“You caught me sneaking ice cream,” remembers service director Daeho Lee
T-Mobile Park, the site of the 2023 All-Star Game, is the home of the Seattle Mariners.
It’s no stranger to Korean baseball fans. In the last All-Star Game in 2001, Park Chan-ho became the first Korean to play in the All-Star Game, and in 2016, Lee Dae-ho played for the Seattle Mariners.
It was only one season, but Lee made a big impact. In 104 games, he batted .253 with a .312 on-base percentage, .428 slugging percentage, 14 home runs, and 49 RBIs.
“Daeho Lee. Seriously, he’s one of my favorite players.”
Seattle head coach Scott Servais laughed when Lee’s name came up during All-Star Game media day on Nov. 11.
“They say every player has a personality, but he had a lot of personality. We all loved him, he’s one of my favorite players.”
Dae-ho Lee’s time with Seattle was brief but memorable. He hit a game-winning home run and a three-run shot that helped the team come back from a 2-12 deficit.
What does Service remember most about Lee Dae-ho? When asked, he had a surprising answer.
“I think my most special moment with him was one day in the third inning of a game when he was sneaking ice cream and I caught him. I remember asking him, ‘Daeho, what are you doing?’ He was so surprised that he shoved the ice cream in his mouth.”
His response was typical of the service director, who is always humorous and witty.
Service was invited by Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker to join the American League All-Star coaching staff, a somewhat awkward situation that resulted in the coaching and managerial offices being given over to Houston coaches from a division rival team.
“I told them, ‘I don’t want to use the dugout during the All-Star break,’ and they said, ‘If you don’t want to use it, we’re going to make you use it,'” Baker said. There’s no sneaking around and looking in drawers and stuff like that,” Baker said of the hospitality he received from the junior coach.
While the service was “a little bit out of the ordinary,” he said, “they opened the door wide and welcomed everyone. It’s a wonderful event. Everyone should be proud. It’s going to be a great show in a great stadium. It’s nice to get to know the guys on the other teams that you’re competing against on a personal level. It doesn’t take away from the competition, but it’s nice to put it aside for a couple days and enjoy it,” he said, adding that he’s enjoying the All-Star break.바카라사이트
“I learned a lot from Dusty,” said Baker, who previously played for the San Francisco Giants in 1999 and 2000. He has an unbelievable ability to bring people from all different backgrounds together. I try to emulate that as much as I can,” he said, expressing his admiration for the veteran coach.