Seoul: He may have been named “player-coach” by the Kiwoom Heroes on April 18, but veteran outfielder Lee Yong-kyu sees himself more as a player than as a coach. Lee is about four months shy of his 40th birthday, but the fire in his belly hasn’t been extinguished. He wants to prove that he can still play in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) while setting a good example for the youthful Heroes team featuring a few teenage rookies.
According to Yonhap News Agency, in a conversation on Tuesday, Lee said he wanted to set the record straight: he is not about to retire anytime soon, just because he has been asked to serve in a dual role. “I want to keep playing,” Lee said before a game against the Lotte Giants at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. “I know people would just assume that I am about to get into coaching because I’ve been named player-coach. But at the moment, I am still a player helping out teammates in the dugout.”
Lee made his KBO debut with the LG Twins in 2004, but became a star and a national team
mainstay during his nine-year tenure with the Kia Tigers from 2005 to 2013. In that nine-season span, Lee ranked third in the KBO with 1,101 hits and fourth with 244 steals. Lee then played for the Hanwha Eagles from 2014 to 2020 before joining the Heroes in the twilight of his career. He has 2,132 hits and 396 steals for his career, ranking sixth and second among active players.
Due to registration issues at the KBO – it had been several years since the league last had a player-coach – Lee was officially placed on the Heroes’ coaching staff last Thursday, six days after the club’s announcement. However, Lee is not attending pregame staff meetings. He’s working with players in some other capacity. “We have coaches working with the players in different parts,” Lee said. “My job is to help out guys in different situations that may arise over the course of a game. We have so many inexperienced players here and they may not know how to respond to certain in-game situations. That’s where I can come in with advice
. But I don’t give any technical instructions.”
Lee said his typical day at a ballpark hasn’t changed from last season in that regard, because he had younger teammates approach him with questions in the dugout then, too. “The only difference is that I am not playing these days,” Lee said. “Being in this situation has given me a new perspective on things. I have to keep an eye on how my teammates are doing, too.”
A nagging right wrist injury has kept Lee out of game action this year, but he has been a full participant in all practices so far. The Heroes could certainly use an outfielder now, with the regular center fielder Lee Ju-hyoung down in the minors after a slow start. Asked if he is frustrated that he hasn’t taken the field yet in 2025, Lee said, “I don’t make roster decisions and I have zero complaint there. All I can do is to stay ready so that I can hit the ground running when I am put back on the roster.”
Because he is registered as a coach, Lee is not able to go down to the minor league for cond
itioning stints. “I have to live with that. The team gave me this coaching role for a reason, and I have to find ways to help the team the best I can in this situation,” Lee said. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about my preparation, but it comes with the territory.”
Lee sits four steals away from 400, a milestone only five others have reached in KBO history. With those four steals, Lee will become only the second player with at least 2,000 hits and 400 steals, joining former speedster Jeon Jun-ho. “It’s not like I am dozens of steals away. I only need four more,” Lee said. “It’d be an honor to join Jeon Jun-ho in that club. I am really motivated to get there.”
Lee also understands, however, he can’t be chasing numbers when he’s on the field. “When people say, ‘That guy plays really hard,’ I love hearing that more than anything,” Lee said. “Once I am back on the roster, I will give my absolute best. I can’t control what kind of numbers I put up but I want to prove that I am still needed on this tea
m.”