SK Wyverns eliminate Lotte Giants, reach Korean Series

The SK Wyverns defeated the Lotte Giants 6-3 on Monday to reach the championship final in South Korea's top baseball league.

For the Korea Baseball Organization crown, the Wyverns will battle the Samsung Lions, the defending champs, in the Korean Series starting Wednesday. The Wyverns will make their sixth straight trip to the Korean Series. They already set the KBO record for consecutive Korean Series appearances with five in 2011.

The Wyverns won the championship in 2007, 2008 and 2010.
In the fifth game of the best-of-five series at Munhak Stadium, the home team Wyverns capitalized on the Giants' sloppy defense to erase an early 3-0 deficit. The Wyverns trailed two games to one in the series before taking the final two games.

SK's second baseman Jeong Keun-woo was voted the most valuable player of this round. He batted .444 in this series with three steals.

Park Jae-sang broke the 3-3 tie in the fifth for the Wyverns with a triple. The Wyverns then went ahead 5-3 later in the fifth on a defensive lapse by the Giants.

Catcher Kang Min-ho threw to second base to try to catch Choi Jeong stealing, but neither the shortstop Moon Kyu-hyun nor the second baseman Park Joon-seo covered the base. The throw rolled to center to allow Park Jae-sang trot home from third.

Pinch hitter Lee Jae-won made it 6-3 with a sacrifice fly in the seventh.

Right-hander Chei Byung-yong was credited with the win thanks to four shutout innings in relief. He gave up one hit and struck out five. Jung Woo-ram picked up the save with a perfect ninth.

Song Seung-jun took the loss after giving up two runs in 1 2/3 innings of relief work.

The Giants charged out to a 3-0 lead in the top second, on a sacrifice fly by Moon Kyu-hyun and a pair of two-out RBI singles by Cho Sung-hwan and Hong Sung-heun.

The Wyverns got to within one in the bottom second, as pinch hitter Cho In-sung drove in two runs with a single to left center.

The home team pulled even in the bottom fourth, when second baseman Park Joon-seo missed a grounder to his right and allowed Park Jung-kwon to score from second.

The Giants had six hits in the first two innings, but their last hit of the game came with one out in the third.

Neither of the starters factored into the decision Monday. SK's Kim Kwang-hyun, who threw six strong innings to win the first game of the series last week, lasted only 1 2/3 innings on Monday. The left-hander struck out the side in the first but gave up five singles and committed a throwing error in the second.

Shane Youman wasn't much better for Lotte. He pitched 3 1/3 innings and allowed three earned runs on four hits.

The opening game of the Korean Series will be 6 p.m. Wednesday at Daegu Baseball Stadium. The Lions earned the bye to the Korean Series by virtue of having KBO's best regular season record. They last played on Oct. 6, the final day of the regular season. (Yonhap News)

Monday, Oct. 22, 2012

High school pitcher Otani set for majors

Kyodo

HANAMAKI, Iwate Pref. —

Shohei Otani will become the first potential top draft pick to make the direct jump from a Japanese high school to the major leagues after the right-hander announced his decision to play in the United States on Sunday.

American dream: Hanamaki Higashi High School pitcher Shohei Otani on Sunday announced his intention to make the jump to the major leagues. KYODO

"It was a difficult decision," said Otani. "There was a conflict of opinions between me and my parents and the people around me and I was in two minds. I fretted about it so I am relieved. I am glad I was able to stick to my guns."

Otani, the 18-year-old for Hanamaki Higashi High School armed with a fastball clocked at 160 km per hour, has met with three major league teams — the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers — and the Baltimore Orioles have also been reported as potential suitors.

"I think I will start in the minor leagues, but I want to challenge in the majors," said Otani. "It has been my dream since entering high school. I felt that I wanted to go (to the majors) while I was still young. I have admiration for Japanese pro baseball too, but more so for the major leagues.

"I looked at pro baseball and the players playing in the major leagues and thought that is what I want to do. Now I want to become the kind of player that people watch and think the same thing," he said.

The 193-cm Otani was expected to go in the first round of Thursday's amateur draft had he decided to enter, after meeting with representatives from the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.

Logan White, an assistant general manager with the Dodgers, said recently that were Otani an American high school pitcher, he would be a top draft pick in the major league draft.

Otani played for the Japan national team at this summer's under-18 world championships. He appeared in the National High School Championships last year, as well as the national invitational this spring.

The news comes three years after Hanamaki Higashi lefty Yusei Kikuchi turned down several clubs from the majors. Kikuchi was eventually drafted and signed by the Seibu Lions.

Boston right-hander Junichi Tazawa was the first amateur blue chip to directly sign with a major league team in 2008, when he left his corporate league team to play for the Red Sox.

Rangers interested in Japanese righty Otani

By T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com | 10/22/12 8:54 AM ET

ARLINGTON --

The Rangers are one of the teams interested in pitcher Shohei Otani, an 18-year-old right-hander from Japan who has announced he wants to play professionally in North America.

The Dodgers, Red Sox and Orioles are also reportedly interested in the 6-foot-4 pitcher, whose fastball has been clocked as high as 100 mph.

"I think I will start in the Minor Leagues but I want to challenge in the Majors," Otani told reporters in Japan. "It's been my dream since entering high school."

Otani has decided to skip the Nippon Professional Baseball draft. The Rangers are one of the most aggressive teams in pursuing free-agent amateur talent and they established a major presence in Japan by winning the rights and then signing pitcher Yu Darvish in January.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Taiwan Series: Lamigo Monkeys win Game 5 to clinch 2012 CPBL title

By Jason Pan, in Chinese Taipei

The Lamigo Monkeys captured the 2012 CPBL championship title, after they edged the Uni-President Lions 3-2 at their home ballpark in Game 5 of Taiwan Series.

With dominant pitching and batters coming through with key hits, the Taoyuan City-based Lamigo team overpowered the Tainan City-based Lions with 4 wins against only one loss through five contests in the best-of-seven Taiwan Series.

Lamigo’s American closer Paul Phillips was outstanding through the series, as he came in late situations to preserve the win. He tied CPBL championship finals record with 3 saves in the series.

Clean-up man and shortstop Lin Chih-Sheng (“Big Brother”) for Lamigo Monkeys got the nod for the Series MVP Award, with his 3 homers and 7 RBIs through 5 games.

In Game 5 on Thursday, Lamigo right-hander pitcher Tseng Chao-Hao tossed 6 innings, yielding 2 runs on 4 hits, to pick up the title-clinching victory.

His teammates scored one run in the 1st, 3rd, and 5th frames, while the relieving staff shut down the Lions attack after their two runs in the 1st inning.

In Game 4 on Wednesday, it was a two-run margin, with the Monkeys exploding for 5 runs in the decisive 5th inning for the 7-5 triumph.

In Game 3 on Tuesday, the Uni-President Lions got their only victory behind a sterling effort by Pan Wei-Lun (“Du Du”), who was recovering from an injury and rested for most of this year.

He gave the Uni-President team a chance to win, gave up only 2 runs through 6 innings against the power-hitter line-up of the Lamigo Monkeys. The Lions had their offense going with 11 hits, on way to subdue the Monkeys 9-3.

For the series starting games in the previous weekend, the Lamigo batters got timely hits to beat up on the Lions with a pair of victories, 4-1 in Game 1 and 6-4 in Game 2.

Winning the championship crown for 2012, Lamigo Monkeys as the top team of CPBL earn the berth to the Asia Series – to host by KBO and Busan City of South Korea.

Lamigo team will face off against the titlist teams from Korea, Japan, Australia, and China to determine the baseball club champions of the Asia Pacific Region.

Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012

Japanese baseball rattled as prodigy targets majors

Kyodo

The brass of Japanese baseball are concerned about a potential exodus of premier talent to the major leagues, after high school pitching prospect Shohei Otani revealed his decision Sunday to forgo a career at home in favor of playing in the United States.

Shohei Otani KYODO


"There is a clear and present danger of talent being hollowed out of our game," Yomiuri Giants team president Tsunekazu Momoi said. "We need to take this opportunity to discuss whether the existing rules are working, and how we can sell Japanese baseball to someone whose goal is to play in America."

Otani's decision came as something of a shock to Nippon Professional Baseball teams, who were planning to select him in the first round of Thursday's amateur draft. Otani will be the first potential No. 1 pick to go straight from a Japanese high school to the United States.

"We've got to head back to the drawing board," said Shigeru Ishiwata, head of development with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. "We're at a blank."

Added Seibu Lions official Mitsuru Okuzono, "It's just nothing short of disappointing."

Standing 193 cm, the 18-year-old right-hander from Iwate Prefecture's Hanamaki Higashi High School has a similar stature to Yu Darvish, while his 160 km-per-hour fastball is the fastest ever recorded by a high school player in Japan.

Otani has met with representatives from the Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers, and several other big league clubs are reportedly interested.

The Dodgers, who have scouted Otani since he was a freshman and are flowing with cash under new ownership, were the first in line to meet the prodigy and are tipped to be the favorites to sign him.

In 2008, Junichi Tazawa bolted from the corporate league to the majors, signing with the Red Sox as the first top amateur to bypass the Japanese draft.

Tazawa's choice rang alarm bells, leading NPB to prohibit future players signing directly with overseas teams from playing in Japan for a minimum of two to three years once they leave the country.

It evidently has not been enough to prevent the likes of Otani pursuing a career in the majors, where the pay and level of competition are far beyond those of Japan's top leagues.

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles manager Senichi Hoshino said the bans of two years for corporate and university players, and the three years for high schoolers, just are not enough to stop the bleeding — or the loss of talent that fails to prosper stateside.

"It's too short and not good enough," Hoshino said. "You've got to put measures in place so that if they go, they know they have to commit over there.

"That will weed out who really wants to go and who doesn't, and will get them to work even harder to make it in the majors."

NPB commissioner Ryozo Kato, however, appears to be taking a more cautious stance on tightening the rules on restricting players who decide to sign directly with major league teams from joining Japanese teams later.

"I think we should respect his (Otani's) decision," said Kato. "If there is a proposal I think it will be debated, but basically I believe it is important that Japanese baseball becomes more attractive to players. Looking ahead at the future, I think all of the 12 teams must think about ways of making it more attractive."

The Yomiuri Giants beat the Chunichi Dragons to advance to a Japan Series showdown with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. KYODO

Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012

Giants advance to Japan Series

By JASON COSKREY

It took the Yomiuri Giants a few days to get started in the Central League Climax Series final stage.

Dragon slayer: Yomiuri's Takayuki Terauchi drives in a pair of runs in the second inning of the Giants' 4-2 win over the Dragons in Game 6 of the Central League Climax Series final stage on Monday. KYODO

Once the CL champions got going, there was no stopping them.

Takayuki Terauchi drove in a pair of runs in the second inning, Shuichi Murata homered in the fifth, and D.J. Houlton labored through five scoreless frames on short rest to carry the Giants into the Japan Series with a 4-2 win over the Chunichi Dragons in the decisive sixth game of the series on Monday at Tokyo Dome.

The Giants, who entered the final stage with an automatic one-game advantage as league champions, won three straight games to clinch the series after falling behind 3-1.

"Since we lost the first three games of the series, it is a very sweet victory to come back like this and win three straight," Giants manager Tatsunori Hara said.

Yomiuri now advances to face the Hokkaido Nippom Ham Fighters in the Japan Series, which begins Oct. 27 at Tokyo Dome. This will be the third meeting between the two teams in the Japanese version of the Fall Classic. The Giants beat the Fighters in the 1981 Series, when both teams called Tokyo's Korakuen Stadium home, and prevailed again in 2009.

"We will represent the Central League with pride when we face the Nippon Ham Fighters and we expect to bring the Japan Championship flag to our fans here at Tokyo Dome," Hara said.

The Giants will play for the title for the first time in three seasons.

"It was a long wait, but we are back," Hara said. "I am proud of my players who kept saying, 'Let's go. We can do it.' "

Yoshihito Ishii, whose sayonara single in Game 5 forced a sixth game, was a surprise selection as the CL Climax Series MVP.

"Compared to the regular season, it is more nerve-racking to play in the Climax Series where there is so much pressure," Ishii said. "I can't believe I was chosen MVP."

Tough it out: Yomiuri's D.J. Houlton pitches against the Dragons at Tokyo Dome on Monday. KYODO

Terauchi got the Giants off and running in the finale against Chunichi, connecting on a bases-loaded single that scored two runs in the second.

"It didn't matter if it was going to be a clean hit or not," Terauchi said. "I just wanted to drive in a run there."

Hisayoshi Chono added an RBI single later in the inning, and Murata's homer to center in the fifth pushed the lead to 4-0.

The home run was Murata's second of the series.

"I wasn't looking for a home run," Murata said. I was trying to be aggressive. I've been feeling better at the plate, and it feels good to be able to come away with that in a good situation."

The calls didn't go Houlton's way in Game 2, which he lost after allowing three runs in 3⅔ innings, but he bounced back with a gritty performance to earn the win in the finale.

"I'm just thankful I was able to pitch again and go out there and not end on that note, and come out and pitch my game and actually get a win," Houlton said.

Pitching on three days' rest for the first time, Houlton was far from sharp, but made it through five scoreless innings, striking out four and walking three while allowing two hits.

"I just went out there and tried to stay focused," Houlton said. "I didn't want anything else to bother me. I just went out there and tried to pitch my game, focus on (catcher Shinnosuke) Abe's glove, and I was able to do that."

Yomiuri's Hirokazu Sawamura gave up a run in an inning of relief, two days removed from throwing six frames in Yomiuri's Game 4 win, and Tetsuya Yamaguchi worked the seventh and eighth innings without incident.

Junki Ito got the start for Chunichi three days after a brilliant performance in Game 2. Ito couldn't deliver an encore for the Dragons, allowing three runs on five hits in 1⅓ innings.

"I made some mistakes and the Giants offense didn't miss them," Ito said. "I have no excuses. I didn't have enough."

Yoshinobu Takahashi, Murata and Shigeyuki Furuki each singled through the left side of the infield to load the bases with no outs in the second. Terauchi got the Giants on the board with his two-run single, and Chono poked an RBI single over first baseman Tony Blanco to make the score 3-0.

After Murata homered in the fifth, the Dragons finally got on the board in the sixth, when Tony Blanco scored on a groundout by Kazuhiro Wada.

Chunichi pushed a second run across on a hit by Yohei Oshima in the ninth, but would get no closer.

Perez, Navegantes cruise past Tiburones

Rangers farmhand yields a run on four hits over six innings for Magallanes

10/23/12 12:59 AM ET
Venezuelan Winter League

Magallanes 8, La Guaira 2

Astros farmhand Sergio Perez allowed a run on four hits and striking out four over six innings for the Navegantes, winners of three straight.

Perez improved to 3-0 and has a 1.13 ERA in three Venezuelan Winter League starts. The 26-year-old right-hander was 4-2 with a 4.54 ERA for Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2012 and struck out 59 batters in 75 1/3 innings for the RedHawks.

Brewers prospect Sean Halton homered for the second straight game and drove in two runs. Former Major League catcher Eliezer Alfonzo slugged his second homer of the season and Brandon Boggs (Pirates) had two RBIs for Magallanes.

Dodgers prospects C.J. Retherford and Scott Van Slyke hit solo homers to power the Tiburones' offense.

Magallanes was the only game on the winterball docket for Monday.

Lions, Wyverns to play 3rd straight Korean Series

SK Wyverns manager Lee Man-soo, left, and Samsung Lions manager Ryu Joong-il pose during the media day for the Korean Series in Daegu, Tuesday. Both predicted that the best-of-seven series will end in Game 6. / Yonhap

The SK Wyverns are into the Korean Series where they will meet defending champions the Samsung Lions in the best-of-seven season series starting today at the Daegu Baseball Stadium. The Wyverns defeated the Lotte Giants 6-3 in Game 5 of the second playoff round Monday to reach the season finale.

The two rivals will face off for the third consecutive time in the Korea Baseball Organization’s (KBO) title round. Last year, the Lions were victorious in five games after the Wyverns swept the previous series to claim the title.

MLB Network to air all Classic games in '13, '17

By Bobbie Dittmeier / MLB.com | 10/23/12 3:33 PM ET

MLB Network will televise all 39 games of the 2013 World Baseball Classic to be played in March, and will also be the exclusive English-language telecast partner in the United States for the 2017 tournament, Major League Baseball announced Tuesday.

The third edition of the Classic, which features the world's best players from 16 countries and territories that qualify, will be played in seven venues in four nations and territories from March 2-19.

Japan is the two-time defending champion, having won each of the first two Classics in 2006 and 2009.

The semifinals and finals will take place March 17-19 at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Second-round games hosted by the Miami Marlins will be held from March 12-16 at Marlins Park, and at Tokyo Dome in Japan. First-round competition will be hosted by the Arizona Diamondbacks and held from March 7-10 at Chase Field in Phoenix and Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Ariz.

In addition to televising all 39 games, MLB Network will extensively cover the World Baseball Classic in its studio programming, including MLB Tonight, Hot Stove, Intentional Talk and Clubhouse Confidential. MLB Network will premiere a World Baseball Classic promotional spot during the 2012 World Series.

MLB Network televised 16 games of the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

"We are excited about working with MLB Network to bring every game of the 2013 and 2017 World Baseball Classic tournaments to fans throughout the United States," said Paul Archey, MLB's senior vice president of international business operations. "MLB Network has done an exceptional job producing and covering baseball, including part of the 2009 tournament. In addition to the game broadcasts, MLB Network's studio programming will provide fans with unprecedented in-depth coverage of this global event."

MLB Network will also televise the final game of each qualifier pool. The qualifiers, which expanded the competitive field of the tournament from 16 to 28 countries, has already seen Spain and Canada advance to the main tournament. The final two qualifiers will begin on Nov. 15 in Panama City, Panama; and New Taipei City, Taiwan. The four that advance will join the 12 countries -- Australia, China, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, United States and Venezuela -- that received automatic invitations based on their performance in the 2009 tournament.

"MLB Network is a welcomed broadcast partner for the next two World Baseball Classics, as baseball fans and players alike are increasingly turning to MLB Network for their baseball news and live-game coverage," said Timothy Slavin, director of business affairs and licensing and senior counsel for the MLB Players Association. "We're confident that the amount of coverage provided by MLB Network prior to and during the World Baseball Classic will dramatically increase the interest in and exposure of the game's most significant international competition."

More prospects signed

Dominican Prospect League to play at the Chicago Cubs complex

Posted October 23rd, 2012 by DPL & filed under DPL News, Featured Post.

The number of players to reach agreements with MLB clubs keeps rising as the Dominican Prospect League is in its 4th season; last week we were informed another group of quality prospects agreed to terms. Raiby Barias-SS San Francisco Giants, Geudy Gomez-RHP San Diego Padres, Angel Moreno-OF Tampa Bay Rays and Darwin Pena-OF Boston Redsox. Stay tuned for more signings to come.
Raiby Barias SS

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Geudy Gomez RHP

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Angel Moreno OF

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This week October 24th the Dominican Prospect League is back at the Chicago Cubs complex in Boca-Chica; BP and Infield are scheduled for 1:00pm Game time at 2:30pm.

Molina's two homers help Caribes to win

Veteran catcher homers twice, drives in five runs in Venezuelan League

10/24/12 2:53 AM ET
Venezuelan Winter League

Anzoategui 11, Aragua 5

Veteran backstop Gustavo Molina (Yankees) went deep twice and drove in five runs as the Caribes won their third straight game. Blue Jays prospect Balbino Fuenmayor reached base three times and scored twice while Luis Nunez (Dodgers) doubled twice and drove in a run. Former Major League All-Star Edgardo Alfonzo was 3-for-4 with a double in the losing effort for the Tigres.

Zulia 8, Caracas 5

Braves prospect Evan Gattis slugged a three-run homer as the Aguilas scored seven times in the ninth inning for the win. Ernesto Mejia (Braves) singled three times and scored a run while Yankees No. 15 prospect Jose Pirela reached base four times. Rays prospect Henry Wrigley hit a two-run homer for the Leones, losers of three straight.

Dominican Winter League

Este 3, Escogido 2

Josh Outman, who spent the 2012 season in the A's organization, allowed an unearned run on three hits over five innings to earn his first win for the Toros. Rockies prospect Charlie Blackmon was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs while Cubs farmhand Diory Hernandez slugged a solo homer for Este. Giants prospect Roger Kieschnick singled home a run for the Leones.

Mexican Pacific League

Navojoa 7, Mazatlan 1

Former Rangers prospect Wes Bankston was 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI to pace the Mayos. 2007 Mexican League Rookie of the Year Orlando Lara struck out six and allowed a run on three hits over seven innings and Rolando Acosta drove in two runs for Navojoa. Cubs prospect Greg Rohan was 2-for-3 with a run scored for the Venados.

Los Mochis 7, Obregon 3

Ramon Orantes was 2-for-3 with four RBIs for the Caneros. Former Major Leaguer Jason Botts had two hits and scored twice while Mendy Lopez reached base four times for Los Mochis. Former Giants prospect Doug Clark slugged a solo homer for the Yaquis.

Culiacan 13, Hermosillo 8

Free agent Marlon Byrd, who ended the year with Boston, homered twice and drove in three runs as the Tomateros won their ninth straight game to open the season. Yankees prospect Ronnier Mustelier was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and fellow Yankees farmhand Ramiro Pena doubled twice for Culiacan. Veteran infielder Jorge Cantu went deep in the loss for the Naranjeros.

Guasave 8, Mexicali 6

Tigers prospect James Avery earned the win after allowing a run on four hits and striking out four over five innings for the Algodoneros. Orioles farmhand Zelous Wheeler drove in a run and scored another while Rangers prospect Jose Felix hit an RBI double on a three-hit night. Former Major Leaguer Geronimo Gil was 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run.

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Dominican Winter League

•Jairo Asencio (RP, Toros del Este): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Remember this guy? The Indians acquired him from the Braves in a minor trade at the end of spring training, had him in their opening day bullpen, and he proceeded to go 1-1 with a 5.96 ERA in 18 games with the Indians (25.2 IP, 27 H, 4 HR, 8 BB, 21 K) before being designated for assignment. He landed with the Cubs and put up a 1.35 ERA in 13 appearances in Triple-A before joining the parent team in Chicago and had a 3.07 ERA in 12 appearances (14.2 IP, 12 H, 1 HR, 11 BB, 8 K). While the ERA was better with the Cubs, the peripheral stats say he pitched much better with the Indians.

Venezuela Winter League

•Jesus Aguilar (DH, Leones del Caracas): 1-for-3, R, HR, RBI, BB, K. This is what you love to see when you check an Aguilar stat line: some home run pop combined with the patience of a walk. The homer was his first bomb in 9 games so far in Venezuela, and hopefully he can get things going as he is off to a rather poor start hitting just .226 (7-for-31) with 16 strikeouts.

•Gregorio Petit (SS, Leones del Caracas): 0-for-3, R. Petit is just 2-for-16 in 5 games so far this offseason, and is likely filling more of a fill in role at shortstop until the Caracas regular shortstop is ready to play. A lot of times the big league “stars” don’t show up until sometime in November and play for 3-5 weeks.

•Hector Rondon (RP, Leones del Caracas): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. Rondon was the first man out of the pen and brought into the game in the 6th inning. This was his best outing to date in 5 appearances so far in Venezuela, but he still has pitched 3.1 innings and allowed 7 runs (6 earned) on 6 hits, 3 walks with just 1 strikeout. He is coming off of injury and getting his legs under him still, but he needs to show much more this offseason in order to keep his name in the mix.

By Tony

Samsung Lions beat SK Wyverns to start Korean Series
Samsung Lions players congratulate each other after beating SK Wyverns 3-1 in the first game of the Korean Series at Daegu Baseball Stadium on Wednesday. Yonhap News

The Samsung Lions defeated the SK Wyverns 3-1 on Wednesday in the opening game of the South Korean professional baseball final.

At Daegu Baseball Stadium, slugger Lee Seung-yeop belted a two-run home run and the Lions‘ bullpen slammed the door shut on the Wyverns to start the best-of-seven Korean Series in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).

In 29 previous Korean Series, the team that won the first game went on to capture the title 23 times. The opening game of the 1982 Korean Series ended in a tie.

The Lions are the defending champions and they’re going after their sixth title overall. The Wyverns are gunning for their fourth title. Their matchup marks the first time in the league history that the same two teams have met in three Korean Series in a row.

The Lions took the lead in the bottom first on Lee‘s two-run shot, his 13th career playoff long ball that tied him with ex-Doosan Bears’ slugger Tyrone Woods for the all-time lead.

This is Lee‘s first Korean Series in 10 years. The five-time league MVP, who made his professional debut with Samsung in 1995, played in Japan from 2004 to 2011 before rejoining the Lions this year.

After SK got to within one in the fourth with Lee Ho-joon’s single, the Lions added an insurance run in the bottom seventh.

Speedy pinch runner Kang Myung-goo scored from second on Bae Young-seob‘s infield single up the middle. When second baseman Jeong Keun-woo caught the bouncing ball, Kang overran the third base and ran into his third base coach. But Kang took off for home as Jeong threw to third, and beat third baseman Choi Jeong’s throw home with a head-first slide.

Samsung‘s starter Yoon Sung-hwan earned the victory with 5 1/3 solid innings, giving up four hits and a run. Closer Oh Seung-whan, who led the KBO with 37 saves in the regular season, got the final four outs for the save.

Oh and three other Lions’ relievers gave up only one single to the Wyverns over the final 3 2/3 innings.

Yoon Hee-sang, who started for SK, took the loss despite throwing a complete game. Aside from Lee‘s home run, Yoon gave up only four more singles and struck out six.

The second game will be back in Daegu at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Left-hander Jang Won-sam will start for the Lions, and right-hander Mario Santiago will take the mound for the Wyverns. (Yonhap News)

Life lessons: Shohei Otani speaks during a news conference on Sunday. KYODO

Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012

Fighters to take gamble by drafting Otani

Kyodo

The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters will roll the dice and select fireballer Shohei Otani in the first round of Thursday's amateur draft even though the high school phenom has already stated he wants to play in the major leagues.

"I know he wants to go to the majors, but we're making him our No. 1 pick," Fighters general manager Masao Yamada said Wednesday.

Otani, the 18-year-old from Iwate Prefecture's Hanamaki Higashi High School with a fastball touching 160 kph on the gun, announced on Sunday that he will bypass Nippon Professional Baseball to sign with one of several major-league teams who are in pursuit of the 193-cm right-hander.

Otani will be the first potential top draft pick to make the direct jump from a Japanese high school to the majors.

Yet despite Otani's intentions, the Fighters will still select him in the first round with the outstretched hopes of changing his mind by the end of March, when they would hold exclusive negotiating rights — but only among NPB teams.

The Fighters cannot stop any club from the majors like the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers or Boston Red Sox who all have met with Otani, from working on a deal with the teenager.

Yamada said Nippon Ham had its mind set on Otani after scouting him at the under-18 world championships in South Korea last month. The Fighters also threw the draft in a loop last year, when they picked Tokai University pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano, the nephew of Yomiuri manager Tatsunori Hara, who had made it clear that he would only play for the Giants.

Sugano did not sign and has sat out the past year. If he is drafted by any team other than the Giants, Sugano said he will try to play in the majors.

"We're going to stick to our guns just like last year," Yamada said. "We decided to take (Otani) even before he announced his decision to play in the majors."

"We can't say with any certainty that he will play for us. For sure, we'll have to be prepared for the worst."

Gondo leaving Dragons

Kyodo

NAGOYA —

Chunichi has parted ways with pitching coach Hiroshi Gondo who often clashed with manager Morimichi Takagi during a year that ended with the Dragons blowing a two-game lead over the Yomiuri Giants in the final stage of the Climax Series.

The 73-year-old Gondo, a Chunichi old boy who managed the Yokohama BayStars to the 1998 Japan Series title, returned to the dugout after a 10-year absence to supplant first-year manager Takagi.

The Dragons reached the postseason after finishing second in the Central League, and took a 3-1 series lead in the final stage against the Giants but lost three straight, failing to make the Japan Series.

Gondo was seen arguing with Takagi during the collapse, and Chunichi did not deny the manager influenced the decision.

"The manager did have a say in it," team representative Ryohei Sato said. "We needed to put together a coaching staff that could be there for the manager after Takagi and beyond."

Gondo said he had mixed emotions about the year the Dragons had.

"The players battled and I'm proud of them," he said. "But we couldn't win after getting that close. It's complicated."