Coach Lee Jong-beom, who finally joined the shocking entertainment show, retired juniors, do you feel the sincerity of your choice for Korean baseball

Jun 30, 2025

Coach Lee Jong-beom, who finally joined the shocking entertainment show, retired juniors, do you feel the sincerity of your choice for Korean baseball
A match between the Samsung Lions and the KT Wiz at Daegu Lions Park on the 14th. KT coach Lee Jong-beom is encouraging batters. Daegu = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.06.14/



A bid to make the Korean baseball boom bigger by utilizing the strongest baseball.

Finally, coach Lee Jong-beom opened his mouth. He officially announced his acceptance of the baseball entertainment director position and made an enthusiastic comment on why he made such a choice. However, it remains to be seen whether it can calm the anger of baseball officials and fans.

After announcing the recruitment of manager Lee Jong-beom on the 30th, the JTBC"strongest baseball" production team released an interview with manager Lee Jong-beom's acceptance of the coach."




Made a fuss. When it was revealed that coach Lee, who worked in the KT Wiz's first team for the manager position of a baseball entertainment program, left the team, the baseball game was infested. The reaction was the same. It was how to irresponsibly leave the team during the season to appear on entertainment programs, how the broadcaster sees sacred professional baseball and flirted with the leader who is in the midst of the season.

Many people were shocked that this unbelievable decision was made by coach Stey, who is not a single person. Many baseball officials are proud that they played a role in the development of Korean baseball"I couldn't hide my disappointment.

It is true that the program 'Strongest Baseball' helped develop baseball. Analysts continued that young fans, who were not familiar with baseball, approached baseball with entertainment and became interested in baseball, and visited baseball stadiums on the line, and the KBO League's popularity also rose.




Coach Lee Jong-beom, who finally joined the shocking entertainment show, retired juniors, do you feel the sincerity of your choice for Korean baseball
Lee Jong-beom during the Haitian era. Sports Chosun DB
But entertainment is just entertainment. No matter how sincere they play baseball, professional players risk their lives to play and train every day, while entertainment players only film one game every two to three weeks. There are players who train individuallyHowever, the amount of training of professional players will never keep up.

The production team of the 'strongest baseball' apologized for the inconvenience caused to the club and its fans in the process of recruiting the coach Lee as he made the difficult decision to leave the professional baseball team. I will do my best to become a baseball content that contributes to the growth and development of Korean baseball" he said.

Coach Lee, or Lee, had a meal with the PD in charge in early June and was offered the position of coach on the spot. At first, he expressed his disapproval. But a few days later, some retired juniors contacted me. I asked him to be the center of the 'strongest baseball' and I thought about it for several days. As baseball entertainment has gained popularity, some juniors are enjoying their second heyday and are loved a lot, but there are many juniors who are not. If the recently struggling 'strongest baseball' can regroup, I can provide opportunities for more juniors, and I want to challenge the job together, so I accepted the manager's position" he said. First of all, it is the premise that the program will not be produced unless it is him, but that would not have happened. In the end, he left the KT coach post due to some greed, but there is a lack of explanation for this.




Coach Lee Jong-beom, who finally joined the shocking entertainment show, retired juniors, do you feel the sincerity of your choice for Korean baseball
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/
Director Lee continued "KT coach Lee Kang-chul was very eager to see his junior take the path of an orthodox leader. But there are juniors who need me, and they understood and allowed me to try new challenges. I knew my decision could be blamed for an unusual move in baseball, including a team vacuum", he explained. As for this, no matter how much we hold on to it, shouldn't we consider the situation of KT, which had no choice but to be a person who has already left his mind.

Lee was well aware that accepting the 'strongest baseball' position could end up earning him a lot of criticism. If you only wanted the manager's job, you wouldn't have chosen 'strongest baseball'. I think saving the 'strongest baseball' can make the boom in Korean baseball even bigger. In particular, the newly launched 'strongest baseball' also promised support for amateur baseball, such as youth baseball. It leads to new challenges for retired players and helps develop the baseball world, but I don't think entertainment is a completely different world from professional baseball. It's an entertainment show, and even if you're a retired player, I think it's a program where you play baseball sincerely. All of them were professional players, and they were friends with pride and pride as professionals. I will try to play passionate baseball with sincerity.'

Coach Lee Jong-beom, who finally joined the shocking entertainment show, retired juniors, do you feel the sincerity of your choice for Korean baseball
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/
It's a plausible ambition. If Lee does not receive a large amount of performance fees and only works on the program with his heart and heart for the development of Korean baseball, the anger of the baseball community and fans may disappear to some extent. However, many people are aware of the fees paid by coaches and players who have appeared in the strongest baseball games. It's money that ordinary people can't easily earn. As mentioned above, you can make more money with a really easy schedule compared to professional baseball. He also takes off the coach tag. If the public suspects that this is the cause of the season's departure, all Lee's sincerity disappears.

Manager Lee may be being used in the competition for pride between the `Choi' baseball and the `fire baseball.' Both sides simply risked their lives. It's a situation where you have to step on each other and crush each other. The de facto latecomer JTBC will make a very aggressive investment. Director Lee's shock appearance may have been part of that. There must be a lot of star-studded players in order to become a hot topic. It can be a job where only players who already accumulate a lot of wealth and still do a lot of work get full. If coach Lee creates a program by forming a team centered on players in a really difficult environment after retirement, the sincerity can be taken into account. But given the way things are going, I don't think that's going to happen. It is said that retired players from stars who have already failed to enter 'fireball' are being recruited one after another. This does not fit with the justification that coach Lee says to open the way for junior players.

Finally, entertainment is just entertainment, but it's so uncomfortable that they get popular and keep saying "Korean baseball development." Among them, director Lee seems to have stepped in, causing some regret.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.