*This content was translated by AI.
KIA Tigers right-hander Lee Tae-yang (36) revealed the shocking assault he suffered when he was with the Hanwha Eagles.
Lee Tae-yang appeared in a video released by the YouTube channel "Stocking" on the 27th with Hanwha Eagles batter Chae Eun-sung (36), MC Kim Gu-ra and Kim Sun-woo (49), who are in the same class as Suncheon Hyocheon High School, and confessed that he was seriously assaulted by the then-coach leader A when he was in Hanwha's second division.
Lee Tae-yang's statement was very specific. "When I was in the 2nd Army during the offseason, I was slapped by a leader for no reason at the end of 2012 while training in the Miyazaki Education League," he said. "I worked out by limping because I was a little sick." I guess the coach didn't like the way he looked. From his point of view, I may have done the wrong thing. He recalled, "I got hit so hard that my jaw turned with a full swing."
Kim Sun-woo, who was angry at this, asked who it was, and Lee Tae-yang refused to answer with a smile. According to Lee Tae-yang, Jeong Min-cheol (54), the then pitching coach who witnessed the scene, was also shocked. Lee Tae-yang said, "I think we got close while crying in coach Jeong's room. I got close with that opportunity," he said. Lee Tae-yang shook her head and replied, "You shouldn't be here now," to Kim Gu-ra's attempt to find the culprit, saying, "Are you still active?"
On the show, Lee Tae-yang also told an anecdote about former coach Kim Eung-yong (85), who selected him as the first team when he was Hanwha. Recalling the human aspect of former coach Kim, who called Gil Tae-gon (35, now retired) to his home on Jeju Island during the off-season and encouraged him to train by giving him breakfast himself, he drew attention by referring to the leader's image contrasting with the previous harsh acts. Lee Tae-yang said, "I think I am now because I endured that hard time," and vowed, "I will show good performance to the fans in the new team."
Lee Tae-yang, who graduated from Hyocheon High School, joined Hanwha as the 36th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2010 KBO Rookie Draft and made his debut in the first division in the 2012 season. He played for Hanwha until the 2019 season after leaving a not bad record with 7-10 losses and a 5.29 ERA in 30 regular league games in the 2014 season. In June 2020, he headed to the SK Wyverns (current SSG Landers) in a trade to exchange uniforms with outfielder Noh Soo-kwang (36). Ahead of the 2023 season, Lee Tae-yang returned to his home team under a free agent (FA) contract on the condition of a total of 2.5 billion won for four years.
However, Lee Tae-yang was not in the first team in the 2025 season. He left a record of one loss and an ERA of 3.97 without winning 14 games in the first team and mainly pitched in the Futures League (second team). He recorded an outstanding record of 1.77 ERA with eight wins and no losses in 27 Futures League games. Eventually, he moved to KIA through the second draft held in November last year. He was not included in the protected list amid consideration from Hanwha General Manager Son Hyuk (53), and eventually was nominated by KIA as the third overall pick in the first round.
Meanwhile, Lee Tae-yang's disclosure brought back the coercive training methods and the reality of violence that had been prevalent in the professional baseball community in the past. In particular, there is a growing voice of criticism of the coach among baseball fans.
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*This content was translated by AI.
