Lee Daeho finally debuted as a leader... But why "Taiwan" instead of Lotte?

*This content was translated by AI.

[Official] "It wasn't Lotte!" Lee Dae-ho, Taiwan's Zhongxin Brothers batting instructor, will be appointed "Visiting 亞's history as the best big guns."

Lee Dae-ho (44), "Joseon's No. 4 hitter" and Lotte Giants legend, will begin his leadership career in the Taiwan Professional Baseball (CPBL). Although he is not an official hitting coach, it was announced that he would join as a hitting instructor during the spring camp.

CPBL's Jungshin Brothers said on the club's official channel on the 2nd (Korea Standard Time), "We recruited Lee Dae-ho, a legendary Korean baseball slugger, as a guest hitting coach for the spring camp. The ultimate goal of the club's spring camp in preparation for the 2026 season is to improve the quality of the batting and strengthen the slugging power. To this end, Lee Dae-ho, who played in Korea, Japan and the U.S., will be invited to take charge of the team's batting and mental management," he said.

The club explained that the reason for inviting Lee Dae-ho was an outstanding career. Jungshin said, "Lee Dae-ho is one of the best right-handed hitters in Asian baseball history with 486 home runs in Korea, Japan, and the United States. While working on broadcasting after retirement, he has been working hard to expand the base of baseball. In particular, during his visit to Taiwan last year, he explained, "Only a short one-point lesson drew an explosive response from the players."

Although it is a spring camp, he said his goal is to learn Lee Dae-ho's batting know-how. The Jungshin club expects to "increase the batting stability and efficiency of long hitters in the team." In particular, we will try to take the team's batting solver to the next level by receiving the mindset of approaching hitting and the know-how of reading the flow of the game in a situation of strong pressure," he stressed.

Lee Dae-ho is also expected to meet with the Softbank Hawks, a former member of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Jungshin Brothers. According to the Jungshin club, he will also participate as a coaching staff in the exchange match scheduled for February 25. Lee Dae-ho, who played for Softbank in the past and won the Japanese Series MVP (best player), is expected to face his former team as a member of the Taiwanese team.

Analysts say it will also be a valuable opportunity for Lee Dae-ho. The Jungshin Brothers hired Akihisa Nishida (34) and Shunta Koto (33), both from Japan, as coaches for batting strategies and mechanisms, respectively. The new coach Nishida played for the Yakult Swallows while he was active, and coach Goto played outfield for the Orix Buffaloes and Chunichi Dragons. The Jungshin club expected, "If the rich experience of the Lee Dae-ho instructor is combined with the new coaches' data analysis ability, the Jungshin club's batting system will be up-to-date and stronger."

According to the evaluation of the Jungshin Club, Lee Dae-ho is a batter with outstanding performance in the KBO League, Major League, and NPB. He played 17 seasons with the Lotte Giants, hitting 2,199 hits and 374 home runs in 1971 games, with a career batting average of 0.309 and an OPS of 0.900. In NPB, he also recorded a batting average of 0.293 in a total of 570 games for four years from the 2012 season to the 2015 season.

He was a successful hitter overseas as well. Lee Dae-ho's NPB career home run was 98, and his OPS was good at 0.856. Lee Dae-ho, who entered the opening roster after competing in spring camps with the Seattle Mariners in the 2016 season, hit .253 (74 hits in 292 at-bats) with 14 homers and 49 RBIs in 104 games. In the U.S., he suffered from the aftermath of a palm injury, but he played an impactful role. The 2022 season, which was the last active season, also retired after hitting a batting average of 0.331 (179 hits in 540 at-bats) with 23 home runs and 101 RBIs in 142 games for Lotte. Lee Dae-ho's number 10 is permanently absent from the Lotte Giants. Since his retirement, Lee Dae-ho has continued his entertainment activities, including his personal channel, but he seems to have never let go of his passion for baseball.

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*This content was translated by AI.