Provided by OSEN | 2023.12.22 17:45
[OSEN=길준영 기자] San Francisco Giants manager Bob Melvin, who saw success in using Kim Ha-seong (28) as an advantage for the San Diego Padres, indicated his intention to use Lee Jeong-hoo (25) as an advantage as well.
American media Yahoo Sports said on the 22nd (hereafter Korean time), “It is becoming clear what role Lee Jung-hoo will play in San Francisco in the 2024 season. Farhan Zaidi, the president of the ball operations department revealed bass, plans to consider Lee Jeong-hoo as the starting center fielder. “Director Bob Melvin recently appeared on ‘The TK Show’ and said he plans to hire Lee Jung-hoo as the lead.”
Lee Jeong-hoo, who recorded a .344 batting average (1,181 hits in 3,476 at-bats), 65 home runs, 515 RBI, and an .898 OPS in 884 games in the KBO League, was highlighted as Korea’s best hitter of the winter this and try to advance to the major leagues by posting. Although he had to undergo surgery due to an ankle injury and was unable to play in many games this year, the major league clubs paid no attention to Lee Jung-hoo.
The team that won the fierce recruiting competition was San Francisco. Lee Jung-hoo and San Francisco agreed to a six-year, $113 million (about 147.1 billion won) contract on the 13th. He recorded the largest contract ever among players who progressed from the KBO League to the Premier League and broke the contract record for an Asian outfielder. Looking at San Francisco’s previous contracts, they include Buster Posey (9 years, $167 million), Johnny Cueto (6 years, $130 million), Matt Cain (6 years, $127.5 million), and Barry Zito (7 years, 1) . is the 5th largest contract ever ($26 million).
It is very unusual for Lee Jeong-hoo, who does not even have a single major league experience, to be given this level of contract. That’s why San Francisco’s expectations for Lee Jeong-hoo are high. Farhan Zaidi, president of baseball operations, said at Lee Jeong-hoo’s induction ceremony held on the 16th, “We think the recruitment of Lee Jeong-hoo is a perfect fit. Our goal this season was to play the type of baseball that is popular around the league, with the whole team being more active and making more contact offensively. He will play as the center of the playing field starting from the opening game of next season. He revealed the reason for recruiting Lee Jeong-hoo, saying, “I expect him to play an active role as a center fielder.”
Coach Melvin said, “Right now, there’s no reason why it can’t be done (Lee Jung-hoo takes over as lead. I tried several lineups after recruiting Lee Jeong-hoo. At this point , Lee Jeong-hoo is leading. This is the batting order he was comfortable in and what he had done before. That’s what I’m thinking now. “I’m confident,” he said. for Lee Jeong-hoo’s lead design.
Manager Melvin, who had watched Ha-Seong Kim since his first year in San Diego, gave Ha-Seong Kim consistent opportunities and developed him into a major league outfielder. Ha-seong Kim had a career-high season this year, recording a .206 batting average (140 hits in 538 at-bats), 17 home runs, 60 RBI, 84 runs, 38 stolen bases, and an OPS of .749 in 152 games this year. He showed his excellent defensive skills and won the National League Gold Glove Award in the utility category.
Coach Melvin had fun using Ha-seong Kim as the forward this year. Ha-seong Kim showed a good performance in 73 games in which he batted first, with a batting average of .268 (77 hits in 287 at-bats), 11 home runs, 35 RBI, and an OPS of .782. Lee Jung-hoo also has a lot of experience as the main hitter in the KBO League. Coach Melvin, who met Jeong-hoo Lee when he came to San Francisco as a coach after the season, is expected to use Jeong-hoo Lee as a leader next season.
Yahoo Sports said, “Coach Melvin did not participate in Lee Jeong-hoo’s induction ceremony, but he had the opportunity to speak with Lee Jeong-hoo. “I have high expectations for Lee Jung-hoo because he is a good hitter for San Francisco,” he said. Director Melvin said, “I ran into Lee Jeong-hoo before the official press conference. I have been staying in the Bay Area for about a month now. It was unfortunate that we could not make it to the schedule on the day of the induction ceremony. However, I had the chance to meet Lee Jeong-hoo and I felt many things. He loved the Giants and I was impressed. The same goes for other colleagues. “This is where he wanted to be and this is the team he wanted to be.”
Coach Melvin said, “Lee Jeong-hoo looks good in black and orange,” and added, “I’m delighted that Lee Jeong-hoo has joined the team. I spoke to President Farhan at the start of the offseason I really wanted to bring this man back. “There are so many issues that need to be resolved, but this is a very good start to the short season,” he said, looking forward to Lee Jeong-hoo’s performance.
Fans have high expectations about whether Lee Jung-hoo, who conquered the KBO League and advanced to the Premier League, will be able to achieve success as a lead player. /fpdlsl72556@osen.co.kr
[저작권자 @머니투데이, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
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