Samsung Lions' skipper Huh Sam-young is managing his second Opening Day in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on Saturday, but it feels like the first one to him. In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic caused multiple delays to the start of the season. It had been scheduled to start on March 28, and the league eventually decided on May 5. By the time that first day rolled around, it was too anticlimactic for Huh. This year, things are at least starting on time. Four of the five games scheduled w

Choo Shin-soo has waited his whole life to make his debut in South Korean professional baseball. So what's another day? Choo, the 38-year-old former major leaguer now with the South Korean club SSG Landers, was scheduled to play in his first Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular season game on Saturday. But the Landers' game against the Lotte Giants at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, was rained out, along with three of four other games: the Kia Tigers vers

To a man, South Korean baseball players who had previously only seen Choo Shin-soo in action in the majors say they're honored to now be in the same league with the veteran. Following 16 years in the bigs, Choo signed with the SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in February. Before the ink on his one-year, 2.7 billion won ($2.4 million) contract was dry, Choo became the face of his new team and the most compelling name to watch this season. In the virtual preseason media day

Two rival clubs at odds over a disputed player acquisition will square off in the K League 1 as the season resumes over the weekend following a brief international break. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, currently in first place with 14 points, will visit Suwon Samsung Bluewings, in fourth with 11 points, at 2 p.m. Saturday. The kickoff is at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, 45 kilometers south of Seoul. It's a matchup between the league's most productive offense (Jeonbuk) and its stingiest defense (S

As he prepares to make his third straight Opening Day start this week, Toronto Blue Jays' left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin has adopted big picture thinking. The South Korean ace will be on the mound at Yankee Stadium to face the New York Yankees -- at 1:05 p.m. Thursday (local time), or 2:05 a.m. Friday in Seoul. He also started the first day of last season for the Blue Jays and had the honor for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019. While Opening Day assignments for starting pitchers carry certain symboli

Perhaps no player has generated quite as much buzz ahead of a South Korean baseball season as Choo Shin-soo has this spring for the SSG Landers. He isn't the first ex-major leaguer from the country to set foot in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). Even Park Chan-ho, the first South Korean to play in Major League Baseball (MLB), chose to finish out his career at home. But Park arrived here in 2012 in the twilight of his career, having spent the previous year in Japan. His lone season with t

In a season unlike any other in South Korean baseball history in 2020, the year of the coronavirus pandemic, the NC Dinos emerged as the first-time champions. While the rest of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) may be hoping the 2021 season will be different than last year -- more fans in the stands would be a nice change, for one -- the Dinos will try to ensure the end result will be the same, with the Korean Series title staying with them. The 2021 season will open Saturday, an on-time s

Tampa Bay Rays' South Korean first baseman Choi Ji-man will begin the 2021 season on the shelf, as he's scheduled to undergo knee surgery this week. The Rays announced before their spring training finale in Lakeland, Florida, on Tuesday (local time) that Choi will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Wednesday morning. Though the exact timetable for Choi's return hasn't been determined, he's expected to miss three to five weeks. The regular season opens Thursday across the United Sta

Texas Rangers' South Korean pitcher Yang Hyeon-jong may have blown his chance at making the big league roster at the start of the new season, following a wild outing in his final spring training game. Yang issued three walks and gave up two runs in 2/3 of an inning in relief against the Milwaukee Brewers at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Monday (local time). Yang, who signed a minor league deal after 14 years in South Korea and received an invitation to spring training, has been tryi

Park In-bee has added another line to her LPGA Hall of Fame resume. The South Korean veteran collected her first victory of the 2021 season at the Kia Classic in Carlsbad, California, on Sunday (local time). It was also Park's 21st career title. Park had finished second at the tournament three times -- in 2010, 2016 and 2019 -- before finally breaking through with a comfortable, five-stroke win over two Americans, Amy Olson and Lexi Thompson. Park shot a two-under 70 in the final round to fin

Pitching in his first spring training game in nearly three weeks, Kim Kwang-hyun of the St. Louis Cardinals was undone by extra-base hits. The South Korean left-hander served up two triples while giving up two runs in two innings against the Miami Marlins at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, Florida, on Saturday (local time). This was Kim's first preseason since March 8, when he was charged with four earned runs in 2 1/3 innings against the same Marlins. While preparing for his next ou

South Korean baseball fans won't get to sleep in this weekend, with two of their own set to make final appearances in the ongoing major league spring training in the early morning hours. Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays will start against the Philadelphia Phillies at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida, at 7:37 a.m. Saturday (Korean time). It will be his third official spring start, but fifth appearance overall, counting unofficial scrimmages. The left-hander has built up to 77 pitches and fi

Having been sidelined for about two weeks with a knee injury, Tampa Bay Rays' South Korean infielder Choi Ji-man can't wait to return to the field. The rehab has been taking longer than he'd like. In a Zoom media conference from Florida on Thursday (local time), Choi said he's been surprised by two aspects of his current condition: one, that he's had to deal with pain on two different occasions, and two, that the rehab has gone on as long as it has. "It's such a shame that I've been sitt

Texas Rangers' South Korean pitcher Yang Hyeon-jong got knocked around in his first spring training start, wobbling in his pursuit of a major league job by the end of camp next week. Yang allowed two runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings against the Cincinnati Reds at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona, on Wednesday (local time). Four of those hits and both of the runs came in the second inning. The left-hander had made three relief appearances and pitched to a 3.00 ERA over six innings prior

Eleven members of the SK Hawks men's handball team have been confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus, a local government said Wednesday. Thirteen players and coaches of the team, based in Cheongju, 150 kilometers south of Seoul, underwent COVID-19 tests Tuesday, after nine people showed signs of fever and cough in the afternoon. Eleven of them tested positive while two tested negative, the city government said. Health authorities are conducting an epidemiological survey to determine the