After his team won the past three South Korean baseball titles in a row, Ryu Joong-il, manager of the Samsung Lions, said the club is ready for a fresh start. The Lions held their inaugural meeting of 2014 at their training facility in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, about 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Afterward, Ryu told reporters the Lions will face a crossroads in the 2014 Korea Ba...

NEW YORK (AP) ― Alex Rodriguez’s drug suspension was cut to 162 games from 211 by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz, a decision the New York Yankees third baseman vowed to fight in federal court. Rodriguez also would be sidelined for any postseason games this year under the ruling announced Saturday. “The number of games sadly comes as no surprise, as the deck has been stacked against me from day one...

A recent decision by the Korea Baseball Organization to add an extra roster spot for foreign players starting in 2014 will likely have a positive impact on the quality of play in the top-flight domestic league, three veteran pitchers from overseas say. Previously, the KBO teams were allowed to sign up to two imports. From 2014, they will be permitted to put a maximum of three players on their ac...

General managers of the teams in the top South Korean baseball league on Tuesday discussed potential rule changes for the upcoming season, including tweaking the current free agency system. The officials of the 10 teams in the Korea Baseball Organization held their first executive committee meeting on Tuesday. The nine current teams were joined by the KT Wiz, which will enter the KBO in 2015. T...

South Korean baseball club Nexen Heroes announced on Monday they've reached a strategic partnership agreement with the reigning World Series champion Boston Red Sox. The Seoul-based Korea Baseball Organization team said its president, Lee Jang-seok, met with Allard Baird, vice president of player personnel for the Red Sox, in the South Korean capital on Sunday to ink their deal. The Heroes note...

The Kia Tigers in the top domestic baseball league announced Thursday they've signed former Japanese league ace D.J. Houlton. The Korea Baseball Organization club said the 34-year-old American right-hander signed a one-year deal worth $250,000, along with a signing bonus of $50,000. Houlton pitched sparingly for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Major League Baseball, but he's best known for his succe...

NAPLES, Florida (AP) ― Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig was arrested on a reckless driving charge for the second time this year after officers clocked him going 110 mph in a 70 mph zone. A news release from the Florida Highway Patrol said a white Mercedes driven by the 23-year-old Cuban defector was pulled over around 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Authorities said Puig was arrested and charged ...

The bidding for Japanese star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka has begun. All 30 major league teams have been notified that the 30-day period to sign the 25-year-old right-hander began at 1300 GMT Thursday, according to Major League Baseball spokesman Michael Teevan. Clubs have until 2200 GMT on Jan. 24 to attempt to reach an agreement with the ace. If Tanaka and a MLB team come to terms, that franchise...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― The San Francisco Giants have agreed to sell first baseman Brett Pill to the Kia Tigers of the Korean Baseball Organization. The Giants say Pill has agreed to a one-year contract with the South Korean team pending a physical after Christmas. Pill remains on the Giants’ 40-man roster until after he passes his physical. Pill batted .224 with three homers and 12 RBIs in 85 at-...

NEW YORK (AP) ― On his first day in Yankees pinstripes, Carlos Beltran had some choice words ― for the Mets. Having signed a $119 million, seven-year contract with the Mets before the 2005 season, Beltran was unhappy about his stay in Queens by the time he was dealt to San Francisco in July 2011. He felt he was unfairly targeted for taking a called third strike from St. Louis’ Adam Wainwright o...