Why did coach Lee Bum-ho call the 'last winning coach' first

KIA held the inauguration ceremony of its new coach Lee Bum-ho at the "Kia Autoland Gwangju" auditorium located in Seo-gu, Gwangju on Tuesday. KIA, which finished the process of appointing its head coach during the spring camp, had to proceed with the inauguration ceremony a little later, and after the event, the team moved to Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, for the second consecutive exhibition game against the NC Dinos.  토토사이트

After joining the Hanwha Eagles in 2000, Lee moved to KIA in 2011 after playing for the Softbank Hawks of the Japan Baseball Organization in 2010. In 2001 games in the KBO League, he had 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 finishing his career in 2019, Lee Bum-ho trained as a coach for the Softbank Hawks of the Japanese professional baseball and the Philadelphia Phillies of the Major League Baseball (MLB), and served as the Future's manager in the 2021 season. He served as the batting coach for the first team for two years from 2022 and was well-received within the team by constantly communicating with the players.

Coach Lee, who frequently visited the manager's office as a coach until last year, is now in a position to protect the manager's office. "There were times when I went to greet the manager or went into the manager's office because of the batters' conditions or the lineup, but I thought a lot about it because I was sitting in the manager's office alone," he said. "I thought it could be a difficult or a lonely position, but I had a good time because many people went back and forth (to Kim Doksil)."

Lee Beom-ho, then a coach candidate who started his spring camp as a batting coach, conducted a video interview on April 10 and was informed by the club that he was appointed as the head coach two days later. The club disclosed the information in a press release on Wednesday.

Lee Bum-ho was the first to call one of his teachers and Kia's last winning coach Kim Ki-tae. Kim, who demonstrated "brotherly leadership," coached KIA players from 2015 when Lee was active until mid-May 2019. He led the team to its 11th Korean Series championship in 2017.

Veteran Lee Bum-ho, who entered his mid-30s at the time, hit double-digit home runs for the fourth consecutive year since 2015, showing off his robustness. In Game 5 of the 2017 Korean Series, he hit a grand slam, contributing greatly to KIA's victory in the Korean Series.

However, Kim voluntarily resigned due to poor performance in the early part of the 2019 season, and Lee Bum-ho, who was pushed out of the competition, decided to retire as an active player that year. The team has failed to rise to the top once in the past six years, and has only taken the postseason stage twice (2018 and 2022).

Manager Lee Bum-ho said, "Kim Ki-tae was the coach when he won his first championship (when he was a player), and he was with the KIA Tigers as a player and coach recently when they were at the top of the table. He always believed in me and told me that it was okay even when I was not in good shape in many ways during my career." "The coach sent me a congratulatory message first, and I think I called (the coach) first because I was sorry to contact you through messenger or text," he said. "He was also the person I wanted to imitate the most while working in KIA."

Director Lee also said, "He told me if you have any foresight, 'I'm sure you'll be a director later.' He said that when we talked on the phone at that time, he said, "If there is something in your mind, you want to learn a lot and be with him."

After leaving KIA, Kim Ki-tae served as the head coach of the second division and batting coach of the first division of the Yomiuri Giants in the Japanese pro baseball league from 2021 to 2022. Last year, he served as the batting coach of the Korean national baseball team at World Baseball Classic and the KT Wiz Futures Team (second division).

However, Kim returned to Korea without playing the WBC due to health reasons, and in December last year, he offered his gratitude to KT to recharge and rest. Despite being discouraged by KT's general manager Na Do-hyun and manager Lee Kang-chul, he has decided to leave the team. "I heard that the coach is not in good condition, but I hope he gets well soon," Lee Bum-ho said, wishing for his recovery.

Lee Bum-ho, the "first KBO League coach born in the 1980s," who learned a lot from watching Kim Ki-tae, plans to actively communicate with players like his teacher. "As a player and coach, I have been working with our players in numerous games. As such, I am confident that I understand our team well and know what we need better than anyone else," Lee said. "The baseball that I want to pursue as a coach is 'basketball with smiles'. I will create an atmosphere where players can smile and have fun on the ground."