 SK Wyverns coach Lee Man-soo waves to the home crowd at Munhak Stadium, Incheon, as he circles the outfield in his underpants attached with fake buttocks. / Yonhap |
Staff Reporter
Former homerun champ Lee Man-soo has trotted the bases hundreds of times in his playing career but had never been treated to the thunderous ovation he got from fans at Munhak Stadium in Incheon, Saturday.
In one of the most unusual moments in Korean baseball history, Lee, 49, now a coach for the first-place SK Wyverns, stepped out of the dugout after the fifth inning _ stripped down to his under-shorts attached with fake buttocks, socks and cleats _ and jogged toward the outfield followed by 20 members of the team’s official fan club.
The bizarre parade continued for about four minutes, with Lee slowly circling the stadium waving his hands to the deafening applause and laughter from the sellout crowd. His face hinted at a mixed sense of amusement and embarrassment.
The stadium speakers pumped out local singer Chung Su-ra’s popular hit ``You Can Do Anything’’ to add to the humor.
Lee, commonly referred by fans and players as ``Hulk,’’ had declared after a home match with the LG Twins on April 29 that he would run the grounds in his underwear if a game among the next 10 scheduled at Munhak Stadium sold out.
The fans were up to the challenge, buying all of the 30,400 available tickets for Saturday’s match against the KIA Tigers, with 20,000 of the seats purchased through the Internet prior to the game. The team confirmed the sellout at the end of the fourth inning and Lee kept his end of the promise.
``My family was against this but now they understand and will have to live with it. I thank the fans for making me keep my promise,’’ said Lee after the game.
``We have made history as a world-first. I haven’t heard of any baseball coach running the ground in his underwear during a game,’’ laughed Wyverns manager Kim Sung-kun.
The Wyverns have been focusing on upping ticket sales for this season by pushing aggressive market events under a corporate motto of ``Sportstainment,’’ a word combining sports and entertainment. On this night, Lee was the provider of the entertainment.
Fans have plenty to cheer about on the sports side as well as the Wyverns beat the Tigers 7-3 behind a monster night by right fielder Lee Jin-young who belted a pair of three-run homeruns. With the victory, Wyverns move two games ahead of the second-place Hanhwa Eagles.
``Next time this stadium sells out, I think I might take my shirt off,’’ joked the younger Lee after his six RBI night.
Coach Lee, one of the most-liked figures in Korean baseball history, was a catcher for 16 seasons for the Samsung Lions and hit 252 homeruns and knocked in 861 RBIs before retiring in 1997. He was Korean baseball’s all-time homerun leader before Jang Jong-hun of the Eagles broke his record in 1999 with his 253rd.
Lee is still the only Korean player ever to win the ``triple crown’’ in batting, when he led the league with a .340 average, 23 homeruns and 83 RBIs in 1984. He appeared in 12 all-star games.
Lee began his coaching career in the United States as the hitting coach for the Class A Kinston Indians in 1998. He moved to the White Sox organization in 1999, and served as the first base coach for the White Sox AAA affiliate Charlotte Knights until assuming his bullpen position with the big club in 2000.
thkim@koreatimes.co.kr
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