Jong-do Lee

Jong-do Lee (이종도)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 171 lb.

• School Korea University
• High School Choongang High School

• Born May 22, 1952 in Eumseong County South Korea

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Jong-do Lee played in the Korea Baseball Organization starting with its inaugural season in 1982 until 1987. He was already 30 when the league got its start and was one of its first stars, as he hit .324 with 11 homers and 48 RBIs in 77 games for the MBC Blue Dragons. In the circuit's first-ever game, against the Samsung Lions on March 27th, he hit the game-winning grand slam in the 10th inning; Samsung's Man-soo Lee had hit the first homer in league history earlier in the game. He had another good year in 1983, hitting .296 in 98 games, with 8 homers and 62 RBIs. The Dragons made it to the 1983 Korean Series, in which they were swept by the Haitai Tigers. He slumped badly in 1984, however, hitting .179 with 3 homers and 13 RBIs in 59 games.

He moved to the OB Bears in 1985 and played his final three seasons for them. He had a nice bounce-back year in his first season with his new team, hitting .270 with 4 homers and 35 RBIs in 105 games, but age got the best of him in his final two years, as he fell to .212 and .208, with little power.

After his playing career, he became a coach and manager. He coached for the Taepyungyang Dolphins in 1989-1991 and the LG Twins in 1992-1993. He coached for the Ssangbangwool Raiders from 1996-1999. He was head coach of Korea University from 2000-2006 and managed the South Korean national team at the 2005 Asian Championship. He also worked as a baseball commentator for Xsports, coached in the Japanese independent leagues and was a high school coach. He guided the Korean junior national team at the 2015 U-18 Baseball World Cup.

He is not to be confused with contemporary Jong-doo Lee, who was a star player with Samsung starting in 1985.