Chiba Lotte Slugger Is Also a Dad

“Who do you think he looks more like, me or my wife? I can’t wait to see him grow up and run around…”

Lee Seung-yeop (29), a player on the Japanese team Chiba Lotte Marines, couldn’t stop smiling while holding his firstborn son in his arms.

After winning the Konami Cup Asia Series 2005 in Tokyo on Thursday, Lee had a joyful reunion with his wife Lee Song-jung (23) and his son Eun-hyuk, born in August this year. With the Konami Cup title, Seung-yeop ended the official schedule for this season and was quite excited about the time he will spend with his family.

He said, “I’d like to take a rest for a while. I just want to spend some quality time with my baby and go to some great places with my family.”

Seung-yeop’s wife Song-jung, who was standing right beside him, laughed as she said, “When I was pregnant, he was hoping to have a son because he wanted to raise the child as a baseball player. Nowadays, when we make phone calls, all he asks about is our son.”

To this, Seung-yeop boasted of his son, saying, “My son seems to grow much every time I see him. He is tall for his age, and he also has big hands. I’m already thinking of giving him a uniform and a bat next year.”

Seung-yeop’s three-month-old son, who will soon become 100 days old, currently weighs eight kg, very healthy compared to other babies his age, according to Lee Song-jung.

This year has given several significant achievements for Seung-yeop. He was married in January 2002, and three years and seven months later, his wife gave birth to his first son. At that time, Seung-yeop was in the news because he was said to have spent about 1.3 million yen on taxi fare, just to be with his wife in labor.

On top of that, Seung-yeop snapped out of the slump from last season and came back with a superb performance with 30 home runs this season. He was awarded the All–Star game MVP when he hit a home run in it, and he also led the Chiba Lotte Marines to its first Japan Series title in 31 years by hitting three home runs.

Seung-yeop’s wife Song-jung, who was heavy-hearted when Seung-yeop was in a slump, said, “I felt really sorry because I couldn’t take much care of my husband since I was having the baby. Now I’m really happy that he is back in good shape.”

Seung-yeop will return to Korea this week. He will leave the matter of whether he will remain a player on the Lotte Marines or be traded to another team entirely to his agent.

“This year is almost up, but I feel like making a new start. Now that I feel more responsible with my son, I’ll try to give my best next season.”

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com