Gallup survey shows slugger behind rise and fall of Giants

By Kang Hyun-kyung

"He's still alive." This is what Koreans say when they greet a person who recently returned where he used to work after years of career exploration in other industries only to find that his influence on his home field is still robust.





Lotte Giants' first baseman Lee Dae-ho / Yonhap

The Lotte Giants' first baseman Lee Dae-ho, who rejoined the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) league earlier this year after four years of playing baseball in Japan and the United States, could receive such a greeting from his teammates.

A recent Gallup survey shows Lee and his team -- the Giants -- are Koreans' favorite baseball player and club, respectively. It also finds the Giants have benefitted a lot from Lee's return as the team rebounded in the popularity poll for the first time since 2013, the last year it topped the survey.

Lee, the former Seattle Mariners' first baseman and the MVP of the 2015 Japan Series, was chosen as Koreans' favorite baseball star with support of 10 percent. The Gallup poll was taken on 1,007 Koreans between March 21 and 23, days before the KBO Opening Day, Friday. The poll has a plus or minus 3.1 percentage points margin of error.

The survey results came as a bit of a surprise in that the Giants' Lee was ahead of Samsung Lions' designated hitter Lee Seung-yuop who is regarded as one of the greatest players of all-time and the No. 1 candidate to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame if the construction of the building in Busan is completed.

The slugger came in second with 9 percent, followed by the Giants' catcher Kang Min-ho.

The Lions' Lee, who announced his retirement once the 2017 season is over, celebrated his 600th home run last year in the professional leagues in Korea and Japan, a record that is hardly likely to be broken in the near future.

The results of the poll show "the Lee Dae-ho effect" is behind the rise and fall of the Giants.

The Busan-based club regained its spot as Koreans' favorite baseball team with 11 percent.

The Giants were once the reigning champions in popularity polls and remained in first place for six consecutive years between 2008 and 2013. During those years, Lee Dae-ho played for the team as a cleanup hitter. The club's popularity curve was affected by the departure and the return of the slugger. The Giants suffered the consequences after Lee left the team to play in the Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League and then in the Major Leagues in the U.S. The spectators' tally in the Sajik ballpark showed the trend. It fell sharply after Lee's departure from the club.

Some of the Giants' fans withdrew their support as the team had disappointing performances and caused a stir with frequent reshuffling of its managers and other coaching staff. The creation of the NC Dinos club in the nearby city of Masan also facilitated the downfall of the Giants. Some Giants' fans "defected" to the Dinos.

According to the Gallup survey, the Giants used to enjoy stalwart support from home fans in the past. Some 60 percent of the residents of Busan and surrounding South Gyeongsang Province showed their unwavering support for the team until 2010. The figure has since fallen and hit its lowest point with 35 percent in 2016. The Giants bounced back this year to the 40 percent range, showing "the cleanup hitter of Joseon" is a critical factor behind the Giants bouncing back in the survey.

The Kia Tigers and the Samsung Lions tied in second place each with support of 10 percent, followed by the Hanwha Eagles and the LG Twins.

The Doosan Bears, last year's champions of the 2016 regular season and the best-of-seven Korean Series, came in sixth place among the 10 KBO clubs with only 5 percent. The Bears, however, topped the survey of teams that are likely to be the winner of the 2017 regular season with 14 percent.

The KT Wiz is the least popular team with 1 percent.

The LA Dodgers' starter Ryu Hyun-jin was picked as the Koreans' favorite athlete playing in foreign leagues with 23 percent, followed by the Texas Rangers' Choo Shin-soo with 12 percent.