From a dazzling playing career to a disappointing stint as manager: Will Lee Seung-yeop return as a coach? He answered, "I want to do it again someday."

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Lee Seung-yeop (50) built a playing career so dazzling that it is difficult to list its highlights one by one, but his time as a coach left him with regrets. Former Doosan Bears manager Lee, who spent one year as a coach in Japan, left lingering impressions regarding his return to the KBO League.

Former manager Lee Seung-yeop participated in the 'Jamsil The Last Inning' Legends Match held at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 14th.

To mark the final days of Jamsil Baseball Stadium, which will disappear into history at the end of this season, 61 retired stars gathered in one place, and former manager Lee also graced the occasion.

He played for 15 seasons domestically alone. As former manager Lee shared his memories of Jamsil Baseball Stadium, another point of interest was his future plans.

After leaving the field at the end of 2017, former manager Lee served as a KBO (Korea Baseball Organization) ambassador and member of the Technical Committee, and spent time as chairman of the Lee Seung-yeop Baseball Scholarship Foundation. Then, ahead of the 2023 season, he was suddenly appointed as Doosan's manager.

It was a surprising appointment. He had spent his entire playing career with Samsung, and his only coaching experience was hosting the baseball variety show 'Strongest Baseball.'

The results were also disappointing. Despite underperforming foreign players and frequent injuries among domestic players, the team advanced to the postseason for two consecutive years, finishing fifth and fourth, but lost all three postseason games. Following a poor start to last season, he ultimately stepped down on his own.

Subsequently, ahead of this season, he received a call from the Yomiuri Giants, the team he played for during his time in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and spent one year as a hitting coach before returning.

Since he gained further experience in the NPB, which is evaluated as being a level above the KBO League, attention inevitably turned to whether he could continue his coaching career in Korea. However, Manager Lee shook his head.

He said, "I love baseball, and after serving as a manager, I also spent one year as a coach in Japan. It is not a long time, but it feels like I am still at the stage of continuously learning while coaching." He added, "It feels too early timing-wise, and there seems to be a lot I still need to learn. Even while stepping back from baseball to observe, I am actually learning a great deal."

He continued, "I learned a lot from managers, but I also learned a lot from coaches. Even when I went to watch postseason games in person or watched them on TV, I am still at the stage of continuously learning."

However, he left a lingering impression. Former manager Lee said, "I have thoughts that I want to do it again someday," adding, "No one knows when that will be. I am not worrying about such things and will just prepare well for now. It does not seem like the right time immediately."

He also took the mound as a ceremonial pitcher but expressed great satisfaction with the championship of his former team, Samsung, giving a thumbs-up to Manager Park Jin-man. "It is my former team, isn't it? Manager Park Jin-man managed the team very well," he said. "In fact, winning an upset is not easy. They showed overwhelmingly dominant performance."

He continued, "I think it is truly amazing, and I feel that Manager Park Jin-man managed the game very quickly, just as he played at shortstop during his playing days." He smiled and added, "They won in 2014, so this is their first championship in 12 years. I am very happy for them. I received many congratulatory messages myself. When I went to Daegu, people told me congratulations. Since it is the team I played for during my playing days, I feel good."

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.View Original