NATIONAL LEAGUE
Taiwanese pitcher Kuo Hong-chih, who was released by the Seattle Mariners in spring training, has signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs, the agency representing Kuo confirmed yesterday.
Kuo is to be paid US$20,000 a month, his agency said in a statement, but if he gets called up to the Cubs’ major league roster, he would be paid a base annual salary of US$800,000 and a roster bonus of US$400,000.
The 2010 All-Star would have a chance to make more in incentives based on how long he remains on the major league bonus roster and his number of appearances, the statement said.
Meanwhile, Kuo has already departed for the Cubs’ extended spring training base in Arizona, his agent, Alan Chang, said.
The Cubs are giving Kuo, who underwent the fifth elbow surgery of his career in October last year, plenty of time to get himself back into top shape, Chang said.
Once that happens, Kuo is expected to report to the Cubs’ Triple A farm club and make his debut there in the middle of this month at the earliest, Chang added.
Kuo was one of the league’s most dominant left-handed relievers in 2010 when he pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers, posting a 1.20 ERA that set a club record.
Kuo thanked the Cubs for giving him another opportunity to pitch in the major leagues, as well as his fans, friends and family for supporting him at a time when his career in the US had seemingly come to an end.
South Korean giants T1, led by “Faker,” won their fifth League of Legends (LoL) world championship crown in London on Saturday, beating China’s Bilibili Gaming (BLG) in a thrilling final. The teams were locked at 2-2 at a packed O2 arena, but T1 clinched game five to make it back-to-back titles after nearly four hours of tense action. China’s BLG started strongly, taking the first game before T1 struck back to level. The Chinese team pulled ahead again at 2-1 only for their opponents to hit back again and go on to take the decider. Faker, who won the Most
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Belgian partner Elise Mertens on Monday notched up their first win in the doubles group stage of the WTA Finals in Riyadh to keep their semi-final hopes alive, while Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russian partner Veronika Kudermetova were aiming to record their first victory after press time last night. Third seeds Hsieh and Mertens came back from a disheartening opening-day loss to Australia’s Ellen Perez and Nicole Melichar-Martinez to defeat top seeds Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, the women’s doubles world No. 3 and 4 respectively. The 6-1, 6-3 victory at King Saud University Indoor Arena
Amber Glenn overcame a fall and her own doubts to win a maiden Grand Prix figure skating title on Saturday at the Grand Prix de France. The American skater had the lead from Friday’s short program. That and the support of the crowd got her through a tough free skate in which she fell on a triple flip and put a hand onto the ice to steady herself on two other jumps. “I didn’t feel that great out there today, but I really tried, and the audience really got me through that last half when I was doubting myself,” Glenn
After pushing for months to get a shot at Colby Covington, Ireland’s Ian Machado Garry is getting to headline the UFC’s final card for this year. However, it will not be against Covington. The promotion on Friday announced that Machado Garry, the No. 7-ranked welterweight, would face ninth-ranked Joaquin Buckley at UFC Fight Night in Tampa, Florida, on Dec. 14. Machado Garry, 26, is undefeated through 15 matches, the most recent coming on June 29 when he beat Michael Page via unanimous decision. Last month, Machado Garry said in an Instagram post that in September he was offered a fight with Covington — the