Breaking Park Gun-woo's 'record' stamp without a sound

 Park Gun-woo reached the 1,200-hit plateau in his career against the Sasik Lotte Giants on March 23. He was two hits shy of the milestone before the game, but pounded out three hits to reach the 83rd all-time milestone. In the fourth inning, he pushed a forked ball off Lotte starter Na Gyun-an, and in the sixth, he pulled the same pitch for a single to left field. SBS Sports commentator Lee Jong-yeol said, "He bats according to the situation. He's a very smart hitter," said SBS Sports commentator Lee Jong-yeol. Just four days earlier, he had reached 100 career home runs. In the bottom of the seventh inning of a 1-5 home game against the Samsung Lions on Sept. 19, Park took a seven-pitch fastball from Samsung reliever Lee Seung-hyun over the right field fence. It took him 3674 days to reach triple digits in home runs since April 27, 2013, when he hit his first career home run. Coincidentally, all of the games in which he reached the 1,200-hit, 100-homer plateau came in te

"To the world stage"...Korean women's baseball heads to Asian Cup final

 A passionate Korean women's baseball team has traveled to Hong Kong for the Asian Cup finals. The team, led by head coach Yang Sang-moon, departed for Hong Kong today (April 24) to compete in the third Asian Baseball Confederation (BAF) Women's Asian Cup. "I took the helm with the responsibility of wanting to do something for women's baseball," said Yang Sang-moon, former manager of the LG Twins and Lotte Giants in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), just before departing, "and while training with our players, I felt a different attraction from men's baseball. I was moved every time I trained." "In international competitions, you have to produce results. All of our players understand the importance of competing under the Korean flag." South Korea, ranked 10th in the WBSC World Baseball Softball Federation (WBSC) World Rankings, is in Pool B of the tournament and will face Japan (No. 1) on Saturday, qualifier Indonesia (not ranked) on S

4-5 starters show QS no-goal monster, now it's time for Ahn Woo-jin's '3.07 against KT'

 Kiwoom Heroes ace Ahn Woo-jin (24) will look to continue his upward trend in the starting lineup. Kiwoom will play their fifth game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against KT Wiz at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on April 24. Currently, Kiwoom is riding a two-game winning streak and a five-game winning streak against KT. In the last two games, Kiwoom has gotten solid pitching performances from its No. 4 starter Choi Won-tae and No. 5 starter Jung Chan-heon. Choi Won-tae pitched six innings of three-hit ball with two walks and six strikeouts in a 1-0 win over KIA in Gwangju on April 21. Chung Chan-heon also made his team smile. He pitched six innings against Suwon KT on April 23, allowing just three hits and a walk. While the offense was held to four runs in the two games, it was the efforts of the bottom of the order that gave the team the win. In the upswing, Kiwoom pulls out its strongest card. Irreplaceable ace Ahn Woo-jin will look to continue his hot streak when he starts against S

SSG starters 'the final piece of the puzzle'... Elias makes LG Electronics debut

 SSG Landers' new foreign pitcher Roenis Elias, 35, could be the final piece of the starting rotation puzzle in the KBO. Elias will take the mound against the LG Twins of the 2023 Shinhan Bank Solar KBO League on April 24 at SSG Landers Field in Incheon. It will be Elias' KBO debut. SSG started the 2023 season with a foreign pitching staff of Ernie Romero and Kirk McCarty. However, Romero was released before pitching a single game. After complaining of shoulder pain during spring training in February, Romero didn't make the opening day roster and traveled to the United States for rehabilitation late last month. Romero's extended absence prompted SSG to look for a replacement, signing Elias for a total of $540,000. Elias, who made his big league debut with the Seattle Mariners in 2014, went 22-24 with a 3.96 ERA in 133 career big league appearances until last year. At Triple-A, he has appeared in 96 games, going 24-18 with one save and a 4.93 ERA. Elias, who represented

Yang Ji's love letter..."I want to play baseball with my brother for a long time"

 "I want to play baseball with (Jang) Won-jun for a long time." Jang Won-jun is a veteran in his mid-30s and has announced his retirement from the national team, but he is still a younger brother to his longtime teammate two years his senior. Doosan Bears catcher Yang Yang-ji (36) showed his affection for Doosan pitcher Jang Won-jun (38). Doosan won a 7-5 home game against the Samsung Lions at Jamsil Stadium on March 23. In his first start in 958 days, Jang Won-jun pitched five innings of four-run ball and became the first pitcher to win in 1844 days. With the win, Jang reached the 130-win plateau in his career, the 11th most in KBO history. In the process, his younger brother, Yang Ji, helped him reach 130 wins. Yang-ji-san sat in a catcher's mask and batted alongside Jang Won-jun in the batter's box, cleverly mixing up his pitches and batting third, going 3-for-3 with a double, a walk and a run scored. "After giving up four runs in the second inning, I used my

Lotte's first-team enrollment after 764 days in Korea...must seize opportunity for outfield roster spot

 Lotte signed switch-hitter outfielder Kook Hae-sung (34) to the first team on Thursday. He was called up to the first team just two days after signing for a tryout. His last first-team game was against Sajik Lotte on April 20, 2021, so it's been 764 days since he last played in a first-team stadium. Kook Hae-sung met with the team before the regular-season home game against the NC at Sasik Stadium in Busan on the same day. He chatted with the coaching staff in a cheerful mood and began batting practice with veterans such as Jeon Jun-woo, No Jin-hyuk, and Lee Hak-joo. Manager Larry Sutton, hitting coach Lee Byung-kyu, and first base coach Kim Pyeong-ho also welcomed the youngster, who has resumed his professional career after a difficult start. "I watched his swing on video, and he has a short but powerful swing, so I think he can help the team," Sutton said, adding, "He can add depth to the lineup. We'll have to see what kind of batting order we put him in."