Lee Seung-yeop, head coach of the Doosan Bears.
Doosan Bears head coach Lee Seung-yeop, who was nicknamed the “National Hitter” for breaking various records as a player, has continued his record-breaking streak in his first year as head coach. Having surpassed all of his predecessors, Lee will now attempt to set a new record for the most consecutive wins in a first year in the KBO.
Doosan, led by Lee, will look to extend their winning streak to 12 games when they take on the Lotte Giants in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League on June 26 at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul.
Doosan is on a roll right now. They are on an 11-game winning streak, having won all 11 games in July. Nine straight wins in the first half and two more in the second half completed the 11-game winning streak.
The 11-game winning streak is the longest in Doosan’s franchise history, which began in 1982 as the OB Bears. The team had previously recorded 10-game winning streaks in 2000 and 2018, but the 11-game winning streak was a first.
Doosan is a “powerhouse of tradition,” having won four pennant races and six Korean Series titles in the previous 41 seasons. Doosan has produced many great managers who have gone on to represent Korean baseball, but Lee Seung-yeop, a “rookie manager,” is on a path that even some of the biggest names in the game have not traveled.
Before Lee, there were a total of 10 managers at the helm of Doosan. There are many notable names, including Kim Young-duk, who led Doosan (OB) to its first championship, Kim Sung-geun, the “Yashin” manager, Kim In-sung, the “National Manager,” Kim Kyung-moon, and most recently, Kim Tae-hyung, who led the team to its seventh consecutive Korean Series.
There have been countless managers who have earned the title of ‘mastermind’ or taken Doosan to the top, but none of them have achieved 11 consecutive wins at Doosan. Few expected first-year manager Lee Seung-yeop to accomplish this.
In the KBO as a whole, Lee has already made history: there have only been three Korean managers to win 10 straight games in their first year in charge – Chun Bo-sung (LG) in 1997, Lee Hee-soo (Hanwha) in 1999, and Lee Kwang-eun (LG) in 2000 – but Lee surpassed them with his win the day before (Nov. 25).
Lee will now attempt to break the record for most consecutive wins by a first-year KBO manager regardless of nationality.
Previously, Lotte manager Jerry Royster won 11 straight games in 2008, his first year in charge, and Lee has already tied Royster’s record.
A win on Saturday against Lotte would make it 12 in a row. His debut season couldn’t have gone any better.
Not many managers have ever won more than 12 games in a row. Only six have done so in the KBO’s 41-year history.
Kim Eung-ryong has won 12 or more games in a row four times, twice each with Haetae and Samsung, and Kim Sung-geun has won 12 or more games in a row three times, including the longest streak of all time, 22. He did it twice with SK and once with Ssangbangul.
Doosan’s first manager, Kim Young-duk, also had three 12-game winning streaks, two with Samsung and one with Binggrae. Other managers who have achieved this feat include Sun Dong-yeol (Samsung), Kim Yong-hee (Samsung), and Kim Kyung-moon (NC).
Spearheading Doosan and Lee Seung-yup’s 12-game winning streak is Kwak Bin. Kwak-Bin is a domestic ace who forms a “one-two-three punch” with foreigners Raul Alcantara and Brandon Waddell.
He has shown flashes of his potential this season, going 8-2 with a 2.08 ERA in 12 games. 고스톱 He has won his last five games in a row and added two wins during Doosan’s 11-game winning streak.