Lee Seung-yeop is making his own batting order for the Yomiuri Giants? I'm curious about pure bloodism's breakthrough → daily

*This content was translated by AI.

The prestigious Yomiuri Giants of the Japanese Professional Baseball (NPB) have chosen a drastic change ahead of the 2026 season. Lee Seung-yeop (50), the "Asian home run king" first-team batting coach, has emerged as a key heavyweight in the team's lineup, drawing keen attention from local media and fans.

According to Japan's Tokyo Sports on the 18th, Giants first-team coach Shinnosuke Abe delegated much of the batting decision to Lee Seung-yeop and other batting coaches this season. The batting order of the practice game against the Chiba Lotte Marlins in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, on the 17th was also set up by coach Zelus Wheeler (39), centered on hitting coach Lee Seung-yeop.

In particular, the news that coach Lee Seung-yeop, who played as Yomiuri's 70th No. 4 hitter during his active career, will make his own batting order and coordinate the lineup is considered unusual in the Japanese baseball world.

Until now, Yomiuri has been the pride of Japanese baseball and a symbol of conservative "pure bloodism." However, Abe gave coach Lee Seung-yeop, who built a strong trust while working as a teammate during his time, the heavy responsibility of maximizing his team's firepower. It is a rare case in NPB that the two-man foreign coach system (Lee Seung-yeop, Wheeler) is in charge of the first-team batting division.

In particular, Yomiuri has a task to find a new hitter this season. Kazuma Okamoto leaves for the Toronto Blue Jays and needs to find the main character of the fourth batting order. However, coach Lee Seung-yeop reportedly put forward Yusei Ishizuka (20) as the fourth batter and third baseman.

Coach Lee Seung-yeop is said to have been working hard on Ishizuka as the next big guns since last year's closing camp. Currently, Ishizuka is one hit in nine at-bats and a batting average of 0.111 in the 2025 season, but coach Lee highly values his quality as a large hitter behind the record. An official from the Yomiuri team who responded to Tokyo Sports' coverage is also said to be empowering coach Lee Seung-yeop's perspective. Okamoto, who had a lot of experience, was also able to become the best NPB hitter thanks to his "toughness" he trusted and hired in the 2018 season.

Japanese fans are also making it interesting. Japanese fans such as X (formerly Twitter) wondered, "The time has come when foreign coaches decide." Another fan also expected, "The practice ball was impressive, but I think it would be okay to give more than 400 at-bats."

Coach Lee Seung-yeop broke the barriers of pure blood and served as the architect of the Yomiuri Giants' lineup. Baseball circles in both Korea and Japan are already paying attention to what the Yomiuri "Big Bang" lineup will produce in the 2026 season.

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*This content was translated by AI.