Former Doosan Bears coach Lee Seung-yeop will be the first-team hitting coach for the prestigious Yomiuri Giants in the Japanese professional baseball (NPB).
Japanese media, including Sports Hochi, reported on the 27th that “The Yomiuri club appointed former coach Lee Seung-yeop as the first team batting coach for the 2026 season.”
Former coach Lee Seung-yeop was in charge of temporary coaching at the Yomiuri fall camp from the 29th of last month to the 13th of this month. Before the end of the camp, manager Abe Shinnosuke Yomiuri reportedly asked former coach Lee to “work for our team for a year next year.”
사진 확대 A game between the Doosan Bears and Kiwoom Heroes of the 2025 professional baseball league took place at Gocheok Sky Dome on the afternoon of May 30. Manager Lee Seung-yeop is delighted when Doosan’s Kim Min-seok hit a runner-up sweep triple with the bases loaded with one out in the top of the seventh inning. Kiwoom, which is at the bottom of the league with 14 wins and 43 losses, is going all out to escape its ninth consecutive loss by bringing it to Doosan’s home. Doosan, ranked ninth in the league, is doing its best to win the first of three consecutive weekend games against Kiwoom. Photo = Reporter Kim Jae-hyun 
사진 확대 On May 24, the “2025 KBO League” NC Dinos and Doosan Bears played at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop is watching the game. Photo = Reporter Chun Jung-hwan
“Former coach Lee Seung-yeop thanked Abe for his proposal at the time and said he would give an answer after consulting with his family, but he eventually decided to work for Yomiuri in the 2026 season,” Japanese media said.
When he was an active player, Lee was a slugger representing Korean baseball. Since his professional debut with the Samsung Lions in 1995, he has posted a batting average of 0.302 (2,156 hits in 7,132 times at bat) and 467 homers and 1498 RBIs in 1,096 games until the 2017 season. In 2003, he drew 56 arches, setting a season home run record. He has won the KBO Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the Home Run King five times each, and the Golden Glove has won as many as 10 times.
The NPB also had a huge presence. From 2004 to 2011, he played for the Chiba Lotte Marines, Yomiuri, and Orix Buffaloes, and twice (2005, 2009) won the Japanese Series.
Former manager Lee Seung-yeop, who has been in charge of Doosan since 2023, voluntarily resigned in June this year. Fortunately, his wild life was short, and he is now starting anew as the first-team hitting coach of the Yomiuri Giants.
사진 확대 When Lee Seung-yeop and Abe were active. Photo = Yonhap News
[Lee Hanjoo, MK Sports Reporter]