Lee Jeong-hoo, ‘best debut’

Lee Jeong-hoo, ‘best debut’

Concerns were as great as expectations. However, ‘Grandson of the Wind’ Lee Jeong-hoo (San Francisco Giants) is working hard to erase the question mark. He continued his upward trend with hits in four consecutive exhibition games.

Jeong-hoo Lee started as the number one hitter and center fielder in the away game against the Cleveland Guardians in the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) exhibition game held at Goodyear Ball Park in Arizona on the 4th (Korean time), going 1 hit and 1 RBI in 2 at-bats. He scored 1 point and walked 1.

Lee Jeong-hoo, who is playing an exhibition game schedule starting with the Seattle Mariners game on the 28th of last month, went 2 hits in 3 at-bats (1 home run) and 1 RBI against Arizona on March 1st, and 1 hit in 3 at-bats against the Texas Rangers on the 2nd, and has played 4 consecutive games to this day. The hit streak continued. His exhibition game batting average rose to 0.455, and his OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) was 1.318.

n this day, San Francisco had Lee Jeong-hoo (center fielder) - Marco Luciano (designated hitter) - Lamonte Wade Jr. (first baseman) - JD Davis (third baseman) - Luis Matos (right fielder) - The lineup consisted of Blake Sabol (left fielder) - Joey Bart (catcher) - Nick Ahmed (shortstop) - Donovan Walton (second baseman). Fastball pitcher Jordan Hicks, who moved to San Francisco ahead of this season, took the mound as a starting pitcher.

Cleveland has Stephen Kwan (left fielder) - Andres Jimenez (second baseman) - Jose Ramirez (third baseman) - Josh Naylor (first baseman) - Ramon Lauriano (right fielder) - Gabriel Arias (shortstop) - Esteban Florial (center fielder) - The lineup consisted of David Frye (catcher) and Jose Tena (designated hitter). The starting pitcher is Tanner Bibby.

Lee Jeong-hoo was calm from the first at-bat. In the top of the first inning, he walked to first base in a game against Bibi. Luciano, the follow-up batter, struck out, but Wade Jr., who came to bat with one out and first base, drew a two-run arch that went over the right-field wall, and Jeong-hoo Lee also homered.

In his second at-bat in the top of the second inning, Jeong-hoo Lee had the opportunity to hit Hunter Stanley's first pitch with two outs and runners on first and third base, but failed to score an RBI as he hit a grounder to first base. However, he was relieved in his third at-bat in the top of the fourth inning. With the score 2-2, he hit a right-handed hit with 2 outs and runners on first and second base, and in the meantime, Sabol, the runner on second base, hit home, giving the team a 3-2 lead.

Jeong-hoo Lee finished his task by being replaced by pinch hitter Tyler Fitzgerald in the top of the 6th inning, and the team won by 6-5 by 1 point thanks to Ismael Munguia's solo shot in the top of the 9th inning.

Lee Jung-hoo, who joined the Nexen (now Kiwoom) Heroes as a first-round pick in 2017, made a mark with his consistent performance for seven years. He had a high batting average of over .300 every year until last year, and in 2022, he even showed off his slugging ability by hitting 20 home runs for the first time in his debut. Starting with the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC), which he participated in in his first year of debut, he also made his name known in various international competitions such as Premier 12 and World Baseball Classic (WBC).

In December 2022, Lee Jeong-hoo announced to the Kiwoom club that he wanted to challenge the major league through a posting system (private competitive bidding) after the end of the 2023 season, and after internal discussions, Kiwoom respected the player's will and will in early January last year. We agreed to support. He also established a policy to help and support where he can at the club level. The United States and Japan also began to show interest in Lee Jeong-hoo's declaration of taking on the overseas stage.

Lee Jeong-hoo, who performed well in the WBC last year, seemed to be continuing his high-altitude march through the regular season, but suffered an unexpected injury after entering the second half of the season. Lee Jeong-hoo, who was playing as the third hitter and center fielder in the away game against the Lotte Giants on July 22, felt unwell while fielding in the bottom of the 8th inning, and the team's trainer immediately ran to the outfield. Lee Jeong-hoo, who found it difficult to walk alone, headed to the dugout with support. The results of the examination diagnosed damage to his left ankle extensor zone (the membrane surrounding the ankle tendon).

Lee Jung-hoo was unable to play for over two months after his injury, but scouts still showed interest. With the end of the KBO League and Major League seasons, news focusing on Lee Jung-hoo's actions poured in every day, and it seemed that several teams would jump into the recruiting battle.

Lee Jeong-hoo signed a six-year contract with San Francisco worth a total of $113 million (about 150.4 billion won) less than two weeks after the posting began in December last year. It was an amount that exceeded everyone’s expectations. The local American media, which focused on Lee Jung-hoo's challenge to the big leagues, predicted that Lee Jung-hoo would receive an amount between $60 million and $80 million, but San Francisco, which was most active in recruiting Lee Jung-hoo, boldly opened its wallet.

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