Tachibana Yoshiie (65), the futures batting coach, who will be in charge of fostering Samsung batter prospects from this season, said, “I am not unfamiliar with the Lions.” 

Coach Tachibana, whom I met at Ishikawa Stadium in Okinawa, Japan, where the Samsung Futures Camp was set up, said, “It’s already been over 40 years ago, but the team that started my professional life in Japan is the Seibu Lions (1977-1991). I remember losing to Samsung in the Asian Series final,” he recalled. 

Coach Tachibana played for Seibu Lions, Hanshin Tigers and Taiwan La New Bears. He appeared in 1149 career games, batting 2.9 with 5 runs, 51 home runs and 318 RBIs. After his retirement, he coached for Softbank Hawks, Orix Blue Wave, Seibu, Chiba Lotte Marines, and Rakuten Eagles. KIA coach Lee Beom-ho also served as hitting coach when he played for Softbank. 

He joined the Samsung coaching staff through the introduction of Eiji Ochiai, head coach of the Chunichi Dragons, who previously served as the Samsung pitching coach and manager of the Futures. An official from the club said, “Coach Tachibana is expected to properly nurture a promising hitter in the team based on his rich experience and leadership skills.” 

Coach Tachibana said, 먹튀검증“I got the impression that there are many strong hitters in Korean baseball. When I came here, everyone had good power, but they couldn’t use it properly because of their lack of experience. This is something that needs to be corrected.” 

Coach Tachibana, who has nurtured countless sluggers in Japanese professional baseball who can be known by name, finds answers through communication with the players rather than unilaterally forcing his baseball theories. 

He said, “The first priority is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each player. In order to move in a good direction, we talk a lot with the players and respect their opinions as much as possible. However, if corrections are necessary, we want to make bold changes. The players also have courage. We need to change,” he said. 

Coach Tachibana uses a smartphone to take pictures of players’ batting postures when teaching them. “If there are parts that need correction, it is more effective to show the players a video of the batting rather than explain it verbally. I often use the smartphone of interpreter Lee Woo-il, whom Coach Ochiai praised.” 

When asked about his goal as a hitting coach for the Futures, he said, “My biggest goal is to send as many players here as possible to the first team. I want to help them get to the plate in front of a large crowd. While working as a coach, I somehow managed to use it in the first team instead of going to the second team, but now, on the contrary, I have to send it to the first team somehow.”