Won the Golden Glove Award seven times, recorded 486 home runs in Korea, the US, and Japan, 2,895 hits, and was the first Korean to win the Japan Series MVP…
South Korea's all-time hitter Lee Dae-ho's first solo essay since retirement

From a life like 'bottom of the ninth, two outs' to a 'reversal, walk-off home run'
What Lee Dae-ho, "Joseon's No. 4 Hitter," Learned on the Field

This book is an autobiography written by 'baseball player Dae-ho Lee', who has only known baseball his entire life, as he begins a new challenge off the field and stands anew as 'human Dae-ho Lee'.
At the same time, it is a letter of thanks to the fans who spent time with them, and a letter of support to cheer on the lives of the fans.

His life was anything but easy, from the time he first started playing baseball in the third grade of elementary school until he retired in his forties as the best hitter in South Korea.
From a young age, he lived in poverty under the care of his grandmother, and at an age when he should have been acting up, he disciplined himself harshly and underwent two to three times more training than others.
Even after becoming a professional player, things didn't change much.
There was a time when he almost gave up on baseball because he trained the wrong way, and even when he won the batting triple crown, people around him looked down on him.
In Doha, where they first wore the Taegeuk mark, they bowed their heads with a miserable performance, and the team always ended up in last place.


But I wasn't discouraged.
Poverty, the jealousy of others, and the high wall of the major leagues were no problem for him.
So, he eventually turned the daily wild pitches in his life into “come-from-behind, walk-off home runs.”
And I put the thoughts and feelings I felt during that process into this book.

I played baseball for over 20 years in professional baseball in Korea, Japan, and the United States, and I received a fair amount of praise.
He also made quite a spectacular record.
In professional baseball, every single record holds a story, and so I've created quite a few stories myself.
But as a person, I am just a premature baby who has been wandering around in a small field about 100 meters in diameter for over 20 years and came into the world only when I was in my forties.
They say baseball is a microcosm of life, but for me, who only played in that microcosm, life and the world feel strange and overwhelming.

The only things that late bloomer Lee Dae-ho can rely on are the hard work and methods of success he learned on the baseball field.
I believe that the starting point for a second life can also be found in the successes and failures of baseball player Lee Dae-ho.
So, since I'm already here to say hello, I wanted to take a moment to summarize how I began and ended my life as a baseball player.

--- p.12

But one spring day in my third year, a transfer student opened the door to our classroom and began to change my life.
He was a short boy with nothing special about him on the outside, but his bright eyes gave off a strong aura.
Not only was the name 'Choo Shin-soo' unique, but I also vividly remember him coming to school wearing a baseball uniform from the first day, drawing the attention of the children.
Moreover, he became the biggest star in the school in an instant when he introduced himself as Park Jeong-tae, the 'Little Tank' of the Lotte Giants, who was considered the best baseball player in Busan at the time.
During every break, kids from other classes would hear the rumor and come running to ask, “Is your uncle really Park Jeong-tae?” and the classroom would become chaotic with kids asking for my uncle’s autograph.

--- p.31

It was on October 8, 2022, a full 21 years later, that I made my first appearance as a pitcher on the professional baseball stage.
On that day, which was the Lotte Giants' last game of the season and also my last game as a professional player, I stood on the mound at Sajik Stadium as the team's fourth pitcher in the top of the 8th inning with the team leading 3-2.
And the opposing team, LG Twins' manager Yoo Ji-hyun, was considerate enough to let me pitch against him by using the closing pitcher, Koo Woo-seok, as a pinch hitter.

I threw the ball toward the middle of the strike zone, determined to avoid embarrassment in what would be my first and last opportunity to pitch.
The scoreboard showed a speed of 129 kilometers per hour.
I didn't feel bad.
Since the batter was a batter, he threw the ball only looking at the catcher's mitt, thinking it would be a strikeout or a walk, but Go Woo-seok hit the fourth ball hard and hit the center of the bat, almost giving up a hit.
Luckily, the ball was caught by my reflexively extended glove and was recorded as a ground ball to the pitcher.
That day, my career professional ERA became 0.00.
It was a thrilling moment when, if the ball had been a hit and the runner he gave up had reached home, he would have been remembered as a pitcher with an ERA of 'infinite'.

--- p.86

Actually, the way to increase your batting average is simple.
Just give up the desire to pull the ball and push the ball to the right side where the defenders are spread out.
In the next at-bat, and in the next game, I easily changed the direction of the ball and made a hit.
As my batting stance and the direction of the ball changed, the positions of the opposing defenders who had been shifting to the extreme left also changed.
But this time, as the space on the left side has expanded, the number of left-handed hits has increased.
The number of times he fell into the planned traps of opposing pitchers and defenders decreased, and his batting average went up accordingly.
What's even more amazing is that by swinging the bat simply, the distance of the ball traveled increased, and I hit a home run without even realizing it.
Because of the mindset of trying to hit the ball straight towards the center, unnecessary force was lost and a more flexible swing was achieved.
I remembered what Director Woo Yong-deuk had said to me when I was a rookie.
“Daeho.
Even if you just hit it 110 meters, it's a home run.
Don't bother trying to fly 130 meters.
“Don’t try to hit it hard, just swing properly and the home run will follow.”
--- p.109

In the top of the 9th, Oh Jae-won, who came up as the leadoff hitter, hit a single against Norimoto after a tenacious fight and reached base, causing cheers to erupt from the Korean dugout.
Although it was only one chance left, I felt like it was worth a try.
As expected, Son Ah-seop and Jeong Geun-woo followed with hits, retrieving one point.
The ball grazed Lee Yong-kyu's elbow as Norimoto's control faltered in panic, creating a bases-loaded situation.
Then, Japan took down Norimoto and brought in Hirotoshi Matsui, a 6th-year closing pitcher for Nippon Ham.
Matsui was Japan's top closer that year, posting a 1.50 ERA and 39 saves over 60 innings.
Matsui persistently induced double plays against Kim Hyun-soo by throwing only five outside fastballs, but Kim Hyun-soo was no pushover either.
Moreover, Hyun-soo, who has a keen eye for pitches enough to earn him the nickname of 'hitting machine', endured more persistently than Matsui and earned a walk.
It was a moment when I followed up on the point I had decided to push away.

Finally, a bases-loaded opportunity presented itself to me, the 4th batter.
I watched until the first strike and two balls, then lightly hit the fourth pitch, a forkball, and split the ball between second and third base.
This was thanks to the fact that Matsui, who is usually good at fastballs and forkballs, liked to throw forkballs in crisis situations.

--- p.149

The “No Fear” spirit and “can-do” mindset that were instilled in me during this period served as a great foundation for me to later give up all comforts and step into a new world at the peak of my career.
When our hearts are filled with fear, we tend to value 'safety' above all else.
We are complacent in our safe place, our safe career, our safe environment, and we have no choice but to make passive choices to avoid losing them.
But those who are fearless do not settle for the present, but move forward into a bigger world, into greater possibilities.

If I hadn't experienced fall baseball, I wouldn't have been able to dream of a bigger world.
Like a frog in a well, I may have lived my life only considering small goals as my highest value and feeling satisfied with having achieved them all.
Looking back, it's really dizzying.
Although I didn't achieve great results in the fall baseball season, I was able to experience the higher world of the postseason, and even though 10 years had passed since I joined the team, I was able to harbor greater possibilities with the attitude of a rookie.

--- p.162