KBO legend Lee Seung-yuop ends 1st managerial stint with resignation

Doosan Bears manager Lee Seung-yuop / Yonhap

At the end of his first regular season as manager of the Doosan Bears on Oct. 16, 2023, Lee Seung-yuop heard something he never had during his legendary playing career: boos from home fans.

The Bears had just lost to the SSG Landers 3-2 in their final home game en route to finishing fifth in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular season with a record of 74-68-2 (wins-losses-ties). Lee, who had never previously coached or managed anywhere, led the Bears to 14 more victories than 2022 and put them back in the postseason as No. 5 seed.

But as Lee grabbed the mic to thank his fans, the Bears' faithful at Jamsil Baseball Stadium still voiced their displeasure — not just about that particular loss but the way Lee had, in their minds, mismanaged the bullpen and made questionable lineup decisions all season. Rather than chalking them up to rookie mistakes, the Bears fans demanded more from Lee.

It was the start of a rocky relationship that ended with Lee's resignation Monday, during the final year of his three-year contract. The Bears are in ninth place through Sunday at 23-32-3.

The Bears have an annual tradition of having every player and member of the coaching staff address their home fans from the field after the final home game each season. But apparently hurt by the jeers in 2023, Lee did not take the field for the postgame ceremony after the last home game of the 2024 season on Sept. 24, even though the Bears beat the NC Dinos 10-5.

The Bears finished that season with the same record as 2023, 74-68-2, but for the second straight year, they didn't make it past the wild card round. In 2024, the Bears became the first No. 4 seed to be eliminated in the wild card stage.

Lee took the Bears' reins after the 2022 season, when their streak of seven consecutive Korean Series appearances ended. The Bears won three titles during that record-setting run under manager Kim Tae-hyoung, and Lee had big shoes to fill.

Missing yet another postseason or going into a full rebuild was not an option for Lee. One could say the Bears fans had been spoiled by their sustained run of success and it was unreasonable to expect Lee, a first-time manager, to deliver championships right away.

Lee, for his part, said from the onset that he would embrace the pressure that comes with the Bears job and he would try to take the club back to the Korean Series before his three-year deal runs out.

Lee had dealt with plenty of pressure as a player. He owns the single-season home run record of 56 from the 2003 season as MVP-winning first baseman for the Samsung Lions, and he has talked about dealing with a great deal of stress during that record chase.

Lee launched 467 home runs in 15 KBO seasons with the Lions and had 159 more during his eight seasons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. Lee has been brought down to second place on the KBO career home run list, with SSG Landers slugger Choi Jeong having recently surpassed 500, but without his sojourn to Japan, Lee certainly would have finished his KBO career with well over 500 home runs himself. Even Choi still regards Lee as the greatest home run hitter in KBO history.

On top of his KBO heroics, Lee hit some memorable home runs for the national team at the Olympics and World Baseball Classic tournaments, none bigger than the shot that pushed Korea past Japan 6-2 in the semifinals of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He also homered in the gold medal game as Korea beat Cuba 3-2. In his heyday, Lee was hailed as a national hero who could do no wrong.

As manager of the Bears, however, Lee couldn't even complete his contract or win a game in two trips to the postseason. Spring training injuries to key players and early-season slumps by new foreign players sealed Lee's fate as the calendar flipped to June.

Within a span of about two and a half seasons, one of the KBO's all-time greats became a lightning rod for criticism. Lee held himself responsible for the Bears' disappointing 2025 season and abruptly ended his first managerial stint.