Month of Agony makes Lee Shed Tears

27-year-old national hitter, Lee Seung-yeop, addressed the contract with Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese professional baseball league at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel press conference center on the morning of December 11.

Lee, who couldn’t continue speaking at the end of the interview, abruptly burst into tears as his sorrow built up. Wiping away his tears, he finally rose from his seat and went to a corner in the conference room. There, he poured out his thick “tears of men” again for about five minutes. Due to this, the interview was suspended.

Lee is usually never unnerved in any circumstances and never shows his feelings to other people. Therefore, we assume that these tears that he shed at the official meeting was due to the weight of the agony he had to shoulder until finally deciding to play for Chiba.

“I told my father, ‘Keep watch over me. I will try my absolute hardest to provide you with a comfortable life’ when I signed with Samsung pro baseball team nine years ago. This time is just like that. I promised father that I will come back, keeping my dignity as Korea’s best hitter,” said Lee.

After becoming a free agent (FA) on November 9, Lee anguished for a month over the choice between advancing overseas and staying in Korea. After he gave up the Major League Baseball dream, he was recently distressed choosing between the Japanese Chiba Lotte Marines and the Samsung Lions. In terms of money, both teams offered similar salaries. However, one choice is a bumpy and tough road while the other is easy and comfortable road.

Where to go? Lee received a call from Kim Ki-ju, Lee’s agent in Japan and J’s entertainment president, on Wednesday night. The topic of the call was to inform Lee that Chiba had accepted all of his requested conditions. Now the only thing left was to make a decision.

After repeatedly thinking, Lee called his father in Daegu late that night. Talks between father and son continued past midnight. Lee explained in detail the reason why he chose the Chiba Lotte Marines.

Lee Choon-gwang, Lee’s father, said “The reasoning for choosing Chiba was clear. In my opinion, I thought about rewarding Samsung which had helped my wife’s brain surgery last year. I dissuaded him from going to Japan because I worried about discrimination and because no one was successful as a hitter in Japan. However, as I heard Lee’s words, I told him, ‘Spread your dreams.’ He told me, ‘I will definitely try my hardest to succeed just like I said nine years ago.’ ”

Lee Seung-yeop was 20 minutes late to the press conference. Though he decided to go to Japan, he was hesitant to the end.

Lee, with a haggard appearance as if he was unable to sleep well, responded, “In the hotel elevator up to the conference room five minutes ago” to the reporter’s question about when he finally made his decision.

“I change my mind 20 to 30 times a day,” said Lee, adding, “My wife thought I would stay in Samsung right now. I make the decisions on everything. I wanted to decide my own fate.”