SBS sports commentator Lee Taek-geun (45) is leaving for the U.S. to expand his knowledge after the Lunar New Year holiday. 안전놀이터

Lee received short-term training at the Yakult Swallows in the Japanese pro baseball league last year. Lee focused on Japanese batters' know-how to improve batting speed, secret to pitchers' speed increase, and training programs.

After the short-term training in Yakult, he said, "I really self-reflected a lot. I train a lot. I don't do it by force, but I do it by using my personal time according to individual players' needs. I self-reflected a lot."

Lee Taek-geun will visit former Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Kang Jung-ho's King Kang's Academy in Los Angeles and the Ballpark run by Choi Won-je for two weeks from Friday to experience training programs for himself. He will learn know-how to foster pitchers at the Driveline Center, well known as a training center for pitchers. 

Commissioner Lee Taek-geun said he will meet Kim Ha-sung, who is in personal training with Choi Won-je in Los Angeles, as well as Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants outfielder) and Kim Hye-sung (LA Dodgers infielder), who participate in spring training in Arizona, USA, and closely watch why major league players have no choice but to do well. 

"Modern baseball is constantly changing, so we must study hard. We will see and experience advanced baseball in the U.S. following Japan," Lee Taek-geun told OSEN over the phone on Sunday. 

Meanwhile, Lee Taek-geun, a former member of Kyungnam Sang High School and Korea University, was known as a "five-tool player" representing the league, batting .302 (1,621 hits in 5,361 at-bats) with 136 homers, 773 RBIs, 851 runs and 175 steals.

He played in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the second World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team in 2009, taking the lead in promoting national prestige and winning the Golden Glove in the outfield category. 

He has been a member of the strongest monsters on JTBC's baseball entertainment program "The Greatest Baseball," and has been receiving favorable reviews from baseball fans for his high-quality commentary by holding a commentary microphone since last year.