Seung-jjang! Help me! Best friend Shinnosuke Abe's SOS, former Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop was offered a hitting coach

Nov 13, 2025

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'Seungjjang, come and help me.'

Former Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop is likely to take over as the batting coach for the Yomiuri Giants, the most prestigious Japanese professional baseball team in the 2026 season. It has already received an official offer, and only the final acceptance of former coach Lee Seung-yeop remains. Former coach Lee said, `I will discuss it with my family and make a decision,' but there seems to be no reason not to accept it.

The Yomiuri club's position as a hitting coach has a great symbolism and there is also a justification for the 'best friend's request'. Above all, former coach Lee is currently 'The Wild Man'. There is no obstacle to deciding where to go.

Japanese sports media Nikkan Sports said on the 13th (Korea time) 'Abe Shinnosuke Yomiuri, head coach, proposed Lee Seung-yeop as an official hitting coach for the 2026 season. Abe said, "I appreciate coach Lee's passionate guidance, and I hope we can stay together for another year. 'I don't know yet (if it's accepted), but for now, the proposal has been made,' the report said.

Former Doosan Bears coach Lee Seung-yeop participated in the Yomiuri fall camp as a temporary coach. Yomiuri Giants SNS Capture

Abe is a franchise star whose team played as captain and main catcher when former coach Lee Seung-yeop played as Yomiuri's No. 4 hitter when he was active. In particular, Abe helped foreign player Lee Seung-yeop adapt to the team and developed into a "best friend" relationship. Since his retirement in 2019, Abe has been serving as the Yomiuri first team coach since 2024 after serving as the Yomiuri second team coach and the first team battery coach.

Abe and former coach Lee Seung-yeop recently reunited as the coach and interim coach at Yomiuri's fall camp. Abe invited former coach Lee Seung-yeop, who became a wild man after he resigned as manager of the Doosan Bears due to poor performance in May. Former coach Lee coached the players to hit in the fall camp held at Giants Camp Stadium in Inagi City, Tokyo, Japan, for about two weeks from October 29.

Yomiuri Giants SNS Capture

In the process, former coach Lee Seung-yeop reportedly received a great response by passionately guiding the players. Eventually, coach Abe proposed the team's official hitting coach position.

It can be seen that Abe hit a kind of SOS to former coach Lee, who is a best friend. Abe, a former Yomiuri franchise player, failed to win the Japan Series in succession in the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Coach Yomiuri must win the championship.

In 2024, his first season as a coach, he led the team to a Central League championship in four years, but was humiliated by Yokohama DeNA BayStars, who came in third in the league in the final stage of the climax series, failing to advance to the Japan Series.

Yomiuri Giants SNS Capture

This season, he finished third in the league despite his active reinforcement. Then, in the climactic series First Stage, I also met Yokohama and lost again.

As a result, the manager's career is in crisis. Therefore, it can be seen that he is seeking to rebound in the 2026 season by bringing in former coach Lee, who is a "best friend" and the fourth batter of the Yomiuri Giants, who has unrivaled capabilities in hitting.

Nikkan Sports reported that coach Lee Seung-yup expressed his desire to return to Korea and discuss it with his family before making a decision. This is because important issues such as the study and residential environment of young children are still at stake. However, due to the failure at Doosan, it is difficult to take over the coach position on the domestic stage for the time being, so chances are high that he will accept going to Japan to recover his coaching career.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.