Korean Slugger to Bat 4th for Yomiuri

Yomiuri Giants slugger Lee Seung-yeop (30) will bat cleanup in his team’s Central League opening match against Yokohama on March 31.

One short year ago in the Pacific League, Lee was just trying to make Lotte’s roster. Three days before last year’s opening match, Lee was demoted to the minors.

What a difference a year makes.

Respect-

Yomiuri’s sports magazine, Sports Hochi, reported that Lee is Yomiuri’s 70th cleanup hitter. Normally, such a stat would be considered trivial. But the baseball prestige Yomiuri has in Japan makes the stat important. Lee is the third overseas player to bat cleanup for Yomiuri. The first was Roy White in 1981, and the second was Warren Cromartie in 1987.

Yomiuri’s famed cleanup hitters have included Shigeo Nagashima, a legend and honorary manager of Yomiuri ball club; Softbank manager Sadaharu Oh; Jang Hun, who holds the league’s all-time hits record (3,085); and New York Yankees slugger Hideki Matsui.

Being named Yomiuri cleanup hitter has often been a path to national stardom in Japan. Lee started last year as a second-string player for Lotte after being pushed aside by Valentino Pascucci. He had to fight his way back onto the club’s roster by hitting consecutive homeruns in the minor league opener. During the season, Lee usually was the seventh hitter in the lineup.

From anonymity to worldwide stardom-

His exhibition game records last year and this year were less than impressive. His batting average per game was 0.143 this year and 0.050 last year. But what Lee now has to show for himself that he didn’t have last year, is the World Baseball Classic. He recorded five homeruns and 10 RBIs off major league’s star pitchers such as Dontrelle Willis (Florida Marlins) and Rodrigo Lopez (Baltimore Orioles). One year ago, Lee’s name mattered less for Japanese baseball fans and sports media.

uni@donga.com