Tigers ace Yang Hyeon-jong becomes KBO’s all-time strikeout leader

Kia Tigers ace Yang Hyeon-jong became the new career strikeout leader in South Korean baseball Wednesday. Yang picked up his 2,049th strikeout against the Lotte Giants in his home city of Gwangju, moving past former Hanwha Eagles hurler Song Jin-woo to reach the top of the all-time strikeout list in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). Yang struck out Yoon Dong-hee swinging for the final out of the top of the third inning for the milestone at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field, some 270 kilometers south of Seoul. It was also Yang's 102nd strikeout of the season. He is just the third pitcher in KBO history to record at least 100 strikeouts in 10 consecutive seasons. Song retired in 2009 with an all-time high 3,003 innings pitched across 21 seasons. Yang, 36, is pitching in his 17th season and had logged 2,471 1/3 innings, the second most in league history, prior to Wednesday. Source: Yonhap News Agency