kim Sun-bin will miss time with a bruised right ankle and strained left quad. He will be re-evaluated after a couple of weeks, the Tigers added. Kim is leading the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) with a .378 average. He won the batting title in 2017 by hitting .370. Kim suffered the injuries on Sunday, after tripping up over the l

July 6, 2020

Kiwoom Heroes' Park Byung-ho hits 300th career KBO home run

Kiwoom Heroes' slugger Park Byung-ho blasted his 300th career home run in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on Sunday. Park became the 14th player, and fifth active hitter, to reach that milestone with a two-run home run off KT Wiz starter Kim Min-su in the top of the fifth inning at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, 45 kilometers south of Seoul. Park turned on a 2-2 curveball and sent it over the center field wall, cutting the deficit to 7-3. It wasn't nearly enough, as the Heroes ended up losing 10

July 5, 2020

Football league targeting July 10 for return of fans

The South Korean football league is hoping to have fans back in the stands by July 10 at the earliest, a league official said Tuesday. The Korea Professional Football League (K League) said the match between Busan IPark and FC Seoul in the top-flight K League 1 will likely be the first contest of the season played before fans. It will kick off at 7:30 p.m. at Busan Gudeok Stadium in Busan, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Football and baseball are the two major professional sports being pl

June 30, 2020

KBO considering QR code registration for fans when stadiums reopen during pandemic

As it prepares to reopen ballparks to fans during the coronavirus pandemic, the South Korean baseball league is contemplating installing an electronic entry registration system at stadiums based on quick response (QR) code. Ryu Dae-hwan, secretary general of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), told Yonhap News Agency Tuesday that QR code is being considered as part of the league's measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus and to expedite contact tracing in case of positive tes

June 30, 2020

Baseball fans required to sit apart, no outside food permitted when stadiums open

When fans return to baseball stadiums sometime in July, they will be asked to sit apart from one another to maintain a safe distance. And they'll not be allowed to bring in any outside food. This will be part of a new normal in fan experience in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) during the coronavirus pandemic. The KBO released a new health and safety manual for fans Tuesday, as it prepares to swing open gates to baseball enthusiasts. The 2020 season opened on May 5 without fans in the s

June 30, 2020

KBO player banned indefinitely by club over alleged sexual harassment of minor

A South Korean baseball player was suspended indefinitely by his team on Friday over allegations that he sexually harassed a minor. The Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said catcher Ji Seong-jun has been removed from the team's roster and they have reported the case to the league office. Ji, who has bounced between the KBO and its minor league, Futures League, in 2020, will remain suspended until the KBO determines its potential discipline against him. The accuser claimed

June 26, 2020

KBO club manager falls unconscious during game, regains consciousness inside ambulance

INCHEON -- A South Korean baseball club manager fell unconscious in the middle of a game Thursday and was taken away in an ambulance. Youm Kyoung-youb, manager for the SK Wvyerns in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), collapsed in his dugout at SK Happy Dream Park in Incheon, some 40 kilometers west of Seoul, after the top of the second inning against the Doosan Bears. The 52-year-old was immediately transported to a local hospital. The Wyverns later said Youm regained consciousness inside

June 25, 2020

S. Korean Ryu Hyun-jin not among multiple Blue Jays to test positive for COVID-19: source

South Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin isn't among multiple members of the Toronto Blue Jays who have reportedly tested positive for the novel coronavirus, a source close to the player said Thursday. The source said Ryu has been tested twice for COVID-19, and both results came back negative. "He's training without any trouble," the source told Yonhap News Agency. "Though he doesn't know where the season will start, he's trying to stay positive." After months of delay caused by

June 25, 2020

Rays' infielder Choi Ji-man leaves for US to rejoin club

Tampa Bay Rays' South Korean first baseman Choi Ji-man, who has been training in his home country since April, left for the United States Tuesday to rejoin his club. A source close to Choi said Tuesday the player will continue to work out on his own until there's more clarity regarding the start of the 2020 Major League Baseball (MLB) season. When the coronavirus pandemic put the start of the season on indefinite hold, Choi came home on March 24. Following a two-week quarantine, Choi started

June 23, 2020

Ex-MLB player Kang Jung-ho apologizes over DUI cases, begs for chance to play in KBO

Contrite over his past drunk driving arrests, former major leaguer Kang Jung-ho apologized for his actions Tuesday in his bid for a return to the South Korean league. "I know that no word can ever wash away the things I did, and I deeply regret my wrongdoing," Kang said at the start of a press conference at a Seoul hotel. It was his first public appearance since returning from the United States on June 5. He spent the next 14 days in government-mandated quarantine amid the coronaviru

June 23, 2020