Kia appointed Lee Bum-ho, its first-team batting coach, as its 11th coach on Wednesday. It signed a two-year contract and a total of 900 million won, including a down payment of 300 million won and an annual salary of 300 million won.
Lee Bum-ho, who joined the Hanwha Eagles as the eighth pick in the first round of the second round of the 2000 Rookie Draft, hit double-digit home runs for eight consecutive years from 2002 to 2009, and showed his presence at the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009. He was one of the leading right-handed hitters for his team and the league.
Manager Lee, who moved to KIA the following year after passing through the Japanese professional baseball (NPB) Softbank Hawks in 2010, led the batting lineup with double-digit home runs for six consecutive years in the 2013-2018 season. In particular, in 2017, he contributed greatly to his team's V11 by firing a decisive grand slam against Dustin Nippert in the top of the third inning in Game 5 of the Korean Series against the Doosan Bears.
Lee Bum-ho, who continued his active career through the 2019 season, recorded 1,727 hits in 6,370 at-bats in 2001 games with a batting average of 0.271,329 homers, 1,127 RBIs, 863 walks, and 954 points. Notably, he has been strong in chances as he ranks first in grand slamming (17).
After retirement, he transformed into a leader. He trained as a coach for the NPB Softbank Hawks and the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball, and served as the Futures manager for the 2021 season. He coached batters while serving as the batting coach for the first team for two years from 2022, and will take the helm of the first team in the 2024 season.
KIA has made great efforts to fill the position of the head coach, which had been vacant for more than two weeks since former coach Kim Jong-kook stepped down. KIA general manager Shim Jae-hak and other team frontmen went to the office every day, returning weekends and Lunar New Year holidays, and completed the process of appointing the head coach before the first camp was over, as the team wanted.
Several figures have been criticized, but KIA has decided to leave the team to the person who knows the team better than anyone else and has been with the players for a long time. Especially since I watched the players in the first-tier spring camp until recently, there will be no big problem in preparing for the season.
Regarding the decision, KIA said, "The overall understanding of the team is high, such as experiencing Futures coach and first-team batting coach in the team," adding, "We decided to appoint him as the best person to quickly control the current team atmosphere with leadership and excellent communication skills to encompass the team."
Coach Lee Bum-ho said in an interview with Expo News later in the day, "Thank you so much for the team's choice. I will try hard to make the team go in a good direction because I know well what baseball fans want and what the club should go in the future."
Coach Lee Bum-ho, who had a video interview on the 10th during the Lunar New Year holiday, presented his thoughts and the direction the club should go. Manager Lee said, "We talked a lot about the direction of the club and what direction I should go. Also, I was asked a lot about what I would do when I was in charge of the team and what my team's strengths and weaknesses were."
"I think I've told you everything about what is better and what direction to take. I've talked about many things I felt during the past 14 years (including my playing days) with KIA. I'll continue to work hard and do my best to help the team win the championship in harmony with the players," he added.
The interview could not be conducted face-to-face because the circumstances were not favorable. "It was hard to see it on the screen, not to mention it," coach Lee said. "I think I gave a good answer to the questions about the club's thoughts and what I had, and I remember having an interview in a pleasant and good atmosphere. Based on the interview, my biggest goal is to become the KIA Tigers, where the coach and the player can unite as one and develop in the future," he said.
Manager Lee Bum-ho, who did not realize that he was the first head coach of the KBO League in the 1980s, said, "I didn't think deeply about my colleagues or seniors a year because they haven't become coaches yet, but since the appointment, everyone has said that a lot. So I got to know him then, and I think baseball players born in the 1980s will be able to go in a good direction in the future only if I have a big impact as a good coach, so I think I should do my best to prepare for it."
This season, KIA is looking beyond the semifinals. There was no significant power reinforcement throughout the winter, but there was no power leakage. If injuries do not occur one after another like last year, the whole team is expected to show competitiveness.
Coach Lee Bum-ho said, "I have to feel a lot of responsibility and pressure, but I think I'm very lucky to be a coach in a team with good players. I have more expectations than pressure," adding, "I think I'll have to think a lot about how much more the players can perform and how much they can raise their skills." He stressed, "It's a great honor to be able to run a team with good players on a strong team rather than starting with a weak team."
What message did Lee convey to the players as they met with the team at Nabunda Ballpark in Canberra, Australia, on the day of their first spring camp? "I wish the players would play as they please," Lee said. "More than anything else, I hope the players can always smile at the ballpark and play baseball that they want, regardless of whether they win or lose. That's the best part for the players, too."
Coach Lee also hinted, "I said I don't want the players to be afraid and not be discouraged, and I think the players understood what the coach was aiming for because they had enough time with me. I will prepare well and become a helpful coach for the players to play accordingly."
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