S. Korean baseball legends ready to put on power display at MLB home run derby

All News 14:33 September 16, 2022

By Yoo Jee-ho

INCHEON, Sept. 16 (Yonhap) -- As the all-time home run leader in South Korean baseball history, retired slugger Lee Seung-yuop takes a great deal of pride in his power.

Five years after retiring from the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Lee will have a chance to display his power stroke at an international home run derby this weekend.

Participants of the FTX MLB Home Run Derby X pose for photos at Paradise City Hotel in Incheon, just west of Seoul, on Sept. 16, 2022. From left: former Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) player Lee Seung-yuop, South Korean short track speed skater Kwak Yoon-gy, former KBO player Jeong Keun-woo and former KBO player Park Yong-taik. (Yonhap)

The FTX MLB Home Run Derby X will take place Saturday at Paradise City Hotel in Incheon, just west of Seoul, with former KBO stars, major leaguers and other athletes representing four major league clubs: Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees.

Lee, who owns the KBO record with 467 career home runs, will be part of the Cubs team, along with former Cubs catcher Geovany Soto, U.S. women's baseball player Alex Hugo and English football YouTuber Spencer Owen.

"I've been building up for this event, and I am confident I can beat those former major league players," Lee said in a group interview Friday. "This may just be an event, but I'd love to finish first. Opportunities like this don't come often, and so I want to do the best I can."

Lee, 46, isn't a stranger in the Cubs uniform. He'd put on that famous jersey during spring training in 2002, though he quipped Friday that he'd misplaced the uniform somewhere.

Lee is one of four ex-KBO players participating in the home run derby, and he certainly has the most impressive home run credentials of the group.

Former Korea Baseball Organization player Lee Seung-yuop (L) poses with ex-Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez at Paradise City Hotel in Incheon, just west of Seoul, on Sept. 16, 2022, the eve of the FTX MLB Home Run Derby X. (Yonhap)

Former second baseman Jeong Keun-woo, a member of the Dodgers in the derby, had 121 home runs in his 16-year career that ended in 2020. He reached over double digits in homers just four times, but the 39-year-old said he can be competitive in the hybrid derby, in which the stadium will be scaled down from traditional settings, with 280 to 320 feet from home plate to center.

"I've read some online comments where people said I don't belong in any home run derby," Jeong said with a smile. "But I still pack some punch in my small body. We'll be doing this in a small stadium, and it will suit me just fine."

Jeong's Dodgers teammates will be former first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, South Korean short track speed skater Kwak Yoon-gy and U.S. women's baseball player Ashton Lansdell.

Park Yong-taik, the KBO's career hits leader with 2,504 hits, retired in 2020 with 213 career home runs. His career high for a season was 18, but he did win the KBO All-Star Home Run Derby in 2004.

"Even Seung-yuop has never won the KBO home run derby," Park said with a laugh. "I know we'll have a small stadium, and so I am going to focus on making good contact and driving the ball."

Participants of the "FTX MLB Home Run Derby X" pose for a group photo at Paradise City Hotel in Incheon, about 30 kilometers west of Seoul, on Sept. 16, 2022. From left: ex-Korea Baseball Organization player Park Yong-taik, former major leaguer Nick Swisher, U.S. baseball player Ashton Lansdell, U.S. softball player Erika Piancastelli, ex-Mexican gymnast Daniel Corral, South Korean short track speed skater Kwak Yoon-gy, U.S. softball player, Alex Hugo, ex-KBO player Jeong Keun-woo, U.S. softball player Jocelyn Alo, ex-KBO player Lee Seung-yuop and former major leaguer Adrian Gonzalez. (Yonhap)

Park will be representing the Red Sox with former slugger Jonny Gomes, softball player Jocelyn Alo and British football freestyler Liv Cooke.

The Yankees will feature former KBO star Kim Tae-kyun, who wasn't present in Friday's proceedings, along with former outfielder Nick Swisher, American softball player Erika Piancastelli and ex-Mexican artistic gymnast Daniel Corral.

In this home run derby, hitters will swing at 25 pitches and take up to 10 pitches. They will get one point for every home run and also earn points by hitting targets -- two of them set up 160 feet from home plate and another two beyond the outfield fence.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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