The retiring South Korean baseball star Choo Shin-soo has decided to postpone a celebration of his long professional career to next year. The SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced Friday that Choo, who plans to hang up his spikes after this season, asked the club not to hold his retirement ceremony this year. According to the Landers, Choo said he didn't want to be a distraction during the club's fight for a postseason spot. With their game on Friday rained out

The top South Korean baseball league surpassed the 10-million mark in attendance Sunday, clearing yet another milestone in its record-breaking season. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said its 10 clubs have now combined for over 10 million fans after four games Sunday. Prior to Sunday, the league's attendance sat at 9,943,674. The KBO established a single-season attendance record Aug. 18 with 8,475,664 fans, eclipsing the previous mark of 8,400,688 from 2017. Fans have kept flocking to

Park Byung-ho of the Samsung Lions became the third player in South Korean baseball to hit 400 home runs Wednesday. Park belted his 400th homer to lead off the bottom of the second inning against the Doosan Bears in their Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, some 230 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Park drove a forkball from Bears starter Choi Seung-yong over the right-center field fence for the milestone. He has now homered in four consecutive games.

A former baseball player has been ordered to pay a substantial penalty to San Diego Padres' shortstop Kim Ha-seong for violating an agreement between the two. The Seoul Central District Court ruled in Kim's favor on Friday in a lawsuit against Lim Hye-dong for breach of contract, mandating the defendant to pay 800 million won ($597,000). The dispute originated from a scuffle between the two at a Seoul bar in February 2021. Lim had demanded a settlement from Kim, who was then completi

TOKYO -- A Korean-ethnic high school in Japan won a prestigious national baseball championship for the first time on Friday. Kyoto International High School defeated Kanto Daiichi High School in the final of the National High School Baseball Championship, better known as "Summer Koshien," by the score of 2-1 in extra innings at Hanshin Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, just west of Osaka. Kyoto International was founded in 1963 as an ethnic institution for students of Korean descent. S

Kia Tigers left-hander Yang Hyeon-jong was crowned the new career strikeout king in South Korean baseball Wednesday, proving that nice guys can finish first in sports. Yang struck out Yoon Dong-hee of the Lotte Giants in the top of the third inning of the teams' Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular-season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, some 270 kilometers south of Seoul. It was Yang's 2,049th career strikeout, moving him past former Hanwha Eagles pitcher Song Jin-

Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres exited his latest game with a shoulder injury after a dive back to first base on a pickoff attempt. Kim hurt his right shoulder during the top of the third inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver on Sunday. He opened that inning with a single off the starter Bradley Blalock, and with Luis Arraez at the plate, Kim dove safely back to the bag when the right-hander tried to pick him off. After the safe call, Kim immediately signaled to the d

The South Korean baseball league set a new single-season attendance record on Sunday, surpassing a 7-year-old mark with more than a month left on the season. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced the attendance for the season reached 8,407,887 as of Sunday afternoon, after all 23,750 tickets were sold out for the evening tilt between the Kia Tigers and the LG Twins at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. The previous record had been 8,400,688 fans from the 2017 season, covering 720 ga

The Kia Tigers' All-Star Kim Do-yeong became the youngest member of the "30-30" club in South Korean baseball history Thursday. Kim launched his 30th home run of the 2024 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season in the top of the fifth inning against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, a two-run shot off Heroes starter Enmanuel De Jesus. Kim already had 33 steals prior to Thursday's game. With this home run, Kim, at 20 years, 10 months and 13 days old, became the

Severe heat caused the cancellation of a South Korean baseball game Friday. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said the regular-season game between the LG Twins and the Lotte Giants scheduled in the southeastern city of Ulsan was scrapped due to extreme heat. This marks the first game in the KBO's 42-year history to be canceled because of heat wave. Per KBO regulations, games may be canceled in cities where the highest daily temperature has reached 35 C for at least two consecutive days.

Former major league All-Star Choo Shin-soo became the oldest position player to appear in a game in the South Korean league Wednesday. At 42 years and 11 days old, Choo started as designated hitter for the SSG Landers against the KT Wiz at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, just south of Seoul, in their Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game. Choo moved past former Lotte Giants player Felix Jose, who was 42 years and eight days old when he played in his final KBO game on May 10, 2007. Jose also home

Kiwoom Heroes manager Hong Won-ki said Tuesday he welcomed the introduction of the new pitch-calling device that he feels will help speed up games. The Korea Baseball Organization has distributed PitchCom transmitters and receivers to all 10 clubs, and they're available for use starting with Tuesday's games. Catchers can use the transmitter to give pitch signals to pitchers instead of using conventional finger signs, and pitchers will be able to listen to the call via the receiver worn

The South Korean baseball club SSG Landers reinstated pitcher Roenis Elias from the injured list Tuesday, while terminating a deal with his temporary replacement in a corresponding move. The Landers said Elias, who had been out since May 18 with an oblique injury, will start against the NC Dinos on Wednesday at Changwon NC Park in the southeastern city of Changwon. The Cuban left-hander last pitched on May 12, and was sidelined before his next scheduled start six days later. With Elias out, th

Kia Tigers closer Jung Hai-young, the top vote getter for the All-Star Game, will miss the midseason exhibition due to shoulder injury, his manager said Tuesday. The Tigers put Jung on the injured list on Monday with rotator cuff tendinitis in his right shoulder. The Tigers initially held out hope that Jung would be able to appear in the All-Star Game for the Korea Baseball Organization, scheduled for July 6, as he led all players by receiving about 1.39 million votes from fans. However, Tigers

The Kia Tigers announced Monday their All-Star closer Jung Hai-young will be sidelined for at least two weeks with a shoulder injury. The Tigers, currently in first place in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), said Jung, the 22-year-old right-hander, has been diagnosed with rotator cuff tendinitis in his right shoulder. Jung was lifted during Sunday's game against the Hanwha Eagles after facing four batters due to shoulder discomfort. He had a preliminary test done on Sunday and went thr

Kia Tigers infielder Kim Do-yeong joined the 20-20 club in South Korean baseball Sunday with a home run off former Major League All-Star Ryu Hyun-jin. Kim swatted a solo home run off Ryu, the starter for the Hanwha Eagles, to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, some 270 kilometers south of Seoul. It was Kim's 20th home run of this Korea Baseball Organization season. Kim already had 22 steals prior to Sunday's game. At 20 years, eight mont

The Hanwha Eagles announced Sunday that Kim Kyung-moon, who led South Korea to the 2008 Olympic baseball gold medal, will be their new manager. The Eagles signed Kim to a three-year deal worth 2 billion won ($1.4 million), including a signing bonus of 500 million won. Kim's hiring comes six days after his predecessor, Choi Won-ho, resigned to take the fall for the team's struggles. Kim, 65, will be managing in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) for the first time since June 2018. Ki

The Hanwha Eagles' pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin was scratched from his start Friday evening against the Samsung Lions because of left arm discomfort. Ryu had been scheduled to take the mound at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, some 240 kilometers southeast of Seoul, but the Eagles replaced him about an hour before the 6:30 p.m. first pitch. In Ryu's stead, right-hander Kim Kyu-yeon, who had been pitching in relief all season, made his first career start. The Eagles did not provide further de

The San Francisco Giants' South Korean rookie Lee Jung-hoo has landed on the 10-day injured list with a dislocated left shoulder. The Giants placed Lee on the sidelines Monday, a day after Lee crashed into the center-field wall at Oracle Park in San Francisco while trying to make a grab during the Giants' game against the Cincinnati Reds. Lee crumpled to the ground and immediately grabbed his left shoulder. A few minutes later, the Giants' head athletic trainer, Dave Groeschner, e

Two South Korean players in Major League Baseball this season, Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants and Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres, have both suffered injuries that forced them to leave their games. The San Francisco Giants center fielder Lee Jung-hoo suffered a dislocated left shoulder after crashing into the outfield fence attempting to make a catch against the Cincinnati Reds at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sunday. Kim Ha-seong, shortstop for the San Diego Padres, took a pitc