Lion`s Lee Seung-yeop Seeing Lull Before Breaking Record

Samsung Lions Lee Seung-yeop`s (27) homeruns are teetering.

Lee hit 9 homeruns at the beginning of June, but failed to achieve his personal best of 300 homeruns. He only has 2 more to go. This is due to various pitchers` concentrated pitches to keep him from breaking his record. He has not been able to hit a single homerun in the past 3 games. This is the first time in June that he failed to hit a homerun for 3 games. However, his team has won the past 7 consecutive games, and is ready to take back 1st place. They are currently enjoying what they call the `Lee Seung-yeop Effect`.

Pressure on Lee intensified when he marked his 297th homerun by hitting 3 homeruns in a single game against Lotte on June 10th. He walked 10 times in the 6 games thereafter. There was no intentional walk where the catcher stands up to receive the ball, but actually, the walk seemed to be intentional. The pitchers are tossing him tempting balls with the idea that it is ‘better if he swings, but walk him anyway.’

The opponent team has no alternative choice, since one ‘big shot’ may influence the game condition. However, it is no fun for the spectators. One deranged Samsung fan rushed onto the field at Jamsil Stadium on June 18 when Lee was walked.

It is not easy for a batter to swing at balls that don`t approach the strike zone, because it ruins the hitting balance. One of the reasons Lee piles up walks is that he isn`t easily fooled by alluring balls.

Lee Seung-yeop is still patient. “I already experienced this in 1999. There is no need for me to rush. If I keep up with my hitting pace, homeruns will come soon,” he said, full of confidence. He also said that one thing he feels sorry for is that he failed to hit any homeruns at Jamsil Stadium.

There is an expression called the ‘climactic 9th inning.’ This expression is used with a player falls into a slump or doesn`t perform well in a game right before a great record.

Manager Kim Eung-ryong suffered 6 consecutive defeats to achieve his 1100th victory after his 1099th win, and it took one month and ten days for Hyundai pitcher Jung Min-tae to grab his 20th victory in 2000.

Such cases are not limited to Korea only. The ‘Rocket Man’ Roger Clemens (New York Yankees) suffered the ‘climactic 9th inning’ when there was only 1 victory before his 300th win of his career. He lost twice pitching as a starter in 3 games. He is one of the best pitchers in the Major League who won the Cy Young Award 6 times.

Lee Seung-yeop hit his 43rd homerun against Moon Dong-hwan on August 2 in 1999 after suffering 1 week of ‘no homeruns’ with only 1 homerun left to break his record.

The teams that are playing against Samsung are concentrating their attention on not the team, but Lee Seung-yeop. They are afraid to be the sacrifice of a great record. Thanks to Lee though, the restraint against other hitters is rather inattentive. Ma Hae-young, who reaches the batter box after Lee, said with confidence after getting 3 RBIs and 1 hits on June 18 that "even I would choose to face myself after walking Lee if I were the manager. If that happens, I couldn`t be any happier.

Samsung has more opportunities for its runners to be on base as Lee is being walked more frequently, and the explosive Samsung batting lineup seldom misses any chances. The average points earned by Samsung is 5.7, but has been 1 point higher at 6.7 in the recent 7 straight victories.

Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com