The Samsung Lions' slugger Lewin Diaz (29) claimed a thrilling victory at the '2025 KBO All-Star Game Com2uS Baseball Home Run Derby' held on the 11th at Daejeon's Hanwha Life Eagles Park.
Fans' attention was also directed to an individual who silently threw the ball every time he hit a home run. That person was Lee Woo-il, the first team manager at Samsung.
In the Home Run Derby final that day, Diaz faced LG Park Dong-won. This year's Home Run Derby combined time limits and outs. Park Dong-won pressured Diaz strongly by hitting seven home runs in two minutes, but he couldn't hit any during the out opportunity. Diaz struggled to get the ball past the monster wall, hitting only four home runs in two minutes, but he showed concentration at the end, quickly hitting three more home runs, recording his eighth home run with one out remaining, and dramatically securing the victory.
Interestingly, unlike most players who asked their teammates to throw batting balls, the one who threw Diaz's batting balls was neither a player nor a coach, but the team's manager.
After the game, Diaz noted, 'Originally, Kang Min-ho was supposed to throw, but he wasn't visible at the stadium, so I asked the manager on the way to the baseball field.' He continued, 'The manager often throws balls during batting practice. So I easily trusted and relied on him,' sharing behind-the-scenes stories.
Manager Lee Woo-il, originally from the Gyeongbuk High School baseball team, demonstrated both baseball knowledge and language proficiency after his player career by serving as an interpreter for former battery coach Seirizawa Yuji and former pitching coach Ochiai Eiji at Samsung. He was also a significant help when Oh Seung-hwan advanced to the Japanese stage, accompanying him as an exclusive interpreter and PR manager. After analyzing the Futures team’s strength, he is currently always with the first team as the first team manager.
This manager stated, 'I was very happy that Diaz could win the Home Run Derby. He's such a good hitter that I thought winning was possible, and I expected he would win even if I didn't pitch.' He added, 'Sometimes during season training, I threw batting balls to Diaz. At the scene, I thought to create home run hits, I had to throw to his body side, and I focused on throwing that way. I’m glad it matched Diaz's preferences.' He further noted, 'As he is first in the home run rankings for the first half, I want to congratulate him again for winning at the All-Star event.'
This Home Run Derby, concluded with cheers from the fans, had Diaz as the main character on stage, but behind him was the hidden effort of Manager Lee Woo-il, who quietly yet firmly threw the balls.
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