Former LG coach Lee Jong-beom, "Son of the Wind," appeared in the Japanese media following the U.S. media. This time, the background of having No. 8 in the Chunichi era was introduced. To be exact, it is the story of the main character who gave up No. 8 to Lee Jong-beom.
Lee appeared in 311 games with the Japanese pro baseball from 1998 to 2001, posting a batting average of 0.261, an OPS of 0.741, 27 homers, 99 RBIs and 53 stolen bases. His performance in the first season was good enough to rank No. 1 in shortstop in the Central League in the All-Star voting, drawing keen attention from him. However, he was sidelined for an extended period after being hit by a pitch in his elbow in June and suffered a fracture. In 2001, he broke up with the Chunichi Dragons without completing the entire season and returned to KIA. 안전놀이터
During this period, he wore No. 8 and No. 7. He wore No. 8 until midway through the 1999 season following the first season in 1998, and later left the Chunichi Dragons wearing No. 7. He only used it seven times at Haitai and KIA teams, which is currently designated as Kia's permanent vacancy.
The reason why Lee Jong-beom chose to wear No. 8 in his first year in Japan was revealed through Japanese baseball media Full Count on Wednesday. Originally, Toshikatsu Hikono had to give up the Chunichi No. 8. However, then coach Hoshino Senichi Junichi told Hikono to give up his jersey number through a team official. It is said that the number that Ichiro of Korea wanted was No. 8.
In his 16th year as a pro, Hikono had no choice but to remove No. 8 and choose No. 57, which he had used in the past. "I went back rather than changing it," he told a full-count interview. He wanted to keep wearing No. 8, but Hoshino said he was forced to change his jersey number, saying that No. 57 also suits him.
Hikono said, "When I asked if it was an order or an inquiry, I got the answer that it was an order. So I changed it. At the first meeting with Lee Jong-beom, I received an apology through an interpreter, saying, 'I'm sorry I took your number away.' I told him not to apologize because it was not an apology."
The semi-forced change of uniform number shook Hikono's mind. "I was telling him to retire halfway. I felt it was time to stop. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had to change it," Hikono said. In fact, he retired from active duty after the 1998 season. With the Chunichi Dragons vying for the No. 1 spot until the end of the season, Hikono was excluded from the first division.
Consequently, the team ended up playing the retirement game one day before the final game of the home game. Manager Hoshino said, "I'll do as you please. Tell me where you want to go." He took off his uniform after hitting a ground ball to the shortstop in his first at-bat. "I wanted to play until 2000. I retired two years early," he recalled.