South Korean baseball club Nexen Heroes admitted Monday to receiving illegal cash in player transactions last year, confirming long-held suspicions that the financially-strapped team had been dumping players for money. Ko Hyung-wook, general manager of the Seoul-based Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club Nexen Heroes. YonhapKo Hyung-wook, general manager of the Seoul-based Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club, acknowledged that his club had received cash from the NC Dinos and the KT Wiz in s

Texas Rangers' South Korean hitter Choo Shin-soo now has the most home runs among Asian players in Major League Baseball history.Choo made history with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning against the Kansas City Royals at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday (local time), lifting the Rangers to a 4-3 victory.Choo has now hit 176 career home runs, one ahead of former New York Yankees star Hideki Matsui for most long balls by a player from Asia.Choo launched that oppos

The Korea Baseball Organization on Wednesday suspended two players facing sexual assault allegations without pay, effective immediately.Earlier in the day, police in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, said two teammates for the Seoul-based Nexen Heroes are under investigation on suspicions of sexually assaulting a woman at an Incheon hotel. The Heroes are visiting Incheon for a three-game road series against the SK Wyverns that began Tuesday.Police initially withheld the identities of the acc

To heal a blister on his pitching hand that has been bothering him all year, Nexen Heroes' right-hander Shin Jae-young will go the extra mile -- to the nearest bathroom, perhaps.Add the 2016 Korea Baseball Organization Rookie of the Year to the list of pitchers who will urinate on their hands, as long as it means their blisters will go away. Rich Hill of the Los Angeles Dodgers has been known to do it, and Jameson Taillon of the Pittsburgh Pirates said earlier this week he'd be willing to try it

Two seasoned veterans are trying to keep their struggling Korea Baseball Organization club afloat after opening their season on a down note.Samsung Lions' starter Jang Won-sam and outfielder Park Han-yi are two of the few remaining pieces from the club's dynasty years from 2010 to 2015, a six-year span during which they made every Korean Series and won four consecutive championships starting in 2011.But since losing to the Doosan Bears in the 2015 Korean Series, the Lions have fallen on hard tim

Los Angeles Dodgers' South Korean starter Ryu Hyun-jin has left his start early with a left groin strain.Ryu lasted just 1 1/3 innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix on Wednesday (local time), with the Dodgers ahead 1-0.After throwing a 0-1 cutter to Deven Marrero in the bottom of the second, Ryu came up hobbling. After a brief chat with manager Dave Roberts and training staff, Ryu walked off the mound.Ryu tried to stretch his left leg but looked to be in some discomf

Toronto Blue Jays' South Korean reliever Oh Seung-hwan has bounced back from a tough outing with a perfect inning in relief.Oh struck out two in a clean sixth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field in Minneapolis on Tuesday (local time), as the Jays went on to win 7-4 in 10 innings. This was Oh's second perfect outing in 14 appearances this year.The right-hander lowered his ERA from 2.38 to 2.19. In his previous appearance against the Texas Rangers last Saturday, Oh gave up a solo ho

The nation's top baseball league said Thursday it will open disciplinary proceedings against a club over its sign stealing attempt.The Korea Baseball Organization said it will convene a disciplinary committee meeting, on a date to be determined later, to discuss the LG Twins' admission Wednesday that they tried to steal pitching signs.They got into hot water after Wednesday's road game against the Kia Tigers at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, when a sheet o

Los Angeles Dodgers' South Korean starter Ryu Hyun-jin has won his second consecutive start, while setting a new season high in strikeouts.Ryu held the San Diego Padres to two runs on three hits over six innings at Petco Park in San Diego on Monday (local time), striking out nine without issuing a walk. Ryu improved to 2-0, though his ERA rose slightly from 2.79 to 2.87. Ryu was relieved by Tony Cingrani to begin the seventh with the Dodgers ahead 6-2. Yasmani Grandal's grand slam in the top of

The Hanwha Eagles, a perennial doormat in the Korea Baseball Organization, find themselves in an unfamiliar position in the 2018 season: third place in the standings.With 10 wins and eight losses, the Eagles are alone in third, two games back of the SK Wyverns and four behind the league-leading Doosan Bears.Here are some facts that illustrate how bad they have been in recent years. By opening the season at 10-8, the Eagles have reached 10 victories before suffering 10 losses for the first time s

South Korean baseball's teen sensation Lee Jung-hoo has proven immune to the dreaded sophomore slump so far in 2018, as he's putting together yet another productive season following a historic rookie campaign.Through Thursday's action in the Korea Baseball Organization, the Nexen Heroes outfielder and the reigning Rookie of the Year was leading the league with 24 hits in 16 games. He also ranked ninth with a .369 batting average, sixth with six doubles and tied for 14th with four other players a

Toronto Blue Jays' South Korean reliever Oh Seung-hwan has tossed a scoreless inning against the Baltimore Orioles. Oh kept the O's off the board in one inning of relief work at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore on Wednesday (local time). The right-hander entered the game in the seventh inning with the Jays trailing 5-3, replacing Johan Axford.Oh first struck out Adam Jones on a four-seam fast ball. He then allowed a double to Pedro Alvarez and surrendered a single to Chris Davis, which g

The Los Angeles Dodgers' South Korean starter Ryu Hyun-jin has picked up his first win of the season with six shutout innings against the Oakland Athletics.The left-hander held the Athletics to just one hit at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Tuesday (local time), while striking out eight and walking one. He was lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the sixth inning with the Dodgers leading 4-0, and the Dodgers went on to win by the same score.This was Ryu's second start of the season, and

Los Angeles Dodgers' South Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin has had his start pushed up by a day due to a teammate's illness.The Dodgers announced Sunday (local time) that Ryu and Alex Wood would swap their starts for the upcoming two-game series against the Oakland Athletics.Ryu had been scheduled to start Wednesday, a day after Wood. But Ryu will take the mound Tuesday instead, after Wood came down with food poisoning and missed a scheduled bullpen session Sunday. Manager Dave Roberts said Wood wou

Toronto Blue Jays' South Korean reliever Oh Seung-hwan has added a scoreless inning to his 2018 resume.Oh held the Chicago White Sox off the board in one inning of relief work at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Wednesday (local time). The right-hander entered the game in the seventh inning with the score tied at 3-3. It was Oh's third appearance of the season in four days.He got Tim Anderson to ground out to shortstop Gift Ngoepe for the first out. Adam Engel then lined a single over Ngoepe, but he