With more international eyeballs on the league than ever before, umpires in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) are operating under the microscope to an unprecedented degree. And the situation has put a previously little-known, umpire promotion-relegation system in the spotlight. The KBO introduced that promotion-relegation system in July last year, and it was to take effect with the 2020 season. The league will evaluate umpires' performances at the end of each season, based on consistency

In a bid to atone for his checkered past, former major leaguer Kang Jung-ho has promised to donate his salary to charities should he sign with a South Korean ball club. A source close to Kang told Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday that Kang, a former Pittsburgh Pirates infielder, made that pledge in a letter he submitted to the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) the previous day. With his big league career essentially over following his third drunk driving accident in December 2016, Kang, 33, is e

Things have gone from bad to worse for the last-place club in South Korean baseball this season. The SK Wyverns said Tuesday their leading slugger Han Dong-min will be out six to eight weeks with a broken right tibia. Their starting second baseman Kim Chang-pyeong is also out with left shoulder issues. Han, who is leading the Wyverns with six homers, good for second overall in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), fouled a pitch off his right leg during Sunday's game against the Kia Tigers.

For the 2009 and 2010 seasons in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), the LG Twins were so desperate for home runs that they installed a temporary, drawn-in fence for their home games at the cavernous Jamsil Stadium. The Seoul ballpark, shared by the Twins and the Doosan Bears, is the largest stadium in the league: it is 125 meters from home plate to center field, and 100 meters down the line to both left and right. The Twins set up the fence 4 meters closer to home plate at the center. It w

Former major league infielder Kang Jung-ho, seeking a return to the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) under the cloud of multiple drunk driving cases, received a one-year suspension from the South Korean league on Monday. During its disciplinary committee meeting, the KBO also ordered Kang to do 300 hours of community service. The lighter-than-expected penalties will keep the door open for Kang, 33, to return to the league where he began his professional career in 2006.   Kang filed for r

There are few things as consistent in South Korean baseball in 2020 as this: Jose Miguel Fernandez getting a base hit, or two, for the Doosan Bears. As we move slowly out of the "small sample size" territory, Fernandez, the Cuban hitting machine, is batting a robust .500 (36-for-72) after 17 games in this Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season. He had 13 hits in 24 at-bats last week, which included his third four-hit game of the season Saturday against the Samsung Lions. No other

The South Korean baseball league will open disciplinary proceedings on Monday to determine the fate of a former major leaguer seeking a return to Seoul despite his checkered past. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced Friday that it will hold a disciplinary committee meeting to discuss a possible penalty for Kang Jung-ho, a one-time Pittsburgh Pirate who has applied for a return to the South Korean league. Because of his three drunk driving cases in the past, mostly recently in 2016

International exposure will grow even more now for South Korean baseball. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced Friday that, in addition to the United States and Japan, its games will be broadcast in 130 countries, including Canada, Mexico and the Netherlands. The rest of Europe, parts of Asia, the Middle East and Africa will also have access to live KBO games via ESPN networks and affiliates in these countries, the league office here said. ESPN is the KBO's US broadcaster partner

DAEGU -- After missing the South Korean baseball postseason in each of the past four years, the Samsung Lions are not expected to contend for a playoff spot this year, either. But at least they can look toward their bullpen and see seeds of hope. There are obvious reasons for the Lions' 4-9 start to the 2020 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season. Currently in ninth place among 10 teams, the Lions have the worst starting pitching ERA with 6.75 and have the second-lowest on-base plus sluggin

The South Korean baseball league said Wednesday it will keep an eye on the gradual reopening of schools as it hopes to start putting fans back in the stands during the pandemic as early as next month. Ryu Dae-hwan, secretary general of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), said the league is in "close coordination" with the sports ministry and public health officials" to determine when fans will be allowed to attend games again. The 2020 regular season began on May 5, after a

The SK Wyverns are on the verge of tying a franchise record that they'd rather not match: the longest losing streak of 11 games. The Wyverns dropped their 10th straight game Tuesday night against the Kiwoom Heroes, falling 11-6 after giving up six runs in the bottom of the first at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. They dropped to 1-11 for the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season, last place among 10 teams. It's hard to believe that this is the mostly same club that finished last year's regular

They weren't supposed to be this good. By several measures, the Hanwha Eagles have been among the best pitching teams in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) this season. They own the second-lowest ERA with 3.31 and second-lowest walks and hits per nine innings (WHIP) with 1.24. Their starting pitchers have collectively the best ERA in the league at 2.23. In terms of opponents' on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS), the Eagles have been the stingiest with .674. And no team has served up few

In the young Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season, NC Dinos' leadoff man Park Min-woo is elevating the term "hitting machine" to a whole new level. In one of the most remarkable stats so far in 2020, Park has swung and missed on just one pitch in the strike zone. Park has been to the plate 48 times in 11 games through Sunday, and has seen 120 strikes. And he has fanned on exactly one of those 120 pitches, or 0.8 percent of the time. Park has put 43 of those strikes in play, foul

With two weeks in the books for the 2020 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season, home run numbers are up from a year ago. And small sample size notwithstanding, there is statistical evidence that can explain the increase in homers and that can also put to rest, at least for now, the "great ball controversy." To curb excessive offensive explosion and ensure more balance between hitting and pitching, the KBO de-juiced the ball for 2019. The league's 10 teams combined for 1,014 home r

The longest three minutes of outfielder Byeon Sang-kwon's career came Sunday, in the seventh inning of his first Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) game for the Kiwoom Heroes. Pinch hitting for center fielder Park Jun-tae in the No. 9 spot, Byeon drove a 1-0 pitch from Choi Dong-hwan down the right field line. It was initially ruled a foul, but the Heroes challenged the call. After three minutes of video review, the call was overturned. Byeon was awarded his first KBO hit, a double. Byeon then