KBO club's new manager trying to lay groundwork for long-term success

INCHEON -- Taking over a franchise trying to get out of the abyss in South Korean baseball, new Hanwha Eagles manager Choi Won-ho said Friday he will look to lay the foundation for success for the longer term, if not this year. In an abrupt announcement that caught many in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) by surprise Thursday night, Choi was named successor to Carlos Subero, who was sacked 31 games into the final season of his three-year contract. Choi, who had been the Eagles' minor

May 12, 2023

By making managerial change, Hanwha Eagles shift focus from process to results

In the end, the Hanwha Eagles ran out of patience. After finishing in last place in the Korea Baseball Organization in three straight seasons, including the past two campaigns under Venezuelan manager Carlos Subero, the Eagles decided it was time to stop rebuilding and start winning. The front office made some big free agent acquisitions in the offseason, including star outfielder Chae Eun-seong, but it felt Subero, with his constant lineup tinkering, wasn't quite following the organization

May 12, 2023

Slugging catcher hoping to live up to big contract

When veteran catcher Park Dong-won signed with the LG Twins as a free agent last November, he kept thinking about one particular thing. "I didn't want to hear Twins fans say, 'We shouldn't have signed this guy,'" Park said Tuesday, after helping the Twins rally for a 5-4 victory over the Kiwoom Heroes with a game-tying, two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. With the kind of season Park has put together so far, he wo

May 10, 2023

Little-used outfielder goes from goat to hero in dramatic win

With the winning run standing 90 feet away in the bottom of the 10th inning, LG Twins outfielder Shin Min-jae walked up to the plate for only the fourth time this season Tuesday night. The only thing on the mind of the little-used backup was to put his bat on the ball. And he did exactly that with his infield single to second base, which cashed in the decisive run in the Twins' 5-4 victory over the Kiwoom Heroes. It was the Twins' fourth consecutive win in the Korea Baseball Organizati

May 9, 2023

Catcher-turned-pitcher wins KBO's top player award for April

Na Gyun-an, a former catcher now leading the starting rotation for the biggest early surprise in South Korean baseball, has been voted the league's top player for April. The Korea Baseball Organization announced Tuesday that Na, the right-handed ace for the Lotte Giants, is the Player of the Month for April. The 25-year-old went 4-0 with a 1.34 ERA in five starts in April. He tied for the league lead in wins and ranked fourth in ERA last month, as the Giants, to the surprise of many, wrappe

May 9, 2023

Kia Tigers fill GM vacancy with ex-player Shim Jae-hak

The Kia Tigers announced Monday they have hired former All-Star Shim Jae-hak as their new general manager. Shim, 50, is replacing Jang Jung-suk, who was fired in March for allegedly asking a free agent player for a kickback during contract negotiations in the last offseason. Shim played for four different clubs in the Korea Baseball Organization from 1995 to 2008, and spent his final five seasons with the Tigers. He previously served on the coaching staff for the Kiwoom Heroes and worked as a ca

May 8, 2023

SSG Landers sign new pitcher Roenis Elias

The defending South Korean baseball champions SSG Landers announced their signing of former major league pitcher Roenis Elias on Thursday. The acquisition comes less than 24 hours after Landers manager Kim Won-hyong acknowledged that the club was close to signing the former major league pitcher from Cuba. Elias, 34, will make $540,000 for the rest of this Korea Baseball Organization season. He is replacing Enny Romero, who never pitched for the Landers, preseason or regular season, due to should

May 4, 2023

Veteran reliever gets groove back in 1st career start

Following his first professional start, Samsung Lions reliever Oh Seung-hwan has come away feeling better about himself. After making 979 relief appearances in three leagues -- Korea Baseball Organization, Nippon Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball -- since his debut in 2005, Oh started a game for the first time at age 40 against the Kiwoom Heroes on Wednesday at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu. Lions pitching coach Jong Hyun-wook had talked Oh into startin

May 4, 2023

Struggling reliever Oh Seung-hwan to make 1st career start this week

For the first time in his illustrious career as a reliever, Samsung Lions right-hander Oh Seung-hwan will start a game this week, his manager said Tuesday, as desperate times called for desperate measures. To help the struggling 40-year-old return to form, Lions manager Park Jin-man has decided to give Oh the ball to start Wednesday's game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, some 235 kilometers southeast of Seoul. "Oh Seung-hwan has been talking to pitching

May 2, 2023

Red-hot Giants soar to top of KBO standings

Don't look now, but here come the Lotte Giants, for the second straight spring. After getting virtually no love from pundits in preseason prognostications, the Giants are sitting pretty atop the Korea Baseball Organization standings with a 14-8 record after the first month of the season. This is familiar territory for the Busan-based club this time of year. At the end of April 2022, the Giants were in second place at 14-9-1 (wins-losses-ties). But they finished the season in eighth place at

May 2, 2023

KBO surpasses 1m in attendance

The South Korean baseball league said Thursday it has topped 1 million in attendance after 101 games this season, the fifth-fastest rate in the current 10-team setting. The Korea Baseball Organization announced that its 10 teams combined to surpass the 1 million mark after the previous night's games. This is the fifth-earliest point in a season for the KBO to reach 1 million fans drawn since it expanded to 10 teams in 2015. Clubs each play 144 games, 16 times against each other. In 2019, th

April 27, 2023

Spotlight on managers as KBO legend visits old park for 1st time

A midweek series between teams going in opposite directions in South Korean baseball will put the spotlight firmly on their skippers, with a franchise icon for one team paying his first visit to his old stadium as an opposing manager. Former Samsung Lions slugger Lee Seung-yuop will manage the Doosan Bears against his former club in a three-game set starting Tuesday evening at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, his hometown located some 290 kilometers southeast of Seoul. It will be Lee's fi

April 25, 2023

KBO's top 2 teams set for 1st clash of 2023

The two best teams in South Korean baseball will clash for the first time this season starting Tuesday, each looking to set an early tone in the race for the pennant. On the heels of a four-game winning streak, the SSG Landers have reclaimed the top spot in the Korea Baseball Organization at 12-6. They are in a virtual tie with the LG Twins, who are 13-7 and trail the Landers only in the winning percentage, .667 to .650. Their first three-game series of the season goes from Tuesday to Thursday a

April 24, 2023

Veteran closer Oh Seung-hwan removed from role amid early season woes

Samsung Lions reliever Oh Seung-hwan, the all-time saves leader in South Korean baseball, has been removed from his closer role in the midst of his early-season struggles. Lions manager Park Jin-man told reporters Thursday that Oh will now be pitching in relief, with left-hander Lee Seung-hyun taking over as closer. "I think he has lost a bit of confidence," Park said before the Lions took on the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. "He hasn't been making pitches. We h

April 20, 2023

Pirates' Choi Ji-man to miss 8 weeks with Achilles injury

The Pittsburgh Pirates' South Korean infielder Choi Ji-man will miss two months with a left Achilles strain. The Pirates announced Wednesday that while Choi will need rest and rehab, his condition will not require surgery. The 31-year-old will be wearing a walking boot for several weeks. Choi was placed on the 10-day injured list on Saturday, retroactive to the previous day, with what the Pirates called left posterior ankle discomfort. He first suffered the Achilles strain during spring tra

April 20, 2023

KBO club Eagles release injured pitcher Smith

The Hanwha Eagles have cut bait on injured pitcher Burch Smith after one abbreviated start. Prior to their game Wednesday evening, the Eagles said they asked the Korea Baseball Organization to place the American right-hander on waivers. "We will find a new foreign pitcher as quickly as possible," the Eagles said. Smith's first KBO season lasted just 2 2/3 innings. He started against the Kiwoom Heroes on April 1, the first day of the season, but took himself out of the game after f

April 20, 2023

Teenager sets KBO velocity record for S. Korean pitchers

Moon Dong-ju, a second-year pitcher for the Hanwha Eagles, has set a velocity record in South Korean baseball. In Wednesday's game against the Kia Tigers, Moon threw a fastball measured at 160.1 kph, the fastest pitch ever by a South Korean pitcher in the Korea Baseball Organization since pitch tracking began a dozen years ago. The league's official statistics provider for the KBO, Sports 2i, has been measuring pitch velocities using a pitch tracking system since 2011. Moon is only the

April 13, 2023

Pirates' Bae Ji-hwan, Choi Ji-man become 1st Korean teammates to homer in same MLB game

Bae Ji-hwan and Choi Ji-man have made a piece of major league history for the Pittsburgh Pirates, becoming the first set of South Korean teammates to homer in the same game. Bae blasted a three-run, walk-off home run off Houston Astros closer Ryan Pressly in the bottom of the ninth inning at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, capping off a 7-4 victory for the Bucs after they'd blown a 4-2 lead in the top of the ninth. In the sixth inning of the same game, Choi had homered off starter Cristi

April 12, 2023

Pirates' Choi Ji-man hits 1st homer of season

Seven games into the 2023 season, Choi Ji-man of the Pittsburgh Pirates finally has his first home run with his new team. Batting fifth as the designated hitter, Choi belted a solo home run off Houston Astros starter Framber Valdez in the bottom of the second inning at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Monday. The ball traveled 407 feet with an exit velocity of 108.3 mph. Choi fell behind 0-2 in the count before battling to a full count. Choi then crushed a middle-middle fastball, measured at 94.9 mph,

April 11, 2023

Baseball league unveils new-look committee for natl. team selection, development

The South Korean baseball league on Monday introduced a new-look committee tasked with naming national teams and developing prospects for future international competitions. The Korea Baseball Organization said its old technical committee will give way to the competitiveness enhancement committee, which will be responsible for a "fair and transparent" player selection process and for development of national teams. The new body, headed by former Kia Tigers general manager Cho Kye-hyeon,

April 10, 2023