The South Korean baseball club Lotte Giants announced Saturday they've hired former New York Mets assistant pitching coach Ricky Meinhold as their director of pitching. The Korea Baseball Organization club said the arrival of the 35-year-old completes their staff on the pitching side for 2022. The Giants said Meinhold will oversee operations and development of their pitching staff at all levels...

From the topsy-turvy regular season to the bitter, early ending to the postseason, things have been all too familiar for the Kiwoom Heroes this year. The Heroes lost to the Doosan Bears 16-8 in the second wild card game Tuesday night to take an exit from the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason. They also fell in the wild card stage last year. As the lower seed at No. 5, the Heroes had ...

National health authorities on Tuesday called on baseball fans to refrain from chanting at stadiums, pointing to risks of spreading COVID-19 even among masked individuals. In a press briefing, Son Young-rae, a senior health ministry official, reminded fans that vocal cheering is still prohibited at Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) games, despite stadiums being fully open again. Starting this m...

The offseason for non-playoff teams in South Korean baseball is barely under way, and one of those five teams caught outside looking in has let go of its manager. Will other clubs follow suit? Given the contract situations for the remaining skippers, it doesn't seem likely at the moment. The Kia Tigers, which finished ninth among 10 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) clubs at 58-76-10 (wins-loss...

Following multiple stints on the injured list (IL) in 2021, Tampa Bay Rays' South Korean first baseman Choi Ji-man can't wait for a fresh, not to mention healthy, start to a new season. Choi returned home early Tuesday after completing his sixth major league campaign, and his third full season with the Rays. He was limited to 83 out of 162 games in the regular season. Choi was sidelined at the ...

The seven-year wait is over. The KT Wiz, once a perennial doormat in South Korean baseball, are now headed to the championship series for the first time. The Wiz shut out the Samsung Lions 1-0 in a tiebreaker game on Sunday to capture the regular season crown in the Korea Baseball Organization. As the pennant winners, the Wiz earned a bye to the best-of-seven Korean Series, which begins on Nov. ...

Jamie Romak, one of the most successful foreign hitters in South Korean baseball history, has announced his retirement after spending his final five seasons here. The SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Sunday the Canadian slugger decided to call it a career following the end of the 2021 season the previous evening. Romak, 36, batted .273 with 155 home runs and 409 RBIs in...

Two Seoul-based rivals will square off on Monday in the first postseason game in South Korean baseball this year. The Doosan Bears will host the Kiwoom Heroes for the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) wild card game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, with the first pitch at 6:30 p.m. Monday. The Bears finished fourth in the regular season at 71-65-8 (wins-losses-ties), and the Heroes ended 1....

As South Korea tries to take baby steps back to normal life during the coronavirus pandemic, fan experience in baseball and football, two of the country's biggest sports, is about to change for the better, too. For one, you can now have the ballpark staple of chicken and beer, colloquially called "chimaek," starting next week, if you're fully vaccinated. The government on Friday unveiled plans ...

A record-breaking ace is putting together a solid case for the most valuable player (MVP) award in South Korean baseball this year, with a handful of other contenders looking to make a last-minute push in the final stretch of the regular season. Doosan Bears' left-hander Ariel Miranda strengthened his candidacy on Sunday by becoming the new single-season strikeout king in the Korea Baseball Orga...

Doosan Bears' left-hander Ariel Miranda is the new single-season strikeout king in South Korean baseball. Miranda got his 224th strikeout of the 2021 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season Sunday against the LG Twins, surpassing a 37-year-old record held by the late Lotte Giants legend Choi Dong-won. Miranda's record-breaking strikeout came against Hong Chang-ki for the second out in the top ...

After becoming the oldest player in South Korean baseball history to put up 20 home runs and 20 steals in the same season Tuesday night, SSG Landers' outfielder Choo Shin-soo wasn't really in the mood to celebrate. For one, Choo has done this before -- not once, but three times in Major League Baseball (MLB). The 2018 American League All-Star for the Texas Rangers enjoyed 20-20 campaigns in 2009...

For the six South Korean players who saw regular season action in Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2021, it was mostly a disappointing campaign, with a couple of them hoping for a chance to change the narrative in the postseason. Toronto Blue Jays' starter Ryu Hyun-jin, the longest-tenured member of the contingent, won his final start of the season in Toronto on Sunday (local time). His five innin...

Backed by an explosive offense, Toronto Blue Jays' Ryu Hyun-jin has matched his career high in wins in a must-win regular season finale, though it wasn't enough to get the club into the postseason. Ryu held the Baltimore Orioles to two runs over five innings in a 12-4 victory at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Sunday (local time). Ryu, who gave up six hits and struck out seven, finished the season ...

Starter-turned-reliever Kim Kwang-hyun has recorded his first save of the season for the St. Louis Cardinals, helping his club move into a playoff position. The South Korean left-hander closed out the Cardinals' 7-6 victory over the New York Mets in 11 innings at Citi Field in New York on Tuesday (local time). This was Kim's first save of 2021 and second save of his major league career. He picke...