Lee Jung-hoo, are you going to beat MVP Ohtani? Unexpected outlook...163.6 billion batting genius leaves the country on the 12th to revive
Jan 07, 2025
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Lee Jung-hoo will depart for the United States on the 17th. This is to build up in advance in a warm place, train individually, and join the spring camp normally. Lee Jung-hoo injured his shoulder during defense early last season and went to the operating table. Lee Jung-hoo, who had been rehabilitating and treating under the management of the club until the end of the season, returned to Korea in October last year after leaving behind his disappointment in his first year in the Major League.
Ahead of last season, Lee Jung-hoo surprised San Francisco by successfully signing a six-year contract worth $113 million (about 163.6 billion won). Because they wrote the history of the Asian Beast. San Francisco highly appreciated Lee Jung-hoo's genius hit in the KBO League. Lee Jung-hoo ranks first in all time with a batting average of 0.340 (1,181 hits in 3,976 at-bats) for seven seasons in the KBO, and his on-base percentage is also very high at 0.407. Since signing the contract, San Francisco has indicated its intention to appoint Lee Jung-hoo as the first hitter and center fielder.
There were very few samples that could be evaluated, but Lee Jung-hoo proved his ability to guess to some extent before the injury. He hit .262 (38 hits in 145 at-bats) with a 0.310 on-base percentage, two homers, eight RBIs and 15 runs in 37 games. Although it led to injuries, it was evaluated as a center fielder with a very wide range of defense and activism.
MLB.com picked Lee Jung-hoo as a player ready for a breakthrough in San Francisco on the 5th (Korea time). The media said, "'Lee Jung-hoo was San Francisco's biggest FA recruit last season, but he played only 37 games when he ended the season with a left shoulder injury in May last year. Lee Jung-hoo is expected to be able to fully participate in the spring camp, and he is expected to return to center field and leadoff positions. San Francisco still believes that Lee Jung-hoo can unleash a dynamic attack based on his special contact skills.
Steamer, the performance prediction system of the U.S. baseball statistics site 「Fangraph」, predicted that Lee Jung-hoo will show better contact ability than Shohei Ohtani (31, LA Dodgers) in the 2025 season. Lee Jung-hoo's expected batting average was 0.294, ranking fifth overall in the Major League, while Ohtani ranked 18th with 0.280. Ohtani joined the 50-home run-and-50 stolen base club for the first time in Major League history last year and won the third MVP of his career, and this year he decided to try both as a pitcher. There is a risk that pure hitting performance will decrease compared to last year due to the burden of physical strength if you do a combined pitching and hitting. Instead, Ohtani expected to hit 43 home runs and 104 RBIs in the new year.
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Lee Jung-hoo had a year last year that he could not be satisfied with himself. At the time of his return, he said in an interview that `I felt very lacking. As I did it, I wondered what it would have been like if I could have done more. The ball started to get used to it little by little, but it was hurt at that time. It's a shame and I think it's something I have to overcome. I think I should start again next year, so I think I should prepare harder in the winter based on what I've felt so far," he said emphatically.
Three months ago, I was confident of my already healthy physical condition. Lee Jung-hoo said "Rehabilitation training is over. There is a pre-season program prepared by the club, so I think I can make my body well as it is. During rehabilitation, I thought that I should be the first player who fits the league mentally. It was a more mature time in how to deal with baseball mentally and how to prepare for the game. The body recovered 80 to 90 percent. I don't think next year's camp will have a problem if I finish the schedule given by the club well."
Lee Jung-hoo also said, `I want to play a full season without injury. Didn't do that for 2 years (2023 ankle injury). If you are a player, you have to go to the game to get into a situation, but you haven't played much in two years. I'm worried that I keep taking a break at a time when I have to play baseball the most and improve my skills. Whether I'm good or not, I want to play in many games" showed a willingness.
Will Lee Jung-hoo be able to prove the value of a batting genius by preparing for the season step by step from the spring camp as he and others wish.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
