Softbank Hawks fans did not forget Lee Dae-ho (41).

On the afternoon of the 21st,스포츠토토 through the official SNS, the Softbank team said, “Lee Dae-ho, who joined in 2014 and won the MVP of the 2015 Japan Series, will appear on the 28th against the Chiba Lotte Marines and pitch the first pitch. Please come to the baseball field and watch.”

After playing for the Lotte Giants from 2001 to 2011, Lee Dae-ho stepped into the Japanese professional baseball by joining the Orix Buffaloes in 2012. .

Lee Dae-ho appeared in 144 games in 2014 and recorded 170 hits (19 home runs), 68 RBIs, 60 runs, a batting average of 0.300, and an OPS of 0.816. In 2015, his second year, he played in 141 games, 31 homers, 98 RBIs, 68 runs, a batting average of 0.282 OPS and 0.892, and was ranked 5th in home runs, 4th in RBIs and 4th in slugging percentage in the Pacific League.

In particular, in the 2015 Japan Series, he won the Japan Series foreign MVP for the first time in 19 years since 1996 with an outstanding performance of 8 hits in 16 at-bats, 8 RBIs, and a batting average of 0.500, including two final home runs. He was the first Korean player. Lee Dae-ho entered the major leagues in 2016 by joining the Seattle Mariners at the end of that series.

Through the club, Lee Dae-ho said, “I am grateful for this honorable opportunity. I still vividly remember the emotions and memories of winning the Japan Series with the Softbank Hawks. I am happy to have it,” he said.

Thanks to the memory of 2015, which overwhelmed the Japanese series, Softbank fans are welcoming Lee Dae-ho. In particular, as foreign players such as Willians Astudillo (13 games, 0 home run, 0.133) and Freddy Galvis (16 games, 0 home run, 0.167), who are playing on the team this season, were sluggish, voices of longing for Lee Dae-ho were high.

Lee Dae-ho’s first pitch announcement tweet exceeded 450,000 views in 7 hours and received more than 5,000 ‘likes’. Fans said, “If it’s Lee Dae-ho, pitch the first pitch, go to the bench and wait for a pinch hitter. I can still hit”, “The best first baseman I’ve ever seen”, “What’s wrong with a designated hitter or pinch hitter?”, “I remember copying the batting form at school” , “Please play a retirement game in Japan”, etc., and sent messages of longing and welcome.