Nippon Professional Baseball Giants manager Shinnosuke Abe expected that former Doosan Bears coach Lee Seung-yeop, the “national hitter” who will join the new season’s batting coach, will be of great help to the team’s batting lineup.
In an interview with Japanese media, including Sankei Sports, released on January 3, Abe said, “I asked the club to recruit coach Lee Seung-yeop,” adding, “Thank you for accepting the proposal.”
“Coach Lee Seung-yeop was a practice bug when he was active,” he recalled, adding, “I hope he will tell the players a lot.”
사진 확대 When Lee Seung-yeop and Abe were active. Photo = Yonhap News
Coach Lee Seung-yeop came down from his position as Doosan manager in June last year, taking responsibility for poor performance, and served as a temporary coach at his former team’s autumn camp from late October to mid-November last year.
The Yomiuri club offered coach Lee a regular coaching job just before the end of the camp, and coach Lee responded after agonizing over it.
Lee will take charge of the Yomiuri hitting division with coach Zelus Wheeler in the new season.
Coach Abe expected, “It is a rare case that two foreign hitting coaches are active, but a new atmosphere is likely to be created.”
Sankei Sports said, “Coach Lee Seung-yeop uses interpretation for outside activities such as coverage, but most of them speak Japanese within the team,” adding, “There is no problem with communication.”
사진 확대 Former Doosan Bears coach Lee Seung-yeop. Photo = Reporter Chun Jung-hwan
Lee played for the Yomiuri Giants from 2006 to 2010, hitting 41 home runs in 2006 and 30 in 2007.
After playing for the Yomiuri Giants from 2001 to 2019, Abe served as the second-tier coach and head coach and took over as the first-tier coach last year.
[Lee Geunseung, MK Sports Reporter]