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There's now a '1980s-born manager' in professional baseball.

The Kia Tigers announced on the 13th that they have appointed Lee Bum-ho (42), the current first team hitting coach, as their new manager.

The contract is for two years, with a combined total of 900 million won in signing bonus and salary.

The Kia club, which immediately relieved former coach Kim Jong-guk of his duties after he was investigated by prosecutors for alleged embezzlement on March 29, handed the baton to Lee after an intense review.

Lee, who is currently in spring training with the team in Canberra, Australia, as a hitting coach, will take over as manager immediately.

Born on Nov. 25, 1981, the day the first owners' meeting was held to establish the Korean Professional Baseball Organization, Lee is the first manager in the KBO to be born in his 80s.

Previously, Moon Kyu-hyun (1983) and Lotte Giants coach Hank Conger (Korean name Choi Hyun) (1988) briefly served as acting managers in the absence of former manager Larry Sutton, and Kim Chang-hyun (1985) led the Kiwoom Heroes for the remainder of the season after former manager Son Hyuk resigned in 2020.

However, Lee is the first person born in the 80s to sign a formal coaching contract and take the helm of a team.

Lee is only one year younger than Oh Seung-hwan (Samsung Lions), Choo Shin-soo (SSG Landers), and Kim Kang-min (Hanwha Eagles), 온라인카지노 who were born in 1982 and are currently the oldest players in the KBO.

He is also two years older than Kia's oldest player, Choi Hyung-woo, born in 1983.

Choo Shin-soo, who was once rumored to be the head coach of SSG, would have been the first KBO manager born in the 80s if he had taken the helm, but it was literally just a rumor.

His strengths are his broad understanding of the organization and his ability to communicate.

After retiring as an active player in 2019, Lee started anew as a KIA scout in 2020, then took over as the KIA second team head coach in 2021.

In 2022 and 2023, he was the hitting coach for the KIA first team.

The KIA organization entrusted Lee, who was considered the "next big thing," with a wealth of experience across the first and second teams and leadership from his playing days.

The club expects him to be a young coach in his early 40s who communicates freely with the players, as he did with younger players in their early 20s in the second team just three years ago.

If you turn your attention to other professional sports outside of the KBO, you'll notice a few managers born in the 80s.

In professional soccer, there's Yi Ki-hoon, born in 1983, who was the acting head coach of Suwon Samsung before leaving earlier this year.

In professional volleyball, Kwon Young-min, who leads the men's Korean Electric Power, was born in 1980, while Korean Air's Tomi Tilikainen (Finland) is the youngest coach in the league at 1987.

In the women's professional basketball league, Korean-Canadian coach Gunadan Gunadan (1982) is the head coach of Incheon Shinhan Bank.