Lee Dae-ho's trip to Taiwan also surprised the Japanese media, saying, "The legendary hitter who shone as JS MVP for the first time in South Korea → Is it a call for a colleague during the Orix era?"

*This content was translated by AI.

While Lee Dae-ho (44), who was called "Joseon's No. 4 hitter," was appointed as a hitting instructor for the Jungshin Brothers of the Taiwan Professional Baseball (CPBL), Japan, where he played, also expressed interest in it. He was the first Korean MVP of the Japanese series," noting Lee Dae-ho's achievements when he played in Japan.

Taiwan's Zhongxin Brothers said on the club's official channel on the 2nd, "We recruited Lee Dae-ho, a legendary Korean baseball slugger, as a visiting 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. Although he is not an official coach, he is expected to perform his duties as a hitting instructor in the spring camp.

The Japanese media also quickly passed this. Japan's Sponichi Annex said on the 3rd, the next day, "Korea's legendary hitter Lee Dae-ho will be appointed as the temporary hitting coach of the Taiwan League. He played for the Orix Buffaloes and Softbank Hawks when he was a member of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). In particular, he contributed to winning the title for the second consecutive year in the 2014 and 2015 seasons when he played for Softbank. In the 2015 season, he was the first Korean player to win the Japan Series MVP title."

Sponichi Annex said Lee Dae-ho's trip to Taiwan was greatly influenced by Keiichi Hirano, 47, head coach of the Central Brothers, who was a teammate of Orix. Hirano, who was a right-handed and left-handed outfielder when he was active, played for the Orix in the 2013 season with Lee Dae-ho. He retired from active duty after the 2015 season and moved to Taiwan ahead of the 2022 season after his coaching career with the Hanshin Tigers. Hirano, who was a coach for the Jungshin Brothers, was promoted to the first team head coach ahead of the 2024 season. He became the first Japanese coach to win the CPBL title from his first year in the 2024 season.

The media also said, "The Jungshin Brothers are a team with coach Hirano, who was a teammate of Lee Dae-ho's Orix days. On top of that, Shunta Goto, who played outfield for the Orix and Chunichi Dragons, and Akihisa Nishida, 34, a Yakult Swallows native, were also set to coach the batting division. In particular, Goto also played with Lee Dae-ho in the Orix.

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.

In particular, Lee Dae-ho had 98 NPB home runs, 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 in his own way and built a successful career.

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*This content was translated by AI.