"Two years as a manager taught me less than one year as a coach": The unexpected confession of the national hitter who returned from Japan, and why he did not rush to return to coaching

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Lee Seung-yeop (50), former manager of the Doosan Bears and known as the "national hitter," reflected on his year spent with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and expressed that he does not intend to rush his return to coaching.

Former manager Lee Seung-yeop took the mound for the ceremonial pitch at Game 3 of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO Korea Series (best-of-seven), held on the 6th between the Samsung Lions and KT Wiz at Daegu Samsung Lions Park.

The owner of Samsung's retired number 36 appeared before his former fans after a long absence. After completing the pitch, former manager Lee Seung-yeop smiled and said, "I thought I wouldn't be nervous, but it was more tense than expected. Still, it felt wonderful." Samsung defeated KT 5-1 on the day, powered by Go Ja-wook's two-run triple and Ariel Hurdado's seven-inning one-run outing.

Former manager Lee Seung-yeop is a legend of Korean baseball with a career total of 467 home runs in the KBO League. After retiring in 2017, he continued his work as a commentator and in baseball-related activities before beginning his coaching career as the head coach of Doosan in 2023. He was appointed directly to the first division manager position without any prior experience as a coach.

In his first year, he led Doosan to fifth place in the regular season, securing a postseason berth, and finished fourth in 2024. However, the team was eliminated in the Wild Card Series in both seasons. In particular, in 2024, as the first fourth-place team ever, they suffered a two-game sweep by fifth-place KT, failing to advance to the Junior Playoffs.

The slump continued in 2025. Ultimately, former manager Lee Seung-yeop voluntarily resigned in June of that year, taking responsibility for the poor performance. The path he chose afterward was Japan. He returned to Yomiuri, the team he played for from 2006 to 2010 during his playing career. After serving as an interim coach at a fall camp in 2025, he received a formal offer and took on the role of first division hitting coach for the 2026 season.

However, his performance with Yomiuri also fell short of expectations. The team advanced to the postseason as the second-place finisher in the Central League but was eliminated after losing two consecutive games to the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in the Climax Series First Stage. Lee Seung-yeop left the team after just one season, following an official announcement by the club on the 14th of last month.

Nevertheless, his year with Yomiuri was a meaningful time. Former manager Lee Seung-yeop revealed, "I served as a manager for just over two years without any coaching experience. After going to Japan and starting anew as a coach, I finally came to feel the atmosphere of the coaches' room, the duties required of a coach, and the areas where caution is needed."

In particular, situations that were difficult to understand during his time as a manager have now become clear to him. Former manager Lee said, "There were many times when I didn't understand things while managing. But after having a short stint as a coach and spending a lot of time in the coaches' room, I realized, 'So this is the difficulty coaches face.' I finally came to understand the hardships of the coaching staff."

He continued, "Although it was a faraway foreign land, Yomiuri was a team I loved. Even though I spent a difficult year, I feel that I gained insights beyond what two years as a manager could teach me. It was truly a good experience."

Attention now turns to former manager Lee's next destination. Having experienced roles as both Doosan manager and Yomiuri coach in succession, interest is focused on the possibility of him restarting his coaching career in Korea.

However, former manager Lee himself was cautious. He said, "I haven't been back from my return for long, so it doesn't feel like the time to think about next year's plans. I am truly grateful that many people have not forgotten me and have reached out to share their thoughts."

At the same time, he stated, "Joining a specific team immediately still feels a bit premature. Having experienced it, I found areas where I was lacking. I need to take an opportunity to fill in those gaps a little more. Only then do I think I will be able to make a better choice."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original