Coach Lee Jong-beom and the Strongest Baseball, have deceived the KBO League and its fansIt's an eternal farewell to the professional title

Jun 28, 2025

Coach Lee Jong-beom talks with Kim Sang-soo and Bae Jeong-dae just before the match between the Samsung Lions and KT Wiz at Daegu Lions Park on the 14th. Daegu = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.06.14/

Coach Lee Jong-beom, who deceived the KBO League and fans, and an entertainment program called the strongest baseball.

The shocking news shook the baseball field. Just before the KBO League games were held on the 26th, Lee Jong-beom, the coach of KT Wiz and the best 'Legend Star' in Korean baseball, suddenly left the team during the season.

Baseball is also something that people do. If you have a personal history, you can cancel the contract even during the season. Most clubs applaud and let go when they 'go' to other teams.

However, the breakup between coach Lee and KT took place in an absurd situation like never before. He left the team to appear on an entertainment show. Coach Lee received a call from an entertainment program and asked the club to terminate the contract after informing it. The club persuaded the coach, but did not budge. In the end, after discussions between the front desk and head coach Lee Kang-chul, they decided to send coach Lee.

It's not a regular entertainment show. It's a baseball variety show. The concept of retired players playing a game that is reminiscent of a real game. He was scouted as a coach in the baseball variety show. So you might ask what the problem is.

Lotte and KT held at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 27th. KT coaches without coach Lee Jong-beom. Busan = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.06.27/

But no matter how serious they are about baseball, entertainment is entertainment. It is not enough as a basis for throwing off the sacred professional uniform during the season.

This coach is an unspent star. There's no way you don't know what kind of repercussions your choice will have. But I made a decision. The fees of directors and star players on the show are more than we can imagine. I don't know exactly what coach Lee is thinking, whether it's because of money, or because he wants to achieve his dream of a coach he didn't achieve on the professional stage, or because he wants to expand his position as an entertainer. Also, as mentioned above, the choice is up to you. But there is one thing that has become clear from this. Unless something unexpected happens, the chance of returning to the KBO League as a leader has almost disappeared.

Which team owner, president, and general manager would abandon a team in which they fight a fierce ranking battle for personal glory and re-recruit someone who left during the season as leader. As a professional, it is too irresponsible. In addition, he has not lived at KT for a long time. After 2023, he left after working as a coach for the LG Twins, and KT and head coach Lee Kang-chul held Lee, who was a wild man last year. Many baseball officials are saddened by the fact that they dumped their relationship with the club and the manager, who paved the way for their return to the KBO League, for the first time in about half a year. In the meantime, coach Lee took the coach's resignation "goodly. You can go and do well. Since you want to try it, you don't have to block it," he said, trying to protect his junior.

A match between the Samsung Lions and the KT Wiz at Daegu Lions Park on the 14th. KT coach Lee Kang-chul and coach Lee Jong-beom are watching the game. Daegu = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.06.14/

The broadcaster that produces this program also deceived the KBO League and its fans. Fans who are even interested in baseball know that there is a mud fight over one popular content. The program called the strongest baseball was a huge success, and it is noisy due to the legal battle between broadcasters and PDs. As the PD takes all the existing members under the name of Fireworks Baseball and creates new content, the strongest baseball copyrighted broadcaster is in a ridiculous fight to recruit new members to make the same broadcast.

Whether they do it or not, it is their freedom, but the baseball community is angry at the very fact that they cast a managerial role on a leader who is playing the season. It's rude for other teams to take out coaches who have contracts left after the end of the season, not during the season. There is an unwritten rule that does not do so. But the producer of the entertainment show makes the active coach quit? It must be an act of complete lack of courtesy and understanding of professional baseball. Of course, there is also a lot of denunciation about coach Lee who betrayed the KBO League without shaking off the sweet offer.

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It is compelling to acknowledge that the program called the strongest baseball has contributed tremendously to the success of the KBO league. It is very reasonable to analyze that fans who were not familiar with baseball became familiar with baseball through entertainment programs and led to an interest in the actual professional league.

However, it is questionable whether the popularity will be able to continue as they have engaged in uncomfortable battles in their interest wars and caused such controversy over watching the KBO League too easily in the process. If this controversy was to attract the so-called 'Agro', it is a success. This is because the news of coach Lee's entertainment trip received more attention than the news of the fierce games that turned the tables on the 27th.

After all, baseball entertainment is watched by baseball lovers. It is questionable whether you will like this program that you will start anew. In fact, while the concept is getting tired of being broadcasted for quite a while, it is facing unfortunate eyes that it is sweeping star players who should play leadership roles. In the meantime, he even detonated a huge bomb. You should know that both coach Lee and the strongest baseball made big mistakes to the KBO League and fans.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.