Lee Seung- yup Slammed 56th and Sets a New Asian Record

He finally hit his 56th homer. On October 2, ‘National Batter’ Lee Seung-yup (27, Samsung Lions) set a new Asian home run record by slamming his 56th home run in the season’s last game against the Lotte Giants at Daegu Stadium.

In the second inning and two runs behind with a score of 0-2, Lee Seung-yup blasted a leadoff solo shot off of Lotte’s starting pitcher Lee Jeong-min on a one ball, one strike count.

This hit was his 35th home run at Daegu Stadium. He set a new record of 56 home runs in a season by breaking the Asian record which was jointly shared by Japanese Sadaharu Oh, Alex Cabrera, and Tuffy Rhodes.

At the interview held in the congratulatory event after the game, Lee said, “My wife cheered me on saying, ‘It’s okay even if you don’t hit a homer. You’ve been doing great until now’ and that helped me a lot.”

“It was a big burden for me since the media showed so much interest. However, I was able to hit the home run because the opponent pitcher pitched a bold game without any intentional walks,” Lee added. Lee Seung-yup, who previously declared his plans to play in Major League Baseball next year, told baseball fans, “Please keep showing your continous love and support for the growth of Korean baseball.”