Lee Jung-hoo's 'big break' to the U.S. makes even Japanese batters laugh

"Isn't this a great contract?"

Lee Jung-hoo, 26, of the San Francisco Giants, has had a "role model" since he was a student, Yuki Yanagita, 36, of the SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball.

Yanagita joined SoftBank in 2011, and by last year, he had played in 1,398 career games, batting .301 with 260 home runs, 159 doubles, a .409 slugging percentage, a .540 on-base percentage, and a .940 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage). He's Japan's best hitter by a long shot.

Lee said he used to watch Yanagita's videos when he was struggling with his hitting.

Like Yanagita, Lee has also had a spectacular career in the KBO. From his debut in 2017 to last year, he batted .884 with 65 home runs, 69 doubles, and an OPS of .898 in 884 games.

After last season, Lee signed a six-year, $113 million contract with the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball for a total of $156 million. He became the first Asian Beast to sign a contract worth more than $100 million.

After a practice game with the Doosan Bears at the PayPal Dome in Fukuoka, Japan, on March 3, Yanagita laughed at Lee's major league story, saying, "It's a great contract," and added, "He's handsome and has a good playing style as a leadoff man, so I'm rooting for him."

When asked about Lee Jung-hoo's choice as a 'role model,' he said, "I'm honored that he chose me as a role model. I'm really honored that he chose me as a role model, and I'm really happy that he went to the major leagues."

However, he emphasized that the credit for the major leagues belongs to Lee. "At the end of the day, it was Lee Jung-hoo's own hard work that got him to the major leagues," he said.

Lee is currently adjusting to the major leagues successfully. He's been hitting for the cycle in major league exhibition games, defending his status as the KBO's best shift hitter.

Lee has hit safely in five consecutive games in exhibition play. His batting average in the exhibition games is 4-for-6 (6-for-13).

Against Colorado on Friday, he grounded out in his first at-bat, but drew a walk in the second. In the fourth inning, with runners on first and third and two outs, he took an outside changeup for a single. The runner from third came home to score the winning run.

Now Yanagita is starting to cheer for Lee. "There are definitely differences between Korea and the major leagues, so I think there will be some difficulties. That's why as a fan, I'm going to support Lee Jung-hoo even more."

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Pub: 05 Mar 2024 11:31 UTC
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