Lee Dae-ho bags MVP award for May

Korean veteran slugger Lee Dae-ho has pumped up his Japanese performance this month, earning him the league’s MVP award for May.

The Orix Buffaloes’ “Big Boy” Lee was named the Pacific League MVP for his offensive performance last month, making him the third Korean ever to receive the honor.

Lee topped the charts with 28 hits, a batting average of .322 and eight home runs during the month, his second month in the Japanese league. 

Lee’s performance put him far ahead of Iguchi Tadahito of the Lotte Marines, who boasted a batting average of .285 with five home runs.

This is the first time a Korean player has received the award in Japanese professional baseball in six years. Lee Seung-yeop was named the Central League MVP for June in 2006.

At the time, Lee was batting .396 with 12 homers. Sun Dong-ryul was the first Korean to win the honor in May 1997.

Every month, Nippon Professional Baseball officials select a batter and a pitcher from the Central and Pacific Leagues for the monthly MVP award. The players receive a trophy and prize money.

By Robert Lee (robert@heraldcorp.com)