Kiwoom Heroes’ Lee Jung-hoo, 25, is well on his way to making it to the major leagues.온라인바카라
Lee went 1-for-1 as a pinch-hitter against the Samsung Lions in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on April 10. He made his final appearance in the home finale, giving fans one last look before heading to the major leagues.
Lee, who batted 3-for-105 (330 at-bats) with six home runs, 45 RBIs and an .861 OPS in 86 games this season, will try his hand at the major leagues in a postseason post. Although his season came to an unfortunate end on July 22 when he was injured in a game against Lotte, Major League Baseball’s interest in Lee remains strong. On July 7 and 10, San Francisco Giants general manager Pete Putilla visited the Gocheok Dome and personally observed Lee’s training process.
In a pregame interview, Lee said, “I’ve been nervous since last night. I think I’m more nervous than I was before my first team debut, and I’ve been excited since last night,” he said, expressing his feelings about playing his last game at home.
In response to local media in the U.S. giving him good reviews, saying, “It’s hard to imagine not getting paid $50 million (approx. KRW 67.4 billion),” Lee said, “There are a lot of articles, but I don’t pay much attention to them. My agent will take care of it. They’re telling me how to prepare in the U.S., and when the season is over, I’ll just have to schedule and prepare. I’m not thinking about that at all right now, I’m just focusing on playing well for the rest of the season,” he said.
Until 2018, major league postings were negotiated by the player and the team that bid the most for the postings. Ryu Hyun-jin (Dodgers), Kang Jeong-ho (Pittsburgh), Park Byung-ho (Minnesota), and others made it to the major leagues this way. Now, however, it has been revised to allow players to negotiate freely with all 30 major league clubs and pay posting fees to the original team based on the size of the contract. Therefore, Lee can still choose the team of his choice to some extent.
When asked if he had a specific team in mind, Lee said, “I don’t really know the major league teams. I only know the Dodgers and Yankees, which everyone knows. I think I’ll find out once I start the posting process. I think my agent will take care of it,” he said.
San Diego has Kim Ha-seong, who played in Kiwoom with Lee Jung-hoo. “I don’t know because (Kim) has only one year left, and the major leagues are very active in trading, so if Ha Sung-hyung’s value increases, he might be traded. I don’t know what will happen,” Lee laughed.
Kim Ha-seong gave Lee Jung-hoo a lot of advice on how to succeed in the major leagues. “Ha Sung-hyung is coming to Korea tomorrow, so I’m going to ask him a lot of questions about the major leagues. He said he would help me a lot. I learned a lot from watching Ha Sung-hyung prepare from the sidelines,” said Lee.
“I think it will be important for me to adapt quickly and integrate into the league,” said Lee Jung-hoo. “If you ask the seniors who made it to the major leagues, they said that adaptation is the most important thing. Just because I did well in Korea doesn’t mean I’ll do well in the United States. I think it’s important that I adapt well and do well,” he said, emphasizing the importance of adaptation.
One of the biggest barriers Korean players face in the major leagues is the language barrier. “I’ve been studying English a little bit. However, I have to do it every day, but I seem to forget one day after another. The seniors all told me that I will eventually have to learn English. I think I need to study harder,” he said.
KBO players have not received much recognition in the major leagues in the past. But with Kang Jeong-ho performing well and Kim Ha-seong succeeding, Major League Baseball’s opinion of the Korean beasts has gradually improved.
“Ha Sung-hyung said to me, ‘Because of me, Korean players may not be able to reach the major leagues in the future. ‘ He once said, ‘I’m afraid of that thought. I feel the same way. I have to create a good image of Korean players for those who will come to the major leagues after me. It’s natural to work really hard and do well,” he said, vowing to show good performance in the major leagues.