Giants rookie Lee Jung-hoo hits 1st MLB home run

The San Francisco Giants' South Korean rookie Lee Jung-hoo blasted his first career big league home run in just his third game. Lee went deep off Tom Cosgrove of the San Diego Padres in the top of the eighth inning at Petco Park in San Diego on Saturday. With the count at 1-1, Lee, who bats left-handed, drilled a sweeper from the lefty reliever and sent it 406 feet into the right field seats. The ball left Lee's bat at 104.4 miles per hour. Lee's homer kick-started a six-run innin

March 31, 2024

MLB debut a dream-come-true moment for Giants outfielder Lee Jung-hoo

After collecting his first major league hit and RBI in his very first game Thursday, San Francisco Giants outfielder Lee Jung-hoo said his dream has become reality. "I am happy to have played my first game. I've been dreaming of this moment," Lee told Yonhap News Agency in the visiting clubhouse at Petco Park in San Diego, where the Giants lost to the home team Padres 6-4. Lee went 1-for-3 with an RBI from a sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh. "I don't have any regr

March 29, 2024

Pirates' Bae Ji-hwan to begin new season on injured list

Bae Ji-hwan, the South Korean utility player for the Pittsburgh Pirates, will begin the 2024 regular season on the injured list. The Pirates finalized their Opening Day roster Monday, three days before the start of the new Major League Baseball season. Bae was not among the 26 players on the list, and the Pirates said Bae will be on the while dealing with a left hip flexor injury. The 24-year-old has not played in spring training since March 5. In 11 exhibition games, he batted .273 with an RBI,

March 26, 2024

All 5 games sell out on 1st day of new KBO season

All five games on the first day of the new South Korean baseball season sold out Saturday, with over 100,000 fans enjoying the action nationwide. The defending Korean Series champions LG Twins hosted the Hanwha Eages in front of 23,750 fans at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, according to the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). The game between the Lotte Giants and the SSG Landers at Incheon SSG Landers Park in Incheon, just west of Seoul, was played in front of a sellout crowd of 23,000. The Ki

March 23, 2024

Ex-MLB ace Ryu Hyun-jin fizzles in 1st KBO regular-season start since '12

Former major league ERA champion Ryu Hyun-jin struggled in his first regular-season start in South Korea since 2012 on Saturday, unable to live up to considerable pregame hype amid shaky command and shoddy defense behind him. Ryu, who rejoined the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in February after 11 years in the majors, gave up five runs on six hits and three walks in only 3 2/3 innings against the LG Twins in his Opening Day start at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. Thre

March 23, 2024

LG Twins receive Korean Series championship rings before home opener

Members of the LG Twins received their 2023 South Korean baseball championship rings before their home opener in Seoul on Saturday. The Korean Series championship rings were presented before the Twins hosted the Hanwha Eagles to begin their 2024 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season at Jamsil Baseball Stadium. Representing the team, captain Oh Ji-hwan received his ring from Twins CEO Kim In-seog on the field during the pregame ceremony. The center of the ring features the image of the Korean

March 23, 2024

Defending KBO champions Twins not fearing ex-MLB ace Ryu Hyun-jin in season opener

As they open their South Korean baseball title defense Saturday against former major league All-Star Ryu Hyun-jin, the LG Twins aren't backing away from the challenge. Ryu, the 36-year-old left-hander back with the Hanwha Eagles after 11 years in Major League Baseball (MLB), could spell trouble for left-handed batters, thanks to his cutters and changeups painting the corners to keep them off balance. The Twins will still send seven left-handed batters against Ryu, with manager Youm Kyoung-y

March 23, 2024

Dodgers-Padres season opener is a triumphant homecoming for Korean star Kim

Shohei Ohtani has received the most attention as his Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres prepare to launch the Major League Baseball season with the first regular season games in South Korea. But the two-game “Seoul Series" starting on Wednesday is also a triumphant homecoming for Padres shortstop Ha-Seong Kim , who is coming off a dominant season and returning to a stadium he previously called home. Kim played for the Korea Baseball Organization’s Kiwoom Heroes for sev

March 19, 2024

Dodgers' Opening Day starter hoping to see S. Korean style cheering in Los Angeles

While his Los Angeles Dodgers played their two exhibition games in Seoul to prepare for their regular season openers, starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow got a close look at what the South Korean style of cheering is all about. And the American right-hander quickly became a fan of it. In a typical Korea Baseball Organization game, there are cheering teams on either side of the diamond, with the home team usually taking the stage on the first base side and the road team setting up shot on the third ba

March 19, 2024

Dodgers beat S. Korea in final exhibition before MLB opener in Seoul

The Los Angeles Dodgers rallied past South Korea 5-2 to win their second straight exhibition game in Seoul on Monday, with the regular season opener against the San Diego Padres on the horizon. The Dodgers scored three times in the bottom of the third to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, before adding an insurance run in the seventh. The Dodgers and the Padres will then open the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season at Gocheok on Wednesday, with another g

March 18, 2024

Padres' S. Korean pitcher Go Woo-suk to make homecoming appearance vs. ex-KBO team

Go Woo-suk, the South Korean relief pitcher for the San Diego Padres, will make an appearance against his former Korea Baseball Organization club LG Twins on Monday, his manager said. Mike Shildt said Go, former closer with the Twins, will likely make an appearance in middle innings when the Padres take on the South Korean team in an exhibition game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. It will be the second exhibition game for the Padres here before they play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the season-openi

March 18, 2024

Padres squeeze past S. Korean national team in exhibition game in Seoul

The San Diego Padres eked out a 1-0 win over the South Korean national team in their first exhibition game in Seoul on Sunday. The Padres scored their only run on a wild pitch by South Korean starter Moon Dong-ju in the top of the first inning at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. South Korea outhit the Padres 5-4, but squandered some late scoring opportunities against the Padres bullpen. Kim Ha-seong, the South Korean shortstop for the Padres, batted 1-for-4 in his homecoming in front of 12,497 fans.

March 17, 2024

S. Korean pitcher Moon Dong-ju flashes electric yet wild stuff in exhibition vs. Padres

Billed as the next big thing in South Korean baseball, right-hander Moon Dong-ju showcased some electric stuff in an exhibition game against the San Diego Padres in Seoul on Sunday. The problem was Moon didn't always know where his blazing fastballs were going. Moon, starter for the Hanwha Eagles in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), got the starting nod for the national team against the Padres at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. It was the first of two exhibitions scheduled for the Padres

March 17, 2024

Shohei Ohtani strikes out in both at-bats in exhibition vs. KBO club

It wasn't meant to be for Shohei Ohtani on Sunday. The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar struck out in both of his two plate appearances in an exhibition game in Seoul against the South Korean club Kiwoom Heroes. Ohtani is the biggest draw here as the Dodgers are gearing up for the historic Major League Baseball Seoul Series against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday and Thursday -- the first MLB regular season games to be played in South Korea. Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract wit

March 17, 2024

Ohtani appreciates warm reception from S. Korean fans

Given the oft-bitter sporting rivalry between South Korea and Japan, it is not often that an athlete from one country attains as much respect and popularity in the other as the Japanese baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani has in South Korea. For the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger, the feeling is mutual, as he prepares to play historic Major League Baseball (MLB) games in Seoul. Ohtani arrived in South Korea on Friday to great fanfare, drawing boisterous cheers from hundreds of fans gathered at Incheon

March 16, 2024

Ohtani leads Dodgers to S. Korea as they prepare for historic MLB series

Led by their Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers landed in South Korea on Friday for historic Major League Baseball games in Seoul, drawing thunderous cheers from hundreds of fans camped out at the country's main airport. The Dodgers arrived at Incheon International Airport, just west of Seoul, around 2:30 p.m. Their charter flight touched down about 14 hours after the San Diego Padres, their opponents for the two-game Seoul Series set for Wednesday and Thursday. The

March 15, 2024

[Graphic News] Ryu Hyun-jin signs megadeal with Eagles

Former Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin made KBO history with an eight-year contract worth 17 billion won ($12.8 million) with the Hanwha Eagles on Feb. 22. The Eagles said Ryu’s contract has no incentives baked into the contract and all 17 billion won is guaranteed. It is also the longest contract in KBO history. Initially, the Eagles had been expected to offer Ryu, who turns 37 later this month, 17 billion won over four years. But by spreading out the same amount of mone

March 15, 2024

Ryu Hyun-jin pleased with 1st KBO preseason outing, thanks fans for support

After pitching in front of home fans for the first time in over a decade, Hanwha Eagles starter Ryu Hyun-jin said Tuesday he was mostly happy with his performance. The 36-year-old left-hander pitched four innings of one-run ball against the Kia Tigers in a preseason game in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon, some 140 kilometers south of Seoul. It was Ryu's first official KBO game since Oct. 4, 2012. He first pitched for the Eagles from 2006 to 201

March 12, 2024

Giants' Lee Jung-hoo extends spring training hitting streak to 5 games

Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants has stretched his spring training hitting streak to five games. The South Korean rookie center fielder batted 1-for-2 with an RBI and a walk against the Colorado Rockies at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Monday (local time). Batting leadoff, Lee grounded out to second base in the top of the first and drew a walk in the top of the second. Lee came up with runners at the corners in the top of the fourth and cashed in a run wit

March 5, 2024

Ryu Hyun-jin likely to pitch in 2 preseason games before KBO Opening Day start: manager

Former major league All-Star Ryu Hyun-jin will likely make two preseason appearances before marking his much-anticipated regular season return to the top South Korean league, his manager said Monday. Ryu and the Hanwha Eagles returned home Monday from their spring training in Okinawa, Japan. Ryu, the 2019 National League All-Star Game starter, reunited with the Eagles on an eight-year contract on Feb. 22, and flew to Okinawa to report to camp the following day. His deal, worth 17 billion won ($1

March 4, 2024