Why and how did director Lee Kang-chul bring in the Son of the Wind \?

Nov 11, 2024

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[Wakayama (Japan) = Reporter Kim Yong of Sports Chosun] "There's no place to call my dad, so he told me to go. Haha."

It's a historical meeting between the Haitai legends.

Wakayama Kamitonda Stadium in Japan, where KT Wiz is in the midst of final training. There was still a little stranger in KT's uniform, so it was coach Lee Jong-beom, 'Son of the Wind'.

KT recruited coach Lee ahead of the start of its final training session on the 20th of last month. He contributed to his first win in 29 years as a coach for the LG Twins last year and was mainly in the U.S. this year for his son Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco) who entered the U.S. Major League.

Still, I didn't get my hands on baseball. During spring camp, he trained as a coach for the Texas Rangers. It was the coach who reached out to coach Lee, who was preparing to return to the field.

The two formed a relationship when they were the predecessor of the KIA Tigers and Haitai Tigers. When coach Lee made his name as the strongest submarine pitcher in the league, coach Lee came in as a rookie and created a new wind. Before Lee went to the Junichi Dragons in Japan, he was a teammate from 1993 to 1997. He is also a senior and junior at Gwangju Jeil High School.

But after that, there was no contact. In the last years of coach Lee's career, manager Lee was at KIA as a pitching coach, but there were not many chances to bump into each other due to different parts. The same goes for being a leader. It's my first time working together in one team. Why and how did coach Lee come to recruit him.

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Coach Lee said, `We didn't have a professional coach from the outfield. Coach Park Ki-hyuk, a former infielder, was in charge. Regardless of the position, Coach Lee was very good at baseball. I have a lot of things. The bat, base running, and defense were all good and know well. I recruited this coach to take advantage of him," he said with a smile. Director Lee continued "I think it will be a great help. First of all, I can see that the players are following well."

Was there any difficulty bringing in the star coach. Director Lee said, `When I made an offer, they asked for two days. I heard that they had a family meeting, and Jeonghu jokingly said 'Daddy, go away because you're not here to call'. Just two days later, I was at the airport to leave for the final camp and I got a call. They say, 'I'm going to go'. Me too 'Thank you. Come as soon as you can.' It was because we needed to adapt from the closing camp."

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Manager Lee "At first, he announced that he was recruiting as a defense coach on base and outfield. But when I came to the finishing camp, I changed my mind. I think it's a waste to play only baserunning and outfield defense. I think it would be right to watch the players' batting and do it as a general fielder coach. There is a lot of experience in big games. "It will be very helpful for the players if coach Lee gives advice every moment." Coach Lee also answered that he could do well in any role.

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