Star slugger jinxes pro hoops team

“We cannot ask him not to come.”

A staff member of the Daegu Orions pro basketball team sighed when star baseball slugger Lee Seung-yeop was mentioned. The team thinks Lee gives Daegu bad luck.

Lee is a prolific homerun hitter for the Yomiuri Giants of Japan, but is also a big hoops fan. He often goes to Daegu to watch Orions games, and is close to players Kim Seung-hyeon and Kim Beong-cheol.

Though Lee is the feared clean-up hitter for the Giants, he looked very innocent in his hometown of Daegu on December 27. He took a fringe seat in the press box when the game started. Lee grew slightly angry and hit the table lightly when the Orions lost. He also took a close look at memos written by the correspondents there.

After the game ended, he went down to the court and practiced three-point shots and lay-ups. His form was not perfect but he did pretty well. An Orions source said, “Once we had a basketball battle for 1,000 won. The rule was to shoot when the ball bounces twice. Lee went all out to win.”

The Orions, however, do not like it when Lee attends their games, because the team strangely loses every time he is there. On December 27, Daegu lost by a whopping 27 points.

hic@donga.com