Samsung's Lee Seung-yeop becomes all-time home run leader in S. Korean baseball

Lee Seung-yeop of the Samsung Lions became the greatest home run hitter in South Korean baseball on Thursday.

Lee belted his 352nd career home run against the SK Wyverns in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to overtake the retired All-Star Yang Joon-hyuk as the league's all-time leader.

With runners on first and third with one out in the top third, Lee, batting cleanup, took SK starter Yoon Hee-sang over the left field for his seventh home run of the season. It broke the 1-1 deadlock between the teams.

Lee, 36, tied Yang's record last Saturday in his 1,321st game, and surpassed his former Samsung teammate in his 1,324th game. Yang retired in 2010 after playing 2,135 games in 18 seasons.

The Lions went on to defeat the Wyverns 5-3, as Lee went 3-for-5 with 3 RBI and one run scored.

After the game, Lee said he wasn't feeling any pressure to break the record and didn't expect to hit one out of the park on Thursday.

"I am not in a situation where I can afford to get caught up with hitting home runs," said Lee, who's still batting just .237 this season. "I think I am getting better, but I have to try to be more consistent."

Lee said he wants to play until his 3-year-old son, Eun-yeop, grows old enough to recognize him as "a good baseball player."

"Obviously, I can't play much longer if I hit .210," Lee said.

"I have to keep myself in good shape and have to beat out younger players for playing time."

Lee said he will now set his sight on hitting 400 home runs in the KBO.

"It's hard to keep going without a goal," he said. "I may or may not be able to reach this milestone, but I will go for 400 home runs in the KBO."

So far in his KBO career, Lee has homered in 315 games. The Lions have won 216 of those games, with just 97 losses and two ties.

Yang, who is now working as a commentator for sports cable station SBS ESPN, congratulated Lee via Twitter.

"I am happy that he broke my record, and I am more excited today than I was when I set the home run record," Yang wrote. "I hope he keeps on playing and breaks every home run record there is."

One of the most feared sluggers in the league's 31-year history, Lee has played his entire 11-year KBO career with the Lions, based in his hometown city of Daegu, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

He was drafted out of high school as a pitcher but converted to first baseman in his rookie season in 1995. After hitting 13 home runs in 1995 and nine in 1996, Lee exploded in 1997 with the KBO-leading 32 home runs, a breakout performance that also gave him his first MVP honors.

Then from 1998 to 2003, Lee averaged 45 homers a season, capped off by the KBO's single-season record of 56 in 2003, and picked up four more MVP trophies.

He spent the next eight seasons in Japan for three different clubs, including the Yomiuri Giants, and hit 159 home runs in 797 games there. Lee returned to the Lions in 2012, hitting .307, the third-highest mark of his career, along with 21 home runs and 85 RBIs in 126 games. Lee was later named the Korean Series MVP as he helped the Lions win their second consecutive KBO championship.

Lee is the only KBO player to hit at least 50 homers in two different seasons.

Lee has also built a reputation as a clutch performer on the international stage. He's famous for hitting the game-winning double off a future Boston Red Sox star Daisuke Matsuzaka in the bronze medal game at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Lee launched a tie-breaking two-run shot in the eighth inning against Japan in the semifinals, and then hit a solo homer against Cuba in the gold medal game, which South Korea went on to win 3-2. (Yonhap News)