Lotte Giants' manager invited to Obama inauguration: team

SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Yonhap) -- The American manager of the Lotte Giants, a South
Korean pro baseball club, has been invited to U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's
inauguration set for later this month, team officials said Monday.
Jerry Royster, a former Major League team manager who is currently on vacation in
the U.S., will return to South Korea on Jan. 22 after attending Obama's
swearing-in ceremony on the 20th, the team said. He was originally scheduled to
return this week.
"It's an honor being invited to a historic and meaningful event," Royster was
quoted as saying. Team officials, who were notified by telephone, said they
weren't told how the manager came to be invited.
Royster has become very popular here as he has catapulted the embattled squad
into the top third of the eight-team South Korean baseball league during the past
season.
odissy@yna.co.kr