Lee Seung-yop Wishes for a Spot with the Atlanta Braves

"Technically, he could survive in the major leagues. Lee may not be as great as Matsui, but may be as good as Hee S. Choi.," said Park Heung-sik, batting coach of Samsung who has led Lee to who he is today.

Youngest season 300th home run hitter Lee is believed to start his efforts to move over to the big leagues in earnest. His agent SFX made a memo on Lee and distributed it to major league clubs. The Boston Red Sox and the LA Dodgers reportedly send their officials to Korea next month.

Park confirms that Lee wishes to play with the Atlanta Braves. Lee is a first baseman, and has to go through a tougher competition to secure his spot in the lineup.

That was why he did not play much with the Florida Marlines this spring. The team invited him and Hyundai`s Shim Jung-soo. But Shim played more since he is an outfielder.

The Braves has no excellent first baseman. That is why he wishes to go over to the club. For now, Jung Bong plays in the club, and the club itself shows some favorable response to Lee`s proposal.

Besides the Atlanta Braves, several teams are showing interest in Lee.

But the problem, according to Park, lies somewhere else. Lee is a little shy. Thus, Park worries Lee would not survive the harsh competition in the major leagues.

Negotiations are expected to start in earnest in October.

Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com