Doosan appoint 'Lion King' Lee Seung-yuop as new manager

Former Doosan Bears stars Oh Jae-won, center, and Yoo Hee-kwan, right, present gifts to Lee Seung-yuop during a retirement ceremony at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Sept. 3, 2017. [YONHAP]

The Doosan Bears have reportedly appointed Lee Seung-yuop, the Lion King himself, as the club’s new manager.

Samsung Lions legend Lee is one of the most decorated players in KBO history. He was the youngest professional player anywhere in the world to pass 300 career home runs, achieving the feat at just 26, and went on to be named KBO MVP five times.

Lee still holds the KBO records for home runs, runs scored, RBIs, total bases, slugging percentage and OPS.

Lee retired in 2017, with the latter years of his career dominated by the Lions’ fierce rivalry with the Bears. During that time he was a fairly unpopular figure at Doosan’s Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul.

Since retiring, Lee has mainly worked as a baseball commentator and TV personality. The Doosan post will be his first full-time coaching job.

According to reports, Lee was signed on a three-year contract worth 1.8 billion won ($1.3 million).

Lee replaces Kim Tae-hyoung, who led the Bears to seven Korean Series appearances, three pennants and three championship titles during his seven years at the helm of the Seoul club.

Kim was a crucial part of the Bears operation for the best part of 30 years, joining the club in 1990 as a catcher and playing 11 years before graduating to a playing coach in 2001 and fully transitioning to the Bears’ coaching staff in 2002.

After 10 years as a battery coach, Kim briefly moved to the SK Wyverns, now the SSG Landers, for two years, before returning to Doosan as manager in 2015.

Doosan won the championship title in Kim’s first year at the helm, sweeping the Samsung Lions in the Korean Series despite finishing the regular season in third place.

That 2015 title started one of the most dominant reigns in Korean baseball history, with the Bears returning in 2016 to take the pennant and sweep the Korean Series.

Doosan continued to make it to the Korean Series for the next five years, winning the pennant in 2018 and both the pennant and the Korean Series title in 2019. The Bears slipped further down the regular season table in 2020 and 2021, finishing third and fourth, but still came alive in the postseason to reach the Korean Series.

Kim’s departure comes after one of the worst seasons in Doosan history, with the Bears finishing in ninth place, the club’s lowest ranking since the 10-team era began.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]