Former major league pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun is coming back to South Korea. The SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced Tuesday they have reunited with their franchise icon on a four-year deal worth up to 15.1 billion won ($12.3 million). The 33-year-old will make 13.1 billion won in total salary over the next four seasons and can earn up to 2 billion won more in incentives....

Four-time Korean Series champion manager Ryu Joong-il was named the new skipper for the national baseball team at this year's Asian Games on Wednesday. The Korea Baseball Softball Association (KBSA) said Ryu, 59, will lead the squad at the Sept. 10-25 Asian Games taking place in Hangzhou, China. His appointment will be finalized at a KBSA board meeting sometime in March. Ryu managed the Samsung...

South Korean pro baseball chief Chung Ji-taik on Tuesday resigned from his post about a year after he took office, citing health issues, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said. Chung, former vice chairman of Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, started his three-year term as the KBO commissioner in January last year, following his predecessor Chung Un-chan. "The KBO League has struggled ...

Former major league All-Star Choo Shin-soo will report to his second South Korean baseball spring training behind schedule following an offseason elbow operation, an official with the club said Wednesday. Choo, the veteran outfielder and designated hitter for the SSG Landers, had surgery on his left elbow in November in the United States, trying to fix ligament damage that had compromised him as...

SUWON -- The KT Wiz, after years as the bottom feeder of South Korean baseball, finally earned their inaugural Korean Series title in 2021. And the goal for their manager, Lee Kang-chul, in 2022 is simple: defend that championship. "I feel like defending the turf is a lot more difficult than going after the trophy the first time," Lee said in an interview at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, about 45 kilom...

South Korean high school baseball prospect Cho Won-bin has inked a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals, months after pulling out of the domestic league draft in pursuit of an American dream. Cho was one of 12 international free agent signings announced by the Cardinals on Saturday (US local time). He is the first Asian amateur to sign with the Cardinals. Cho, set to graduate from Seoul Convention...

Former manager Youm Kyoung-youb was named the new technical director for South Korean baseball Friday, with his main task being assembling the national team for this year's Asian Games. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Youm will soon fill out the rest of the technical committee and take scouting trips through KBO clubs' spring training starting next month. Youm, 53, previously managed...

Doosan Bears' sidearm pitcher Choi Won-joon likes to live high in the strike zone. He threw his fastball about 58 percent of the time last year, and about 40 percent of those pitches sat in the top of the zone. Until last year, Choi wasn't always getting strike calls on those pitches. But things are expected to change this upcoming season, with the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) set out to ex...

After winning their first Korean Series title in 2020, the NC Dinos missed out on the postseason altogether in 2021. They became the first Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club in 11 years to miss the playoffs in their title-defending season. Then came a massive overhaul in the offseason. The Dinos let their franchise icon Na Sung-bum walk via free agency and either traded or released several o...

Despite losing three starting pitchers to injuries midseason, the SSG Landers came within a game of making the postseason in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) last year. But their manager Kim Won-hyong isn't settling for any moral victories. Dropping the regular season finale to the eventual champions KT Wiz cost the Landers a postseason spot, and the loss still gnaws at Kim, who is now ente...

The Kia Tigers signed former major league pitcher Sean Nolin on Sunday, filling up their foreign player quota for 2022 with three new faces. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club said Nolin has agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $900,000. He will make $350,000 in guaranteed salary and $250,000 in signing bonus, with up to $300,000 also available in incentives. Nolin, 32, appeared in 18 ...

GWANGJU -- For Choi Hyoung-woo, the 38-year-old outfielder for the Kia Tigers, the 2021 season wasn't any fun. But the veteran is confident that things will be far different in the new season. In 2021, the Tigers missed the postseason in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) for the third straight season. And Choi endured his least productive full season as a pro; his .233 batting average, .375 ...

After winning their 11th Korean Series title in 2017, the Kia Tigers snuck into the postseason in 2018 and then missed the party in each of the next three years. And their new manager, Kim Jong-kook, said Thursday he will look to end the drought in 2022. "We have improved our squad with some aggressive investments in the offseason, and I will make sure these efforts will not go to waste," Kim s...

The new regular season for South Korean professional baseball will open April 2, the league office announced Thursday. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said its 10 clubs will each play 144 games, per usual, starting the first weekend of April. The top five clubs from the 2020 season will host the two-game series on the opening weekend. The matchups are: the Hanwha Eagles against the Doosan...

The Doosan Bears announced Wednesday they have signed former major league pitcher Robert Stock, pairing the hard-throwing right-hander with the reigning MVP Ariel Miranda in the rotation. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club said Stock has agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $700,000. He will earn $400,000 in guaranteed salary and $100,000 in signing bonus. He can make an additional $200...