'Lion King' looking for answers

Jon · Korean Citizen Joined: Mar 19, 2004 Posts: 512

Korean slugger Lee Seung-yeop is battling through the most difficult season of his career, which is leading to doubts over whether he will be able to establish himself in Japan's professional baseball league.
Lee, who plays first base for the Lotte Marines, has been trying to refine his batting stance since he was sent to the second division by manager Bobby Valentine two weeks ago.

The 28-year-old slugger got off to a solid start in his first season in Japan but has been mired in a slump since late April.

He was expected to return to the regular lineup last weekend, but Valentine didn't bring him back, saying Lee will rejoin the team when he is ready.

Lee doesn't appear too affected by his prolonged stay in the second division.

"I have made it clear to team officials that I won't come back until I'm playing up to my abilities," Lee told a Korean reporter visiting him as he practiced at a stadium in Saitama near Tokyo.

He said his confidence will be restored when he rejoins the team. "I didn't really want to come down here and will never be back here again," he said.

Being sent down to the second division must be very humiliating for Lee, who hit 56 home runs last year in Korea's professional baseball league to break the Asian home run record.

Lee left the Samsung Lions after the 2003 season to sign with the Lotte Marines in December.

At the news conference after his signing, he said that he expected to be able to hit up to 30 home runs with a batting average around .290.

Lee appeared to be heading toward his goal when he hit a double in his very first at-bat on March 27 and blasted his first home run in his eighth game April 4.

His batting average rose above .350 with five homers in early April before the slump. His bad luck continued after getting hit in the elbow by a pitcher during a game against the Orix Blue Wave late last month.

His batting average dropped to .233 at the time Valentine sent him down to the second division.

Lee places all the blame on himself.

"Japanese pitchers throw very well," he said, adding that he now believes his early success can be attributed to the pitchers not knowing his tendencies.

"I don't feel like making any other excuses," Lee said, adding that he was still working on improving his batting stance.

Many baseball experts have come out to give Lee advice.

Park Heung-shik, a batting coach for Samsung, said Lee's swing is too stiff, which is probably due to the growing pressure for him to play up to expectations.

Ha Il-sung, a TV baseball commentator, thinks Lee should overcome his weakness against hitting pitches that are low.

Chang Hoon, a legendary Korean position player who played in Japan's professional baseball league in the 1960s and '70s, advised Lee to return to his old batting style..

But experts agree, despite all the advice, it will eventually be up to Lee to find a way to get out of his slump and survive in the tougher Japanese league.

(khkim@heraldm.com)

By Kim Kyung-ho