Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants, who unfortunately failed to complete his Major League debut season due to an injury, is drawing keen attention. Not only Korea and the U.S. but also Japan are paying attention to Lee.스포츠토토
The Major League's official website "MLB.com " mentioned Lee Jung-hoo on the 1st (Korea Standard Time) by reporting an article, "Who is the outfielder who will play for the San Francisco Giants in 2025?" The media chose left fielder Eliot Ramos, center fielder Lee Jung-hoo and right fielder Mike Yastremski as the starting lineup for the San Francisco outfield in the 2025 season.
"He was San Francisco's biggest free agent during the offseason. However, he was out for the season in May due to his shoulder injury and played in only 37 games," the "MLB.com " said of Lee. "If he recovers and acts like he has been active for seven seasons in the KBO league, he will become a huge X-factor."
The media evaluated that Lee Jung-hoo showed excellent contact ability by pointing out the index of hitting the ball with 9.6% swing rate, 8.2% strikeout rate and 37.1% swing rate before injury. However, as a result, Lee Jung-hoo only played 37 games, batting average of 0.262, 38 hits, two home runs, eight RBIs, 15 points, and 0.641 OPS. Although it was a short game, it was hard to say that Lee Jung-hoo's strengths in the KBO League were fully displayed.
Japan is also paying attention to Lee Jung-hoo's upcoming season. "Korea's Ichiro entered the Major League with 16.4 billion yen, but below expectations... Performance in KBO → Expectations for the second year 'If I can leave an offensive record' dealt with Lee Jung-hoo under the title.
The media pointed out, "Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants, who plays as a star in Korean professional baseball and is the father of Lee Jong-beom, a former Chunichi Dragons player, did not perform as well as expected in his first year in the Major League."
"In the offseason of 2023, he signed a big contract with the San Francisco Giants for six years and $113 million (about 172.2 billion won), the highest amount ever for an Asian fielder, but he injured his left shoulder during the defense against the Cincinnati Reds in May. Since then, he has suffered from being on the injured list (IL) and undergoing surgery, and he finished with a disappointing performance of 0.262 batting average, two homers and eight RBIs in 37 games last season," he explained.
The media outlet, which introduced Lee Jung-hoo as "Korea's Ichiro," said, "Lee Jung-hoo, who is called Ichiro of Korea, won the batting king with a batting average of .349 in the KBO in 2022, and also won the RBI king and MVP title," adding, "We are paying attention to whether he will be able to wash off the disappointment of last season and achieve a perfect rebound in his second year in the Major League."
Meanwhile, Lee told reporters before leaving the country, "My physical condition is 100 percent. Just like when playing in Korea, a professional player has to prove himself every season. So, I don't feel pressured," Lee said. "Since I didn't play many games last season, I just want to play more games and help my team this year. I want to play as much as I can this year and advance to the postseason with my team."
Lee Jung-hoo, who is preparing for his spring camp in the U.S., made a surprise visit to the Kiwoom Heroes camp site and reunited with his "Friendly Team" teammates for the first time in a long time. It is said that Lee had a great time with the players, talking about things he had not been able to do before.
"I invited some players to my house for dinner a few days ago, but it's been a long time since I met the entire team," Lee said through his club. "It was a great time and a meaningful time. I support Kiwoom in this season."