By Yoon Chul
Orix Buffaloes finally relegated their Korean slugger Lee Seung-yeop to the second tier league in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), Monday.
According to the Japanese press, the team ordered Lee to drop down a level after Sunday’s game finished.
Lee moved from the Central League’s Yomiuri Giants hoping for a return to form in the Pacific League.
Buffaloes manager Akinobu Okada already mentioned that in order to build strong line-up the team really needed Lee to perform this season.
Okada showed his trust by putting Lee in the line-up for the first 21 games but he batted only .145 with one home run and Okada couldn’t take any more.
From May 4 Lee’s name didn’t appear in the line-up and on Sunday he wasn’t even given the chance to appear as a pinch-hitter.
Lee made his debut for the Samsung Lions in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in 1995. The 34-year-old has played for nine years and slammed 324 homers.
After he hit 56 homers in 2003, the highest number for an Asian player in a season, Lee crossed the East Sea to join the Chiba Lotte Marines.
For two years with the Marines, Lee proved himself a valuable member of the team and moved to the Giants in 2006.
In his first season for the Giants, Lee saw his best figures in the NPB batting .323 with 41 dingers and 108 RBIs.
In 2007 Lee put up average numbers hitting 30 home runs, 74 RBIs with .274 batting average. Since then he has struggled to make an impression with the bat.
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