NEW YORK (AP) ― Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was voted the player of the year in balloting by his fellow Major League Baseball players.The players’ union said Monday that Kershaw also won the Marvin Miller Man of the Year award.Kershaw was 21-3 with an MLB-best 1.77 ERA. He was voted the National League’s outstanding pitcher and became the first player to win three Players Choice awards in one season since voting began in 1992.Voting was conducted Sept. 16. That was before Kershaw wen

The battle for South Korean pro baseball supremacy this year will pit the three-time defending champs against an upstart offensive juggernaut.The Samsung Lions, which have won every Korea Baseball Organization crown since 2011, will take on the Nexen Heroes, which often makes good pitching staffs look dreadful, in the best-of-seven Korean Series starting Tuesday.The Lions, managed by former All-Star shortstop Ryu Joong-il, are trying to become only the second team to win four Korean Series in a

Nexen’s offense heats up just in time for Korean Series

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) ― Madison Bumgarner pitched five innings of near-perfect relief and the San Francisco Giants held off the Kansas City Royals 3-2 Wednesday night in Game 7 of the World Series for their third championship in five seasons.With both starters chased early, this became a matchup of bullpens. And no one stood taller than the 6-foot-5 Bumgarner, who added to his postseason legacy with a third victory this Series.After center fielder Gregor Blanco misplayed Alex Gordon’s drive

San Francisco can capture World Series title with Game 6 win

The Kia Tigers announced on Tuesday they’ve named former All-Star Kim Ki-tai as their new manager.The Gwangju-based Korea Baseball Organization club said Kim has agreed to a three-year deal, with an annual salary of 250 million won ($237,750) and a signing bonus of another 250 million won.Kim replaces Sun Dong-yol, who abruptly resigned last Saturday, six days after signing a two-year contract extension.Kim, 45, previously managed the LG Twins in the KBO. In 2013, he took the Twins to their firs

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― With every pitch, Madison Bumgarner etched his place among the World Series greats.The long, tall lefty kept slinging away and put the San Francisco Giants just one win from yet another championship, throwing a four-hitter to beat the Kansas City Royals 5-0 Sunday night for a 3-2 Series edge.Hardly menacing on the mound, Bumgarner was simply untouchable ― again ― as “MVP! MVP!” chants broke out in the late innings.And by the time the 25-year-old from Hickory, North Carolina,

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Hunter Pence and Pablo Sandoval charged up a pulsating crowd with their shouts and swings, and the San Francisco Giants surged past the Kansas City Royals 11-4 Saturday to tie the World Series at two games apiece.Down by three runs in the early going and in danger of dropping into a huge hole, the Giants and their fans rallied.The win ensured the Series will go back to Kansas City to decide the championship. In the meantime, there’s Game 5 on Sunday when postseason ace Madis

The way the LG Twins swung their bats against the NC Dinos in the opening playoff round in the Korea Baseball Organization over the past week, it was difficult to believe this was the same club that had, statistically, the league’s worst offense in the regular season.The Twins hammered the Dinos 11-3 on Saturday to clinch the best-of-five first round series in four games. In those four games, the Twins scored 31 runs on a whopping 55 hits. They could easily have scored more runs had they been mo

At 1-all, WS moves to quirky Giants park

Royals clobber Giants, tie up World Series