“If I had been more disciplined…”
Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop (47) reflects on the 2023 season. In his first season in charge, Doosan reached the top five and advanced to the fall baseball season. Although the team lost on the 16th to secure fifth place, they made progress, but they were disappointed.
“When I look back on the season, there are more regrets. There were immature points. There were things I wasn’t good at, whether it was harmonizing with the players or the process of solving the game,” he said.
“I think that’s why we are where we are now. If I had been a little more disciplined, I’m sure we would have been ranked higher than we are now.”
Lee Seung-yeop was announced as Doosan’s 11th manager on Oct. 14 last year. The name was obvious. He was Samsung’s franchise star and the nation’s favorite hitter. He was also the first player in KBO history to go on a retirement tour.
But he had no leadership experience. He served as an ambassador for the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), a special assistant to the president, and a member of the national team’s technical committee. He also spent quite a bit of time as a broadcast commentator. He was also the head coach of the baseball show “Choi Gang Baseball,” but that doesn’t count as a coaching career.
At his inauguration, Lee said, “The word that is most often attached to me now is ‘novice manager. When I start the 2023 season, I’ll change it to ‘prepared coach’. I will do better next year than this year, and the year after that than the year before, so that in the third year of my term, I will be on the stage of the Korean Series.”토토사이트
We actually had a good season. Despite not having any managerial training, they made it to fall baseball. From July 1 to 25, the team went on an 11-game winning streak, the longest in its history, and even threatened the top of the standings at one point.
The team then faltered. They dropped to seventh place in mid-August. The team rebounded and fought for third place until the very end. The result was disappointing, but not bad for a rookie coach.
However, Lee was not satisfied. “I’m a first-year coach, so I’m sure there are some things that I’m not good at. I’ve experienced a lot. I will do my best until the end of this season. I will prepare again for next year. I will try to become a better leader,” he emphasized.
Doosan has reached the Korean Series for seven consecutive years since 2015. Three times they stood at the top. They fell short in 2022, finishing ninth. They’re back in the postseason.
There is no satisfaction. Not for manager Lee Seung-yeop, not for the players. The fans are just as dissatisfied. It’s not over. There’s still fall baseball and the 2024 season. In 2023, a rookie manager must have learned a lot.