The Secret to 29 Years of LG's Success is The Little Prince

‘LG Man’ Who Has Been Player, Coach, and Manager
Thorough Health Management After Kidney Cancer Surgery 10 Years Ago
Baseball World Bookworm Reading 100 Books a Year
Keeping a Diary for 20 Years, Aiming to Become the Best Prestigious Team

Who walks the most in the domestic baseball world? It is Cha Myung-seok, the general manager leading the professional baseball team LG Twins. He walks more than 20,000 steps a day. He arrives at work early at 9 a.m. His route starts from Jamsil Baseball Stadium, goes out to Hangang Park, and reaches Dongho Bridge before returning. Walking for about three hours, he returns by noon. After a simple lunch, he holds meetings. Then, while inspecting the baseball stadium, he walks again. GM Cha explained the advantage, saying, "It has become a daily routine now. After walking, I feel my mind becomes clear."

Cha Myung-seok, head of the LG baseball team, said, "You can feel a lot while walking. Walking is the best exercise to improve work efficiency." Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

Walking in Hangang Park is GM Cha’s unique stress relief method. He emphasized, "Even wise men in the past used to think a lot while walking. There is nothing better than walking when planning the operation of a baseball team." GM Cha tasted the joy of winning the Korean Series last year. LG stood at the top of the Korean Series for the third time in 29 years since 1994. GM Cha’s contribution cannot be ignored.

-You are famous for walking frequently.

▲I think I walk about 20,000 steps. It takes about three hours. It’s not that I insist on walking exactly 20,000 steps. When I go from Jamsil Baseball Stadium to Dongho Bridge and back, it exceeds 18,000 steps. When I return to the stadium and keep moving, it often exceeds 20,000 steps. In terms of distance, it seems to be about 15 to 16 km. It’s a daily morning routine. Normally, if there is a game, I come to work at 1:30 p.m., but I come out around 9 a.m. When I go to Dongho Bridge and back, it becomes noon. Then I eat lunch and start work.

-What made you start walking exercise?

▲Actually, I don’t think of it as exercise. While walking in the morning, I think about how to handle today’s game. I tried various methods, but walking made my mind clearer and better, so I chose it. I don’t think of it as walking for exercise. In the morning, I analyze the day’s tasks and the game, and simulate what to do. I felt that doing this while walking works best.

-I heard you often go to Hangang.

▲(laughing) It’s convenient to go out from the baseball stadium. Accessibility is good. When you walk along Hangang, you get a wide view. It feels refreshing, and the air is better than in the city, so I often choose Hangang. Hangang is a very good place for walking. There are also a moderate number of people exercising. Naturally, I choose Hangang.

-Your bucket list is unique. You dream of walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain.

▲That’s right. I thought about it 10 years ago. I had kidney cancer surgery in 2013, and I planned to go to the Camino de Santiago after treatment. It feels like a pilgrimage. So I put the Camino de Santiago on my bucket list before I die. That hasn’t changed. But to walk the Camino de Santiago, you need about two months. I haven’t taken more than a month off since surgery. I really want to go. If I ever quit being GM and have time to rest, I will definitely go.

Team Leader Cha Myung-seok of LG is walking around Jamsil Baseball Stadium, contemplating the operation of the baseball team. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

-You are known to like drinking.

▲Before I got sick, I drank a lot. I was a heavy drinker. I was even rumored to be a good drinker in the baseball world. Now, even if there is a drinking party, I finish at the first round. It ends by 10 p.m. I’m managing well. The same goes for cola. I almost quit it. Before surgery, I drank 15 cans of cola a day, but now I drink less than 10 cans a year. I was actually addicted to carbonated drinks. The doctor advised me not to drink the day after surgery. Since it was a matter directly related to survival, I strictly follow it.

-You produced many memorable quotes even during your time as a professional baseball commentator. You are famous as a book lover in the baseball world.

▲I quit playing in 2001 and started reading books in 2002. When I became a coach in 2004, I thought, "I shouldn’t lack knowledge or teach players poorly." From then on, I started choosing books. It’s been over 20 years. I once read 100 books a year. After becoming GM, it was reduced by half. It might be an excuse, but I thought that for a GM, careful reading is better than reading a lot. In the past, I focused on reading a lot, but after becoming GM, I switched to careful reading. As my reading speed slowed, the quantity decreased. But careful reading seems fine.

-Does reading books outside of baseball help in managing the baseball team?

▲It helps tremendously. If you only approach baseball as baseball, you always get stuck. But if you approach it differently, you sometimes get answers you never thought of. I have never seen anything better than books. I get answers from books. I especially like Antoine de Saint-Exup?ry’s "The Little Prince." I read it whenever I’m having a hard time. It expresses innocence well. I like the famous quote, "Do you know what is the hardest thing in the world? It’s to win a person’s heart." It helped me a lot during my coaching career. A coach’s skill is not first; you have to win people’s hearts first. Reading "The Little Prince" was a great help in coaching. I want to recommend "The Little Prince" to ordinary people too. It’s not difficult and has many famous quotes, so it’s enjoyable to read.

-I heard you have been writing a diary for nearly 20 years.

▲It’s been 18 to 19 years. I started recording because I kept forgetting things. 90% of my diary is self-reflection. Few people write in their diary that they are great. Most contain reflections like "I made a mistake then, and what if I had gone in this direction?" After writing a diary, I feel like I have confessed. I write by hand. I have so many diaries that they are stacked up. Every time I see them, I feel pleased. I once heard that writer Jo Jung-rae wrote over ten thousand manuscript sheets by hand and dislocated his shoulder. I can’t compare to him, but after trying, I don’t like computers for this. Writing by hand feels better.

-Your team won the Korean Series last year for the first time in 29 years.

▲We won when the team was founded in 1990 and again in 1994. In the 1990s, we maintained a strong lineup and stayed in the upper ranks, but I think we took winning too easily then. We thought we could do it every year. After reaching the Korean Series in 2002 and losing to Samsung, we didn’t make the postseason for about 10 years. The club should have planned strategically with a long-term view, but it focused too much on immediate results. As the results declined, the steps got tangled. We took a method of removing the lower stones to block the upper and removing the upper stones to block the lower. Every year, managers were either dismissed mid-season or failed to renew contracts. Without a clear direction from the club in player development, it was chaotic.

-You were working as a commentator when LG called you back.

▲In 2018, when LG fell to 8th place, I worked as a professional baseball commentator. After the season ended, I was preparing to go to the U.S. for World Series coverage. A senior executive at LG Group offered me the GM position. I didn’t want to take over an 8th place team, but I had strong affection for the team. After refusing three times, I finally accepted the GM position. At first, I was overwhelmed. I couldn’t sleep because of worries. After going through difficult times, we made the postseason for five consecutive years and achieved the highest winning percentage in five years. Also, we succeeded in winning the championship after five years, achieving the best performance in terms of results.

Team Leader Cha Myung-seok of LG said, "My dream is to create a prestigious club that can provide fan services matching their performance." Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

-What is the driving force behind your sudden strength?

▲It’s message delivery. I shared the direction our team should go with manager Ryu Jung-il and agreed to build a team that can win in the future. After taking office, we started team reorganization by releasing 26 players. Usually, managers oppose players’ military enlistment to achieve immediate results. I convinced the coaching staff and released 26 players, making a full overhaul. This energized the team, and we finished 4th in the first year, making the postseason. With a single goal, we worked together without controversies. After taking office, I boldly made trades. I traded players who didn’t get opportunities in the team. There was risk, but I approached it on a large scale. From a business perspective, you never trade players who will do well on other teams. Through trades, we acquired young players. I judged that it could benefit our team later. A representative example is Ham Deok-ju. Without Ham Deok-ju, we might not have won last year.

-What did you emphasize to the players?

▲An organization must have diversity. We were educated in a top-down manner from a young age, so when the upper says something, the response is just "yes," "understood," or "no," so communication didn’t work. But an organization rots without diversity. An organization needs people who work well, but also people who are good at other things. It needs strong personalities but also gentle ones. All these combined can exert powerful strength. When I came as GM, the team was too rigid. I worked hard to loosen that. I invested a lot of time to create an atmosphere where players feel comfortable talking even when the GM passes by.

-This year, the strength of the 10 teams has leveled. Which teams do you think will make the postseason?

▲Kia and Doosan are good. KT is solid, and Hanwha’s strength seems to have improved a lot. Especially, the effect of Ryu Hyun-jin returning from Major League Baseball will be significant. He is expected to play a big role in Hanwha. With Ryu Hyun-jin’s return, the "catfish effect" will be big. Even if Ryu Hyun-jin’s performance is not good, the other players are likely to improve. People say LG is a championship contender, but there are concerns. There are weak points, but I will face them together with manager Yeom Kyung-yeop.

-Now you are the one being challenged. Which players and goals do you expect this year?

▲I’m paying attention to the rookies. Son Ju-young and Lee Sang-young need to set the mood. I expect them to fulfill their roles as young starting pitchers. Shin Min-jae did well as a second baseman last year, but I want to see more growth. Maintaining performance until May is important. If they are between plus 5 and 10 out of 60 games, it would be good. As a professional team, aiming for a second consecutive championship is a natural goal. I hope we don’t lose the original intention of being a prestigious club. Being a prestigious club is not just about results. Fan service and marketing that match the results must improve to become a prestigious club.