Veteran slugger Lee Seung-yuop became South Korean baseball's all-time leader in total bases on Wednesday, adding yet another milestone to his glowing resume.
Lee hit a single off LG Twins' starter Cha Woo-chan in the seventh inning of their Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
Lee Seung-yuop of the Samsung Lions takes batting practice at Masan Stadium in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, before a Korea Baseball Organization game against the NC Dinos on May 7, 2017. (Yonhap)
The single gave Lee 3,880 total bases in his career, breaking a tie with his former Samsung teammate, Yang Joon-hyuk.
Lee, 40, is already the KBO's all-time leader in home runs (447), RBIs (1,426) and runs scored (1,301).
Lee will retire after this season, his 15th in the KBO. He also spent eight seasons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball from 2004 to 2011.
Drafted out of high school as a pitcher, Lee converted to first baseman at the start of his pro career. He has been mostly the Lions' designated hitter in recent years. Lee still owns the KBO's single-season record set in 2003 of 56 home runs.
Lee entered Wednesday's game batting .252 with four home runs and 15 RBIs in 29 games. Last year, he batted .303 with 27 home runs and 118 RBIs, his highest total since returning from the NPB in 2012.
Lee remains the only player with at least four seasons of 300 or more total bases, having surpassed that mark in 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2003. (Yonhap)
