“Lotte Man” Lee Seung-yeop hops good start

The mentor of Lee Seung-yeop (28-year-old, Chiba Lotte Marines) and batting coach of Samsung, Park Heung-shik, once said, “The first 10 to 15 games are the most important.” Did Lee listen to his teacher? Lee is getting familiar with Japan baseball with a smooth start to the season.

In his game against Seibu Lions held at the Seibu Dome in Tokoroja on March 28, Lee started at first baseman and batted cleanup. He slammed a long double in his first bat in the second inning the same way he did on the previous day. He looked for a 119 km/h curve ball thrown by lefty starting pitcher, Mitsui Koji, and hit a double off of the right-field wall.

Lee scored on a double by Hasushiba Kiyoshi with one out.

Afterwards, Lee failed to get a hit, however, with a grounder to the third baseman, a popup to the right fielder, and a grounder to shortstop. He ended the day one for four with one run scored. Lotte was defeated two to three by a winning hit in the bottom of the 10th inning with the score tied at two.

Appearing as a first baseman and replaced in the ninth inning, Lee said, “I got a pain in my right back, but I will be able to join the next game.”

In the opener on March 27, which brought in the most interest, Lee destroyed Seibu pitching ace “Monster” Matsuzaka Daisuke. In the big game with more than 48,000 watching in the stands, the confrontation came first inning.

Designated hitter Lee hit a RBI double to right by pulling an outside changeup with two strikes and one ball past first base with two outs. He crossed home base on a timely hit from Benny Agbayani, making a good start in his Japan league debut with a hit, run and RBI.

After that, he was struck out twice by Matsuzaka and finished the day with one hit in four at bats. But he played a crucial role in his team’s 5-3 victory by driving in the game-winning RBI.

Meanwhile, in the opener against the Daiei Hawks, the Japan-series champion from last year, played at the Fukuoka Dome on March 27, starting pitcher Koo Dae-seong (35-year-old) of the Orix Blue Wave had 11 strike-outs in 8 innings but allowed 4 runs with 7 walks and 5 hits and took the loss.

Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com