Lee Jong-beom Regrets 'Strongest Baseball' Choice

Lee Jong-beom has directly revealed his regret over his past decision to appear on "Strongest Baseball." Appearing on MBC SPORTS+'s "Behind," he shared his feelings about returning as a commentator and confessed that his choice in June 2023 to take on the role of manager for "Strongest Baseball" was made with "short-sightedness and much regret." Lee Jong-beom stated that he had to accept the consequences of his "wrong choice" to leave his coaching position with the KT Wiz during the professional baseball season to pursue "Strongest Baseball," and that the aftermath was extremely difficult.

Lee Jong-beom revealed that he experienced health issues due to the extreme stress from his appearance on "Strongest Baseball." He said, "I developed vitiligo due to a lot of stress," and that he humbly accepts his decision. He also expressed his apologies to the players he had been watching at KT Wiz, regretting that he couldn't do more for them as a coach. When asked about his evaluation as a coach, he said, "I have great regret and feel I started a bit late," adding that he is continuously contemplating ways to return to the field.

Lee Jong-beom made his strong desire to return to the field clear. He stated, "If I get a call, I will go anywhere, no matter what," and expressed his ambition to work harder to gain recognition from fans and officials. Previously, in June of last year, Lee Jong-beom resigned from his coaching position with the KT Wiz during the KBO league season to take on the managerial role for JTBC's entertainment show "Strongest Baseball," which garnered significant attention. At the time, some criticized his decision to leave his coaching position during the professional baseball season for a baseball entertainment program.

"Strongest Baseball" was ultimately canceled due to a dispute between Studio C1's PD Jang Si-won and JTBC over production costs. PD Jang Si-won launched "Flaming Baseball" on YouTube with a large cast, but JTBC sought to introduce a new "Strongest Baseball" with manager Lee Jong-beom. In the process, a lawsuit was filed to dispute the copyright ownership of the format, and the court ruled that "Flaming Baseball" Season 1 was a sequel to "Strongest Baseball," issuing an injunction prohibiting the production and broadcast of the video content.

Lee Jong-beom went through a difficult time after the cancellation of "Strongest Baseball" and once again emphasized his dream of returning to the field. He said, "I apologize to the players I watched at KT. I regret not being able to do more for them as a coach," and vowed, "I will work harder to earn recognition from fans and officials." Meanwhile, "Flaming Baseball" has announced a new season, with its first live game scheduled for April 19th, but it remains to be seen how they will proceed given the court's production ban order.