Slugger Lee Seung-yeop rejoins former Korean team

Slugger Lee Seung-yeop has rejoined his former team in Korea's top baseball league.

Lee has signed a one-year deal with the Samsung Lions in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), the club announced Monday.

The left-handed first baseman agreed to 800 million won ($707,960) in salary plus another 300 million won in a club option.

Lee is back in the KBO after spending eight seasons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) with three different clubs. In his last KBO contact, he was paid 630 million won per season.

"I didn't think I would ever come back, and I can't describe how happy I am to be returning," Lee said through the team's press release. "The Lions are my home at heart, and I felt terrible when I left for Japan."

Lee was born in Daegu, the home of the Lions, located about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The Lions won the KBO championship this year, and Lee said he was looking forward to teaming up with new players for another run at the title.

He put together a Hall of Fame career with the Lions from 1995 to 2003.

Lee won five Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards and led the KBO in home runs five times and in runs batted in (RBI) four times. In 2003, he established the KBO's all-time single season record with 56 home runs and 144 RBIs.

The 35-year-old is ranked fourth with 324 career home runs, just 27 behind the all-time leader Yang Joon-hyuk, who is retired.

In Japan, Lee has played for the Chiba Lotte Marines, the Yomiuri Giants and finally the Orix Buffaloes. He enjoyed some success early on before nagging injuries derailed his career over the past four seasons. In eight Japanese seasons, Lee hit .257 with 159 homers and 439 RBIs.

In 2011 with the Buffaloes, he managed to hit only .201 with 15 home runs in 122 games. (Yonhap)