Pending free agents lead SK

The SK Wyverns once enjoyed one of the most remarkable stretches in Korea Baseball Organization’s history, making the championship Korean Series a record six consecutive years starting in 2007 and winning three titles in that span.The streak was snapped last year, when they failed to even reach the postseason. In 2014, they’re trying to begin a new streak, led mostly by players who might leave them after the season.The Wyverns are sitting pretty in first place in the young season at 6-2 prior to

April 8, 2014

Yanks hold off Orioles in Jeter’s final home opener

NEW YORK (AP) ― Feted by fans and celebrated by teammates throughout his final opening day in the Bronx, Derek Jeter hardly felt as if he was starting his 20th big league season at home.Jeter gave Yangervis Solarte some assistance with Yankee Stadium tradition, then the rookie helped make the captain a winner Monday as New York beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-2.“I don’t want to jinx anything but it felt really good,” Jeter said. “It felt like maybe my first home opener. It was a fun time for me.”Mi

April 8, 2014

Giants top Dodgers 7-2

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Madison Bumgarner struck out 10 while working into the seventh inning and the San Francisco Giants beat Los Angeles 7-2 Saturday as Yasiel Puig returned to the starting lineup for the Dodgers.Puig started in right field and batted leadoff a day after he was benched for arriving late for stretching and batting practice before opening day at Dodgers Stadium. He went 1 for 4, and was picked off first in the third inning for the final out with Adrian Gonzalez at bat.Michael Morse

April 6, 2014

Choo’s walk caps 9th-inning rally

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) ― Choo Shin-soo drew a bases-loaded, game-ending walk against Jonathan Papelbon as the Texas Rangers rallied in the ninth inning for the second night in a row, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 Wednesday.The Rangers scored three times in the ninth off Papelbon (0-1), who gave up four hits while retiring only one batter.Adrian Beltre, whose ninth-inning single Tuesday night drove home Choo with the winning run, started this rally with a leadoff single. After Mitch Morela

April 3, 2014

Choo Shin-soo gets first two hits, scores winning run for Texas

ARLINGTON, Texas (Yonhap) ― Choo Shin-soo picked up his first two hits as a member of the Texas Rangers and scored the game-winning run in Arlington, Texas, Tuesday, a day after going hitless in his debut with the American League West club.The South Korean outfielder went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, including the walk-off run in the bottom of the ninth, as the Rangers defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2. Choo also drew a walk and was hit by a pitch, reaching base four times in five plate ap

April 2, 2014

Better days ahead

ARLINGTON, Texas (Yonhap) ― South Korean outfielder Choo Shin-soo went hitless in his debut with the Texas Rangers on Monday at home in Arlington, Texas.The 31-year-old went 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout as the leadoff man, and the Rangers lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 14-10 in their season opener.The Rangers were outhit 17-14 in the slugfest.Facing left-handed starter Cliff Lee, Choo flied out to center in his first time up in the first. In the second, with Josh Wilson at second with

April 1, 2014

Ryu gets no-decision despite solid outing

Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers got a no-decision despite tossing seven shutout innings against the San Diego Padres on the road on Sunday.At Petco Park in San Diego, the South Korean left-hander overcame a shaky start and struck out seven batters while giving up just three hits and left the game with a 1-0 lead. He retired 16 batters in a row in one stretch, but the Dodgers’ bullpen imploded in the eighth, as reliever Brian Wilson gave up a game-tying solo homer to pinch hitter Seth Smi

March 31, 2014

KBO season leaves no clear-cut title favorite

As the baseball cliche goes, hope springs eternal before the start of a new season. Everyone is on the starting blocks with the same blank slate, and there are all kinds of interesting possibilities over six-plus months of the regular season.More often than not, though, reality kicks in soon enough, as contenders begin to put some distance between themselves and pretenders.The 2014 Korea Baseball Organization season, which gets underway on Saturday, may well be a rare exception. The competition

March 28, 2014

Lim to open KBO season in minors

GYEONGSAN (Yonhap) ― Lim Chang-yong, a former big league reliever who recently joined the Samsung Lions, will begin the 2014 Korea Baseball Organization season in the minor leagues, the club’s manager said Thursday.Lim signed a one-year deal with his former KBO club on Wednesday, only days after getting released by the Chicago Cubs.Though he claimed he was ready to pitch immediately, Lions manager Ryu Joong-il said he wanted to ease the veteran back into action.“I’d like to give him seven to 10

March 27, 2014

SK captain Park Jin-man set to lead

Though he is entering his 19th season in the Korea Baseball Organization, Park Jin-man, shortstop of the SK Wyverns, said he still gets nervous ahead of the start of a new season.“Every year, opening day puts a lot of pressure on me,” Park said on the sidelines of the annual KBO media day in Seoul. The 2014 KBO season will begin on Saturday. “It’s probably more so this year because I know I don’t have a lot of baseball left in me.”Park will don the captain’s “C” on his uniform this year. This wi

March 26, 2014

The big league way

Justin Yoo, a Korean-American interpreter for the Baltimore Orioles’ South Korean pitcher Yoon Suk-min, has had a front-row seat on the player’s new life in the United States.After nine mostly successful seasons in the Korea Baseball Organization, Yoon signed a three-year deal for $5.575 million with the Orioles last month. Yoon was rushed to the team’s spring training, which had already been underway by the time he inked his contract, and he had to travel to Canada for a few days to receive his

March 25, 2014

New faces change KBO landscape

The preseason in the top South Korean baseball league ended on Sunday with crosstown rivals at the top of the standings, while an unlikely offensive hero led major statistical categories.The Doosan Bears finished the Korea Baseball Organization preseason with the best winning percentage of .667, with four wins, two losses and five draws. Their Seoul rivals, the LG Twins, ended in second place after winning five, losing four and tying one, for a winning percentage of .556.The NC Dinos ended up wi

March 24, 2014