Ex-KBO manager Lee Kwang-hwan dies at 77

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, July 2 (Yonhap) -- Lee Kwang-hwan, who managed the LG Twins to the 1994 Korean Series title with a revolutionary use of his pitching staff, died Wednesday at age 77. Lee had been receiving treatment for lung issues on the southern island of Jeju in recent weeks.

Lee managed four franchises for 11 seasons total in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), including two stints with the Twins. In 1994, he led the Seoul-based club to their second Korean Series championship.

Lee was also the inaugural manager of the Woori (currently Kiwoom) Heroes in 2008, after they had taken the place of the cash-strapped Hyundai Unicorns. Lee lasted just one season there and it ended up being his final KBO managerial job.

Lee had 608 wins as manager, the 11th-highest total in league history.

After serving as a hitting coach for the OB (currently Doosan) Bears from 1982 to 1985, Lee received coaching training overseas, first with the Saitama Seibu Lions in 1986 and then with the St. Louis Cardinals in Major League Baseball in 1987. He returned to South Korea to begin his managerial career with the Bears in 1989.

Lee is largely credited with installing a starting rotation system and specializing roles for relief pitchers during his first tour of duty with the Twins in the mid-1990s. While other KBO teams were running their pitchers into the ground, with a starter one day coming out of the bullpen the next day, Lee's Twins had starters go every five days.

In 1995, Lee opened a baseball museum on Jeju and donated about 3,000 pieces of baseball memorabilia from his personal collection.

Lee served as head of the KBO's player development committee from 2006 to 2007, and again from 2013 to 2019. He also helped nurture future coaches as the director of the KBO Baseball Academy from 2010 to 2015.

In his last public appearance, Lee threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Twins' season-opening game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on March 22 this year.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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