Lee Man-soo (,

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

: 李萬洙; born September 9, 1958 in

Cheorwon Cheorwon County (''Cheorwon-gun'' ), also spelled Chorwon, is a county in Gangwon Province, South Korea. It is located right next to the border with North Korea. History *Goguryeo - First named ''Moeuldongbi''. *Silla Dynasty - name changed to ...

, Gangwon-do,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

), also spelled as Man Soo Lee, is a former

Korea Professional Baseball The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

and

First baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. After a distinguished career as a professional player in

from 1982 to 1997, Lee moved on to coaching in 1998, including positions on the

coaching staff The coaching staff is a group of non-athletes tied to a sports team. A coaching staff can be existent at all levels of athletics. It is led by a head coach (known as a manager or senior coach in some sports) and consists of one or more assistant c ...

of the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

, and came back to South Korea in 2006 to serve as a bench coach for the

SK Wyverns SSG Landers () are a South Korean professional baseball team. The team was originally established as the SK Wyverns but was renamed as the SSG Landers in 2021 after Shinsegae acquired the team from SK Group. They are a member of the KBO League. B ...

Playing career

Upon graduation from

Hanyang University Hanyang University (Korean: 한양대학교) is a private research university in South Korea. The main campus is located in Seoul and its satellite campus, the Education Research Industry Cluster (ERICA campus), is in Ansan. ''Hanyang'' (한양, ...

in 1982, Lee made an agreement with the

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and KBO ...

to play for one of the new pro league's teams instead of remaining in the amateur league. Prior to the inaugural Korean professional baseball season, Lee was finally signed by the

Samsung Lions The Samsung Lions () are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982. They are based in the southeastern city of Daegu and are members of the KBO League. Their home stadium is Daegu Samsung Lions Park. They have won the Korean Champ ...

. In the first game of the KBO pro league on March 27, 1982, Lee hit the first home run in Korean professional baseball history against the

MBC Chungyong MBC may refer to: Broadcasting * Major Broadcasting Cable Network, renamed to Black Family Channel * Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, a Malawian state-run radio company * Manila Broadcasting Company, in the Philippines * Mauritius Broadcasting C ...

. Lee was a regular catcher of the Lions during the 1982 season and helped his team to reach to the inaugural Korean Series, where the Lions lost to the

OB Bears The Doosan Bears ( ko, 두산 베어스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. Founded in 1982, they are a member of the KBO League. The Bears have won six Korean Series titles (1982, 1995, 2001, 2015, 2016, and 2019) and ...

, 4–1–1. Lee, nicknamed "

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

" and "

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

" for his power and home run ability, was a full-time catcher and first baseman for 16 seasons with the

, hitting 252

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and knocking in 861 RBIs during his career. In 1983, he won his first home run title and was named league MVP, and the next year became the league's first

triple crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

winner as the leader in three major offensive categories ― home runs (23), runs batted in (80) and

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(.340). His home run and RBI totals also led the league in 1985.

Gold Gloves The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

came in 5 straight years, 1983–1987, and he appeared in 12 All-Star games. Lee's ultimate career home run total, 252, remained the record until Chang Jong-hoon of the

Hanwha Eagles The Hanwha Eagles ( ko, 한화 이글스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Daejeon. They are a member of the KBO League. The Eagles' home ballpark is Daejeon Hanbat Baseball Stadium. The Eagles have won the Korean Series on ...

hit his 253rd on May 23, 1999.

Coaching career

After retiring in 1997, Lee began his coaching career in the United States as the hitting coach for the Class A

Kinston Indians The Kinston Indians were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League (CL) located in Kinston, North Carolina, from 1978 to 2011. They played their home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949. The team began play in 1978 as the Ki ...

in 1998. He moved to the White Sox organization in 1999, and served as the

first base coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

for the White Sox

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

affiliate

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

until assuming his bullpen position with the big club in 2000. From 2000 to 2006, Lee was a coaching staff for the Chicago White Sox, the first Korean to coach in the major leagues. In 2005, as a coach for the White Sox, he earned a

World Series ring A World Series ring is an award given to Major League Baseball players who win the World Series. Since only one Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to the team, a World Series ring is an individual award that players and staff of each World Series ...

following the

2005 World Series The 2005 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2005 season. The 101st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Chicago White Sox and the National ...

. After the 2006 season, Lee returned to South Korea and signed a two-year contract with the SK Wyverns as the club's bench coach on October 30, 2006. On August 18, 2011, SK Wyverns manager

Kim Sung-keun Kim Sung-keun (Hangul: 김성근, Hanja: 金星根) (born December 13, 1942, in Kyoto, Japan) is a retired South Korean left-handed baseball pitcher and KBO League manager. Over the course of his managerial career, Kim managed seven different ...

was sacked following his decision to retire from coaching after the 2011 season. Kim's dismissal came just one day after the 68-year-old manager announced his decision to step down from his post at the end of the season, and Lee was named interim manager of the Wyverns on the same day.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Man-soo SSG Landers coaches Chicago White Sox coaches Samsung Lions players KBO League Most Valuable Player Award winners KBO League catchers KBO League first basemen South Korean baseball coaches South Korean baseball players South Korean Christians Hanyang University alumni Sportspeople from Daegu 1958 births Living people SSG Landers managers South Korean baseball managers Baseball players with retired numbers Major League Baseball bullpen catchers American sportsmen

Playing career

Coaching career

See also

References

External links